An old friend of my mums has a lab cross who is currently 13 years old.He has lost a dramatic amount of weight recently and is now almost skeletal.He needs,in my opinion, to be seen by a vet but she is afraid of taking him.She lost her last dog to cancer and I think she thinks that is whats wrong with this one,so is afraid to face up to it.She says that rather than put him through the trauma of going to the vets and being prodded and poked,she would much rather he stayed at home with her until his time comes.
I can see her logic in this but I am convinced the only thing wrong with him is possibly diabetes.He drinks a lot,wees a lot and has lost so much weight.I have tried to tell her this but her excuse now is that the vets would think she neglected him and starved him.I know this is definately not the case as the dog is spoiled rotten and gets allsorts of good foods.He is still eating well and apart from a duff hip and the weightloss seems all there.How can I convince her that the dog needs to see a vet and that the vet will not accuse her of neglecting him.I think this is now worrying her more than him being prodded and poked.I personally think if he was diabetic and recieved the right treatment that he could go on for another couple of years at least but I cannot convince her.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I will print off the page and take it for her to read herself.
Thanks in advance
Sarah

Is there a mobile Vet who could come to her house?  This might save anxiety to the dog if he is welcoming to new people in his house - who will still have to poke and prod him.  More expensive of course, to have them come to you.  My neighbour is a Vet in a mobile practice, I think they even have an Xray machine in their huge van.  But some things still have to be referred to the base clinic, requiring the dreaded visit to the Vet.

I think it is the owner who is anxious about going to the vets, not the dog.

Waffy, I don't honestly see what more you can do to persuade this person to swallow their fears and Do The Right Thing.  It would clearly be in the dog's best interest to have a vet check.  The dog may well be suffering unnecessarily, which is cruel.

Oh, please try to make this lady understand that by prolonging this the dog is really suffering more than he would have by being seen. She may well feel guilty as to the state the dog is now in, but that should not stop her seeking treatment. There is obviously something wrong and the poor dog needs help.

I take it this dog is no longer taken out or seen in public? If she leaves this dog without medical care, she does also face the risk of prosecution. I feel very sorry for the lady, but far more so for the dog.

Thanks for your replies,I will print them off to show her.She is an old lady (74) and to be honest I think she thinks that either he has some serious illness or will require a lot of vets fees.
As for the dog's suffering,well there doesn't seem to be any suffering.He is still as happy-go-lucky as ever.He has a massive garden which he gets all the exercise he needs in and she worms him regularly.He hasn't had a booster for a couple of years because walking him got too much for her so she didn't see the need.He has a bad hip due to being knocked down years ago but other than that,apart from the weight loss he seems fine.He is just a typical pensioner dog :) She really loves this dog and I think the replies about him needing to see the vet might just persuade her.I will contact my vet this afternoon and see if he could possibly do a home visit and then if he could see the dog in his home environment and I too can assure him that he is in no way neglected then she might feel better.
Thanks again,
Sarah

As he is well in himself, hopefully it will be something simple. :) Good luck, let us know what happens.

Well I showed her and I am taking him to the vets today at 2.00pm. :D I phoned my vet who said he would do a home visit but wasn't able to until Monday.When I explained to the lady she said that I could take him.Hooray!!!!
Thanks peeps :D

Oh, fantastic news! She is being very brave, and at least now the dog can be checked over. keeping my fingers crossed its nothing serious. :) keep us updated please.

Well I took him and the vet said he wasn't as thin as I had made out (probably because I haven't really seen many seriously underweight dogs) and he checked him over but couldn't find anything.He took some bloods and said he will ring me later today to let me know whats what.The dog was as good as gold despite being car sick,bless him.
I'll let you know what the vet has to say.
Sarah

Well, thats good news then! Lets just hope its just an age thing. if the result of the tests are negative, at least now the vet has recorded the weight of the dog, I would take him back in a month for another checkup, and see how the weight is. One little thing did come to mind, does the lady remember to feed him and water him every day? Not a nice thing to say, but if she is becoming elderly and forgetful things can happen....not to blame her you understand. Does the lady herself seem in good health?

Waffy, even if the tests come back fine, it was still the right thing to get this dog checked by a vet.

Perhaps a more easily digestible food could help prevent further weight loss?  The vet could advise on this simple measure.

That's really kind and thoughtful of you Sarah. It's people like you that make the world a nicer place. Well done to you for careing.

QUOTE CALMSTORM: Well, thats good news then! Lets just hope its just an age thing. if the result of the tests are negative, at least now the vet has recorded the weight of the dog, I would take him back in a month for another checkup, and see how the weight is. One little thing did come to mind, does the lady remember to feed him and water him every day? Not a nice thing to say, but if she is becoming elderly and forgetful things can happen....not to blame her you understand. Does the lady herself seem in good health?

The lady is fine,she feeds him well and there is always water available.I went and picked an elevator thingy up for her a while ago,so he didn't have to stoop to eat or drink.The vet said the bloods were inconclusive so we just have to take him back in a week.If he has lost anymore weight then Xrays are to follow.He does seem fine in himself though.

Thats good, at least you will soon know what the problem is. I didn't mean to sound nasty about the lady feeding him you know, my old grannie went a bit simple and would often think she'd fed the cats, but grandad knew she hadn't. A lady down the road from my mum always had lots of food in for her shetland ponies, but they were getting very thin. mum noticed (she was a village postie) and chatted to the lady, eventually managing to get access and 'helping' with the feed and water. the old lady, for whatever reason, had not been giving them enough food or water, so mum took the job over.
I'm not suggesting she was starving the dog, which is why I asked if the ladies health was ok. They can become so forgetful. :) Sounds as if the vet is good, and looking after the dog well. You sound a wonderful caring person, and I really hope things go well for the dog. :)

I know what you mean Calmstorm, a friend of mine rescued one of her dogs back from its owners a few years back, and the lady had become senile and starved her dogs through no fault of her own. :-( I hope the elderly Lab is on the mend soon. :-)

Oh Calmstorm, I never thought for a second you were being nasty :)
You were right to ask.You cannot be too careful with oldies lol :D
The results have turned up nothing and the vet reckons it is probably due to old age but would like to X-ray him.I am taking him back tomorrow for that.
Thanks again for your concerns.
Sarah

A vet told me a good thing re my cat and it might work with some dogs.

They lose their appetites, may only eat a few mouthfuls etc.
My vet told me to feed my old cat kitten food so even though he was only eating
a few mouthfuls it was high in calories. He did put a little weight on after we changed his food
to kitten food.

I know that the risk of getting the runs could be high - but it might be worth thinking about?
Perhaps ask the vet if it would cause any problems to feed the dog puppy food?