My dog's not improving on antibiotics. How can I afford vet care?

There is not enough information here for me to properly help you. If a vet, in person, has not been able to help you I don't think us, over the internet without examining the dog or knowing the history, will be able to help you. My recommendation would be to get a second opinion from another vet if your current vet is unable to help you. If he is unresponsive to antibiotic therapy the type of antibiotic may need to be changed or he may need to be on a couple antibiotics at the same time. Not to scare you but cancer is VERY common in Boxers and being that he is older and he is not responding to therapy I would have this a differential diagnosis. I don't know what diagnostic testing has been done (if any) but that is often important. If you don't allow any testing to be done the vet is only doing his/her best to guess what might help. Some things cannot be fixed without testing. Regardless of all that, it sounds like his condition is very serious and that he may be suffering. If nothing can be figured out then you may need to consider humane euthanasia if his quality of life is not good. Of course, you know him best and I am just speculating but you should have that in the back of your mind if treatment is failing to cure him. I am sorry you are going through this. I hope this was helpful. If you have more questions please feel free to ask again. Best wishes.

I am sorry to hear about Coco. Unfortunately this area does look infected and she needs antibiotics to treat the infection. She also may need her rabies vaccine boostered if she hasn't had one recently. In some areas there are humane society/ animal protective league/ aspca locations that offer veterinary care at reduced prices, so you can look to see if anything like that is available in your area. If they are not, you can call different vet clinics to see if any allow payment plans or you can apply for Care Credit which is a credit card for medical bills. You can read about more ideas for this problem at: http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html I would apply a warm compress for 10 minutes to encourage drainage of the wound, clean the area with a mild soap, and apply an antibiotic ointment such as neosporin until she can be seen, but she does need to be seen to get systemic antibiotics.

It sounds like Achilles may be suffering an allergic reaction if he's come home in bumps, and I would recommend seeing a vet for that. Allergic reactions can potentially progress to breathing difficulties, and it's important to have them treated to prevent that from happening. He may benefit from an antihistamine or steroids to treat the reaction. If paying for a vet is an issue, you can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com

Poor Buster! I'm sorry to hear that he's having so many problems. At this point, since he is on his third round of antibiotics without improvement, it sounds like he definitely needs some additional testing to help diagnose the problem. I would recommend a bacterial culture and sensitivity of the pus or discharge, as well as a punch biopsy of the skin to check for autoimmune diseases like lupus or pemphigus foliaceus. Depending on what else has been tried, other options might include a trial course of steroids or other immunosuppressive medication like Atopica or Apoquel, or a diet trial with a prescription hypoallergenic food. You can request referral to a veterinary dermatologist or get a second opinion from another vet locally if you feel that this is needed.

It is difficult for me to give you much advice without having more information but I will try my best. His skin may be getting worse due to an idiosyncratic drug reaction. The antibiotics may not be agreeing with him. A change to a different class of antibiotic may be all that is needed. The antibiotic he was prescribed may not be the correct one for this particular bacterial infection (if it is a bacterial infection). A culture and sensitivity of the crusty lesions on the head may need to be done in order to find out what bacteria are there and what antibiotic will be most effective. This may be a fungal skin infection (or yeast) and not a bacterial infection) hence why the antibiotic is not working. Antibiotics do not treat fungus or yeast. In young dogs I would be worried that this is a secondary infection of the skin from mange mites. It can be seen in older dogs as well but it is much more common in youngsters. So, I would have your vet do a skin scraping to check for mites. This could be an autoimmune disorder (like pemphigus). A biopsy of the affected area would be needed for diagnosis. That is all I can come up with right off the top of my head. I hope this helps to give you some things to bring up with your vet. Best wishes!

Unfortunately no, Horu does have to see a vet for his ears to be examined considering they haven't healed. I would give you some resources that may help you afford another vet visit. You can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com/when-pet-owners-cant-afford-veterinary-bills/ I hope this helps you afford a vet!

Unfortunately for bad ear infections that often involve bacteria and sometimes yeast, you will need a topical ear medication that contains an antibiotic. Antibiotics require a prescription. This is because antibiotics (whether oral or topical) have to be used judiciously to avoid creating resistant bacteria. You can try researching low cost clinics in your area through this website: www.mypet.com/vet-finder.aspx Or you can try applying for financial assistance through carecredit.com or redrover.org. Best of luck. Ear infections can get worse fairly quickly and are relatively easy to treat with proper medications, so hopefully you can get your dog to the vet soon.