Puppy needing surgery - would you pay?

[Kijaji]

Our current situation is we have a 12 week old puppy who has a grade 4 heart murmur (picked up at 8 week vaccinations, was checked at birth and everything was fine), he’s awaiting further tests but worse case scenario it could cost us £5K to operate, if you had the money would you do it for a puppy you’ve only had 5 weeks but mostly everyone’s attached too and loves?

Is the operation going to make the animal 100% perfect?
Or will it have to be on medications all its ‘life’, thereafter?
Will it survive the operation?
Ask the vet, “if it was your dog, would you put it through all this”?
If any of those is a “No”, I wouldn’t put the creature through that unnatural stuff. Just allow to live out its life, or return it to the Breeder.

how or why is the OP ever going to come back to answer some of the legitimate questions if they’ve already been branded as a terrible person?
they find themselves (through stupidity or naivety) in a really hard place.
Can we not give them a semblance of sympathy for them or their puppy?
I can join the bashing as good as the next person but where does that get the poor pup?

Obviously they should not have bought this dog, but what lead them to this decision?
That for one what I want to know.
but having no sympathy for OP helps no one, least of all their dog.

I would agree with you if this was a private board. But it’s a public board so the points being made about a puppy being too young to leave their mother at 7 weeks will probably be read by hundreds of people.

There is an education part to it for anyone thinking it’s ok to collect a puppy at 7 weeks when the law says 8 weeks minimum.

General speculation about whether OP will pay for the operation though are not helpful as no one knows.

Duplicate post due to that stupid reloading thing.

Puppy was born by Caesarian and given to you at only 7 weeks old with a heart condition?

French or English Bulldog, by any chance?

Dodgy as hell.

Yep, exactly my thoughts.

I am an occasional breeder. Of a healthy breed on the vulnerable native breeds list.

I would NEVER let a pup go at 7 weeks, and never without their first jab or 8 week check.

As a breeder, I would be responsible for the one with the murmur.

What breed is yours? As I’m afraid that would have a bearing for me. If it is a bulldog type from a backyard breeder, I’d probably PTS. Heart murmur unlikely to be its only problem in life, poor thing.
If otherwise healthy though, I’d do the surgery.

Duplicate post due to that stupid reloading thing.

Duplicate post due to that stupid reloading thing.

Where is your accountability and responsibility?
You go and get a puppy without doing even 2 minutes of research to make sure it is not from a backyard breeder?
Your ignorance is directly benefitting a despicable industry. Don’t worry, there are many like you. Just bumbling around with no clue and directly affecting sentient beings

Yes i’d pay. Good idea to ensure insurance is in place as early as possible due to the 14 day exclusion.

There are not many families that I know who could afford that size hit to their finances for a hobby which is what pet ownership is.
For the sake of your family and your sanity. Give it back to where you purchased it from. Any costs to date you will have to write off.
Do NOT let yourself be guilted by the animal extremists who think a puppy is human. Let it go OP.

Why did you pick up a 7 week old unvaccinated puppy? This breeder was obviously running a very shady operation. How much did you pay for puppy and what breed is it?

If the vets think the operation has a reasonable chance of success then yes I would pay.

Yes. Puppy would be part of family.

This sounds like an irresponsible breeder: left mum too young, no vaccinations and no health check.

A grade 4 heart murmur will not go away on its own. The "innocent" murmurs you describe are very quiet - grade 1 out of 6. A grade 4 murmur indicates a congenital defect and I do wonder if the OP was lied to by the breeder because it seems unlikely that it wasn't picked up at birth.

No, pet ownership isn’t a hobby - you can’t compare a living animal to a surf board or a bag of golf clubs. These items are fully dispensable. We do not have any responsibility to them with regards to their welfare.

Unfortunately this puppy’s breeder is obviously dodgy as fuck. If you don’t have dogs it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know this - but no decent breeder would let their puppy’s go unchecked and unvaccinated at 7 weeks. I don’t imagine they will be interested in helping out the OP here.

I kind of agree with you, as harsh as it sounds.
if the OP is already trying to balance paying X amount versus a happy family pup, I’m guessing many people would think the same.

i say that with a heavy heart.
But we’re assuming OPs worst case scenario. It’s perfectly possible for a pup with their condition to go on and love a happy healthy life.
But if they’re stumbling at this first hurdle it makes you wonder how they’re going to react to the numerous hurdles you have to go through during a dogs life

A reputable breeder usually does not sell a puppy before 8 weeks. I suspect they knew about the heart issues and did not tell you.

goes without saying that if I had £5k obviously I would pay for the dog’s surgery. What would happen otherwise, you put the dog down then no doubt replace yhe dead puppy with a new one that no doubt costs thousands. Save the puppy you have. Talk to trading standards about the breeder

We have had 2 rescue puppies with heart murmurs. Both were operated on successfully. One lived til they were 14 and died of an unrelated issue, one is currently 6 and still living their best life.

Speak to the vet. If they think the operation will be successful, then I’d definitely go ahead as they’re part of the family.

I wouldn't get my family into debt over surgery for a pet. It's not that long ago that this sort of surgery would have been unimaginable for a regular family pet.

And as far as the animal is concerned, being put to sleep for the surgery is no different from being put to sleep permanently. Well, I suppose the main difference is that they don't wake up confused, scared and in pain.

A quick Google tells me 8 weeks is the legal minimum and closer to 12 is more ethical. Why buy at 7 weeks?

We had similar with a rescue cat. £7,000 all in. We had insurance. If we didn't, I think we would have had her pts to be honest. We thought she'd done it again a few years later and on the way to the emergency vets, we agreed we couldnt pay another £7,000 (not covered by insurance now) and she would need to be pts. We love her very much and it was a hard discussion.

Our cat couldnt walk properly and was in pain. I dont know about heart murmurs. Does it have significant impact on your dog?

Yes, I would pay for the surgery. You took on an animal. It’s not a disposable toy.

What is the alternatives if surgery is recommended and you don't do it?

Leave the murmur and hope puppy doesn't suffer ?

Return the pup to the breeder?

Have the pup put to sleep?

You need to think Through all of the options and do what is best for the puppy. If that is spending 5k then that is spending 5k.

It seems that so far the puppy's needs have been put last by the breeder since they rehomed it so young so I'm not sure I would want to re-home to breeder.

At the end of the day, pup is your responsibility that you and your family signed up for when you bought him so you need to decide, with your vet what is the best next step for the dog.

No. It is extortion.

Where has the op gone?