Dog seriously ill, due to go to Australia on Sunday

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My dog has become seriously ill in just a few days, she's having an operation on Wednesday next week and we've been told there's a 75% chance of success of her surviving the operation. If she doesn't have the operation she would likely have less than a month to live.

I am due to fly to Australia on Sunday for 2 weeks. The holiday cost me thousands. The travel insurance won't cover a cancellation or change in dates for a pet, and the pet insurance will cover £1000 which is better than nothing.

I feel devastated. It is a huge sum of money, I've saved up and done so much planning and preparation and I feel sick at the thought of it just going to waste. It was for a big birthday. The operation is also thousands of pounds, so this whole situation is costing nearly 6 months of salary for me. I also feel sick at leaving my dog, not knowing what the outcome of the surgery is gonna be or knowing if it's the last time I'll see her. I've spoken to family and friends who think I should go, aside from the family member who would be looking after her while I was away - they said it would be wrong for me to go and they would never consider going themselves.

I don't think I'll go but it hurts so much, I'm so upset at the timing of it all

Will the dog not be kept in for a while afterwards anyway?

Our dog recently had spinal surgery and was kept in the vet hospital for about two weeks afterwards. We couldn't visit so you being away may not make any difference anyway.

I’m so sorry OP but I’ll try to be detached.
Objectively (and I am a cat lady who has had to travel a lot and has lost a couple of my companions) how old is your dog and where is the tumour?
I’m sorry to say but vets may give you much better odds than are realistic, especially if DDog is older.
Your travel and pets insurance won’t cover the holiday cancellation, will the pet insurance even cover the surgery and aftercare fully?
Is your DP pushing one way or the other - is it that they don’t want to deal with sick DDog?

I think she means the six months of salary is for the trip and all the costs for her dog's operation and treatment.

Speaking as an animal lover I couldnt go.. Australia will always be there, your dog wont be

You can really tell your ignorance about this from this post. Why bother commenting on something you obviously have no experience in?

OP, as someone who has dogs and who does know something about this unlike @TheBoysAndTheBallet dogs are incredibly bonded to their families. You being there will make a huge difference.

Shit timing but we choose for them to be in our lives and we’ve got to be there for the heartbreak as well as the good times,

For me, it depends on your bond with your dog. So I have several dogs, and one of them I had from a tiny pup many years before I met my OH. If it was him in this position, I couldn’t go. He’s like a little duckling bonded to me. I would never do it to him, and the guilt would eat me alive. The other dogs we had when they were older as rescues and I would argue they are more bonded to my OH than to me. I would probably go away if it was either of them, simply because I know they would not be more distressed by my absence and they would feel reassured with my OH.

The vet needs to pay for his new car & his expensive holiday, that's why they want to operate.
It's cruel to put an animal through all that.

Me too

I think you need to be honest to yourself about what you really want to do and go with it. Everyone will offer an opinion on your situation if you allow them that power. If you want to go on your holiday then go. Say your goodbyes to your DDog and go. I say that as a dog owner and lover myself.

Don’t let someone else guilt you into a decision. And for what it’s worth, plenty of people who say “I could never do xyz…” actually probably would do if faced with the non fictional situation themselves. You are not a bad person for going on the holiday if that is what you decide, you have loved and cared for your pet dearly for many years. That will never be taken away from you.

I had a situation where I was staying away for 5 days and just before I went my dog was poorly. We ended up at the emergency vet. It was severe d&v but I was worried she wouldn’t make it. I had 2 days to keep an eye on her. I then had a dog sitter staying at my house. But I was near enough I could come back if needed. In your situation I don’t think I could go.

No-one on here can tell you what to do. They can’t even tell you what they would actually do because they are not you. All this crap about dogs being nicer than people is not really helping.

There is no judgment on your choice, it depends on what you want to do. What was the arrangement before hand?

Yes

I couldn't go and I didn't go - our pet insurance covered our holiday but I couldn't bear to be parted from him when he wasn't well - it was like my heart was being torn apart.

I was going to say don’t go but your partner can care for the poor dog!

I have dogs and some have had surgery.

I would take the holiday.

Your dog is in the best of care and the vet thought a 75% chance of recovery. That is high. Being there won't change the outcome. Your dog knows your partner very well and it will be having drugs to keep them extra comfortable.

At worst case the dog will not wake up from surgery.
Very sad but you being there won't change that.

At next worse case, dog will be the same but have a month to live. You will relish time with him when you return from Aus.

Most likely dog will have a successful operation and you will come home to a healthy dog for a year or two. You never can predict when or if the tumour will return. Right now it's being removed so you can predict that dog will be right for next six months.
Go and bring back joy from your holiday.

Best wishes for Doggo.

Thats a cold cold heart

Oh i’m so sorry. Such a hard decision. Personally I don’t think i’d go. But it’s easy to say when hypothetical of course. My dog will lose both eyes due to glaucoma, currently delaying that as drops holding it off, but won’t forever. But means I can’t plan anything. All the best to your fur baby

poor doggo

poor you

no easy answers… how old is she?

I could not leave my dog in what might be her last months, but also, personally I am weary of vets recommending expensive treatments for very old dogs. My dog is 12 and we have decided we will not have her operated again, but that is mostly as she would suffer so much from being away from home/us as she had an op before and was sooooo scared without us (in vet kennel) 😭

TheBoysAndTheBallet - its not just a pet - they are part of your family - I could not leave my poorly pet in a million years!

I really don't think I could go. Imagining my baby sick and wondering why I'd left her breaks my heart.

Hope everything goes ok

I couldn't even leave my pet if they were unwell with a partner

I'm so sorry OP what an awful situation and sounds like you really needed a proper break. I think leaving her with your partner is a perfectly appropriate solution. To make a choice I suppose you just have to decide if you'd still be able to enjoy your holiday despite your dog being unwell at home and go anyway (because it won't change the outcome). Or if you'd just be so sad and worried it might not be worth going anyway. Sending massive love to you and your dog

Bloody hell. I hope you don’t have pets.

To be honest a lot of people will tell you they wouldn't go, I'd probably say that myself, but if it happened me maybe I would change my mind, I don't know. If there is someone there that can look after your dog then more than likely I would go, it's way too much money to lose and its a holiday of a lifetime, your dog will more than likely be fine hopefully so yes I am going to say you should go. By the way I have 2 dogs so I understand and sorry you're facing this xx