my chihuahua looks half dead.

by Arianna
(Houston, TX, USA)

what is wrong with my 2 year old female chihuahua? she won't eat/drink unless i forcefully do. she has been vomiting white foamish stuff, been sleeping a lot, wo'nt move, is stiff, and shivers. i don't know what to do.

she has been like this for 3 and a half days. i have been taking care of her, and she has been looking better but still don't know what caused her to be like this, and don't know what kind of sickness is this. my father has giving me permission to take her to the vet but he doesn't understand that if i take her they are gonna tag me and i'm gonna have to pay more than wat i can afford. i know this cuz my aunt took her dog that had the same symptoms as mine to the vet and she regretted it. now she is paying yearly fees and the are consistantly updating her to take her dog to the vet for checkups and grooming things that coast a pretty penny. also my other aunt lost her other dog for not able to pay the vets fees so they took her dog away.

i almost did go to the vet because of my dog was looking really half dead but decided not to because i didn't want my family to go under again because of the fees and yearly fees. so i just kept giving her medicine and staying awake for 3 days straight to make sure she was okay and been hand feeding her and giving her water and she is looking better. i'm am relieved to see her look better but she isn't out of the woods just yet.









Hi Arianna
The symptoms you describe tell me that your dog is very sick and that unless you are very lucky, without veterinary help she could well die.

I do totally understand that vet care is expensive, BUT your dog is relying on you and your family to take care of her and that is your responsibility. I can see that you love her very much and are doing everything that you can to help her, but most conditions that cause these sort of symptoms need to be evaluated by a vet as she likely needs medication or treatment of some sort.

The type of 'health plans' that you describe are standard care for SOME veterinary practices, but not all - not by a long shot. I would recommend calling veterinarians in your area (you should have a regular vet that you take your dog to for vaccinations etc. too and presumably they don't have this sort of plan or you'd already be on it!) and ask them how much they charge for an office visit.

Once your dog is examined you can find out what's wrong and what sort of care/treatment she needs and discuss it with them. Sometimes there are things they can recommend you do at home, other times you can work out a payment plan with the vet's office etc. You can ask this up front so that you know what you're facing. You may also want to check with your local humane society as they may know of low cost veterinary programs in your area.

Unless you and your dog are very lucky, and whatever is wrong with her is self-limiting, she needs help. So please do everything you can to find a vet who can help you both. A vet's office is a business of course and needs to make money, but they aren't heartless and if you explain the situation I'm sure that someone will be able to help.

I wish you the very best of luck and hope that your dog gets the help she needs and makes a full recovery.