Help please

My moms shitzu was whining all nite and woke up with rapid breathing on Sunday and she decided to take him to a local 24 hour emrgency hospital.

They diagnosed him with kidney failure and the bitch of a vet (terribe bedside manner and no tact) said that theyd like to test with a sonogram and take a biopsy of his kidney to determine where its coming from. I think its a procedure that is a waste of time and money. The other options we have is either send him home with meds and eventually die or put him down. Needless to say my mom is devastated and we are wuite distraught and at a loss at the vets lack of compassion and patience to explain to us what is going on...But she sure as pushing for that 800 sonogram/biopsy...My mom wants to put him down tommorow but i want your opinions on what i should do...BTW, hes not eating and hasnt since like friday i think

did they offer to put him on iv fluids and oral meds to help him feel better?? that's what i'd want, if it were my dog. if he's in a renal crisis, he isn't eating because he's nauseated. with lots of fluids, there's a good chance that his system can be flushed out and he'll start to feel better again. yes, he'll die from it eventually- kidney failure is a progressive disease- but there's likely a chance he can be maintained for awhile with good quality of life.

how old is this guy?

i think hes about 7 or so..not too old...He is on IV and and theyve been feeding him thru a syringe. Hes lost about half his weight sice his last visit a couple of months ago. Also we do have a monetary roadblock so it makes it that much harder to deal with. Bad thing is tht he isnt eating.

Oh, I am sorry your having to deal with this over the holiday season (((((hugs)))))

This is a tough situation. Here's what I think - If your not able to find another vet anywhere to get a second opinion and he's suffering the best thing you can do is put him out of pain.

If your able to get a second opinion at a vet's then by all means please do it fast.

THanks for the kind words, but we really barely have the means to pay the 400 some odd dollars for this bill and another visit wil cost us more money and we literally dont have it. I think its pretty clear what we have to do but it is such a hard thing to do, especially for my mom.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE, btw

I'm sorry ((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))) It's not easy loosing a pet.

Yes , the pup is young , but there may be something else going on . I'd do the sonogram to check for tumors before the final needle /

If you can afford it, and the vet as a good explanation as to why . . . then I'd do it.

Otherwise, get the meds and the iv and enjoy the time you have left. Sometimes, with meds, special food and hydration, they can come back and live for quite a while. Perhaps your little one is too far gone, but I'd look at that option.

One of my cats made it for 3 years . . . and I know someone with a very elderly dog who lived for 4 . . . though she just died over Christmas .

The dog is coming home. Apparently my wife and the vet had it out and basically have I've read numerous posts online by other people on the clinic about abuse and poor bedside manner. Were gonna just bring him home with meds and get a 2nd opinion. Money is definately an issue here, but we dont want him to suffer. THeyve treated us very poorly at this clinic. Basically not giving us any answers and rushing us to make a decision, not explaining anything to us. OMG this has been horrible, both my wife and I havent slept all night thinking of that poor dogs fate. We just cant take his life without giving the meds a chance...Maybe its a waste of time, i mean, is not like the goddamn vet is explaining anything to us...THIS IS SOOO FRUSTRATING!!!

Get another opinion. And another vet. Immediately. I'd fire my doctor for that, and I'd fire my vet for it too. You can't be expected to make a decision if they don't tell you what the options and odds are. They should respect your intelligence and take the time to fill you in. I'd ask around on the board of people in your area who can point you to a good vet, if possible. Otherwise, call around and see who sounds right for you.

The Shihtzu breed is genetically predisposed to renal dysplasia. Were his parents tested?
http://www.shihtzu.org/Articles/article.asp?ART_ID_NUM=1&menu=Articles
I am really sorry you are having to go through this and yes I would get a second opinion. But my understanding of renal failure (although limited) there is really no cure (short of a transplant).
I do think a second opinion is important.

I'm so glad that you are getting a second opinion . Otherwise you'd always wonder .

Well, he is home and eating, which they said they were force feeding him thru syringe, which is a little bit baffling and he is going to the bathroom fine. My mom has to give him iv fluids daily and a couple of meds and a follow up in 3 months. Im sure shes gonna take him to another vet, probably ours because he wasnt properly diagnosed when he first had weight loss a couple of months ago by his vet and we definately will NEVER go to the emergency clinic again, that place is HORRIBLE... Is there any place you can report a vet kind of like you report your doctor??

I believe you can go to their ethics committe and file a complaint.

I had an 8 year old sheltie I took to the vet because of lack of appetite. My vet clinic is wonderful. They did bloodwork and wanted to keep him overnight (some of the levesl were extremely high-even I was shocked when he showed me the chart of the normal range).

Poor pup was in for two days and they gave him meds, tried different meds but the bloodwork was not improving. My grand fella was in acute renal failure. They did say an option was a biopsy--but even they said it would be alot of money and it wouldn't cure him.

So they gave him fluid pouches under the skin to keep him hydrated and I took him home for one last weekend.

The vets and staff were wonderful. They took all the time I needed to answer questions, never pushed me into any decision, handed me kleenex when I bawled like a baby...and explained all the treatment they were trying.

I had to go to the bank to raise my credit limit to cover his vet bill that week.

Get a second opinion. I hope your pup recovers.

Look up the vetrinary liscensing association for your state . . . you can report a vet to them, just like you can report a doctor to the medical board or a lawyer to the bar.