Is Pet Care Busting your Budget?

No one can deny that the cost of Veterinary Care is rising.  Medications and procedures can be quite taxing on the wallet.

One of the wonderful benefits of raising your dog using the principles of Naturopathy is that many health problems are prevented, keeping your spending on medical care to a minimum.

Natural modalities are also generally lower in cost than conventional treatments.

Years ago I was faced with the possibility of a huge medical bill for one of my dogs. We ended up at a specialist due to hind limb paralysis. This was a young dog with no history of trauma. The paralysis developed over about 24 hours.

The specialist recommended an MRI of the spine in order to determine what was causing the paralysis. I asked what the chances were that there would be a definitive diagnosis if we chose to do the MRI. The answer: I was simply told it may or may not explain what was going on with the dog. If it didn't give us any answers, the next step according to the specialist would be to do an exploratory spinal surgery.

In essence I was asked to put the fate of my dog into the hands of a professional who would use the newest and best technology and surgery to try and correct this hind limb paralysis for a hefty sum of money with no guarantees that they could even find the problem, never mind correct it. We were looking at $6,000 to $9,000 for the MRI and $5,000+++ for surgery. 

What to do?

I didn't feel like the conventional approach that was being recommended was the way to go. I certainly did not like the idea of an exploratory spinal surgery. That didn't sit well with me. I resisted the pressure from the Veterinarian to have an MRI done immediately and took my dog home.

After some quick research on other options I booked a chiropractic and acupuncture appointment for my dog. This turned out to be the best decision I could have made. We saw improvement after the very first session and within a month the dog was nearly 100% back to normal. A total of half a dozen appointments for chiropractic and acupuncture and some time was all it took for my dog to return to a healthy state.

So for a fraction of the cost and without any invasive procedures I had my dog back. There is always a choice! When I think back to this experience, I can't help but wonder what the outcome would have been if I had followed the recommended course of action from the specialist?

Have you ever been in a similar situation with your dog? Have you dodged a big veterinary bill by using other modalities?

I'd love to hear about your experience!