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?

My hunch is that the OP hasn’t even sought a proper first opinion yet. I’m guessing the vet detected the murmur at the vaccination appointment and made a reasonable guess as to the cause based on the breed / history, recommended further investigation and gave a rough indication of costs for the treatment if the guess turned out to be correct. That would explain why the OP’s posts have been so vague.

What is the surgery supposed to do?
What are the risks?
What are the known complications?
What is the life span of this breed?
What is the lifespan after surgery?

Have you got a second opinion?

sounds like you've been scammed.

Puppy shouldn't be handed over until at least 8 weeks minimum, the best breeders it's 10-12 weeks., you shouldn't have accepted a 7wk old.
They should have their first round of vaccs on board and an initial health check.

I wouldn't be paying for it, i'd be taking the dog back to the breeder and asking for my money back.

That heart murmur, surgery or not, is going to make that dog impossible to insure, and shorten it's life massively. (trust me on this, i have always had Cavaliers and have a LOT of experience with heart murmurs)

Take it back

Hang on, what? If you were a millionaire you wouldn’t spend money on your pet’s healthcare? Hope you are not a pet owner with that attitude!

Good thing it’s not up to you what people spend their money on then

Mine too. Seven weeks is positively barbaric.

Sadly I wouldn’t be able to pay 5k for puppy surgery, so no. 😢

Will the breeder not take him back?

Ultimately you have to pay it. You bought a dog, and you now have this responsibility to keep him healthy and get the medical care he needs.

We were in a similar situation, but our dog was a few years older, needed major ear surgery, and insurance wouldnt cover it for a ridiculous reason - cost £4k for one ear, but was probably closer to £6k with all the meds and vets trips. It felt really crazy to spend that amount of money on a dog, but he was our responsibility and it was our duty to make him better. Its what dog ownership entails.

We made a difficult decision to rehome him, to a much wealthier retired couple, as insurance became unaffordable for us, and in the long run we wouldnt have been able to afford his ongoing ££££ care costs.

I dont think its a fair use of money you are responsible for to pick some animals to save at human levels of cost while slaughtering so many others in difficult conditions. So much human need and misery is allowed to continue because we are prone to anthropomorphism. Of course some care is appropriate. I realise I may get criticism for this view.

You were a naive fool to purchase a 7 week old, unvaccinated puppy from an unreputable breeder and are now paying the price.

I would suggest you be guided by your vet, report the breeder and never buy another puppy without doing your homework first.

If they don’t come with:
viewing with mum
a full clear health check
first vaccines
4 weeks pet insurance
bag of food
blanket from mum
then I suggest you look elsewhere.

@Kijaji ,

a dog is for life not Christmas.

I had some kittens for sale and I was pestered by one potential buyer to hand over the kitten at just 6 weeks old.
I told her to do one.

A number of potential purchasers wanted to collect a kitten on Christmas Eve.
Told them to do one.

I absolutely would.

And for the record, OP, if you had used a good breeder you would never have been put in this situation. This is what happens when you use scummy breeders.

I don't say this lightly, but the fact that you have to ask if you should pay and the fact you happily took a puppy at 7 weeks, tells me enough about you that I feel entitled to say: don't get another dog. People like you are the reason that puppy farms are so rife. I hope you're ashamed of yourself for supporting animal abuse.

Heart murmurs in cavvies are almost always due to mitral valve prolapse. The murmur tends to develop later in life.

If OP’s puppy has something like a Patent Ductus Arteriosis (which would fit with the age of the puppy and the estimated cost of the treatment) then repair has an excellent prognosis, curative, and can lead to a normal life expectancy without any need for further intervention.

You are probably right! It is a shame that we don’t have more information. The OP is very lucky to have a Vet responding on their post.

Hopefully they come back with more information.

@Kijaji Please don't panic...

The best thing to do is very much, wait and see, puppies grow fast, stuff changes and heart sounds are not THE most precise way to diagnose something.

Speak to the breeder, they really should contribute towards some of the costs at least of investigation.

I've had several puppies dx with a heart murmur when little, that they then grew out of entirely.

Equally, I had a puppy who passed every check with flying colours, zero signs of even a tiny murmur, no indication at all... who dropped dead from a massive cardiac event at just under 2 years old. Fit as a flea, let out a squeak and dropped, on an on-lead walk one day. Necropsy showed something had ruptured filling her cardiac sac with blood, stopping her heart near instantly.

I'd get a second opinion first and then get the op if needed.

If you take a dog into your home, you have a duty to care for that animal and give it the best life possible.

Had you done any research you'd know its illegal for puppies to leave before 8 weeks. Your "breeder" was waving red flags from the beginning so hardly surprising that they've not sent the puppy with insurance or basic vet checks.

So because some animals suffer and die, they all should?

I wasn’t sure what you were going to say, but I didn’t think it would be that bonkers!

Is it an ideology you apply to humans too out of interest?

Yes i would pay without a second thought.
Because when I make the decision to take on a life that will rely on me until its death, i make the decision to be responsible for it.

If returned the breeder would likely kill him.

We've had a couple (many years ago) where the murmur was a grade 2 as a puppy. One was a grade 3, and she died aged 7.

The last one had a grade 1 aged 11, so was doing amazingly.. unfortunately idiopathic epilepsy and a case of status epilepticus took him out, but his heart was going great guns.

@Hameth Attachment to a pet isn’t the same thing as anthropomorphism. Most owners understand their animals aren’t human, they just value them.