Quote Originally Posted by bluegothic13
To operate or not to operate, that is the question.

My 9 month old female 75 lb. Lab has a congenital malformed disk in her neck that recently poped, pinched her spinal cord, and paralized her during a walk on Thanksgiving day.
First thought: I like one of the other suggestions here - get a second opinion. Never hurts!

Operation: $3000 (on top of $3200 spent so far), convelessance: 3-4 weeks in skull cast, recovery time: 4 months with no play with other dogs, lifetime: no rough play with other similar big dogs, as the fusion could break.

Should we say goodbye now and put her to sleep or put her through the operation, recovery, and cautious lifetime?
Lots of "it depends." Can you afford it? What is your home like? Is it an environment where she is able to easily avoid rough play with other dogs, or do you have a pack of big dogs? If you are in a one dog home and she will be indoors or fenced much of her life, then I'd go for it if you can afford the treatment. If you can't afford it, search for charity to help pay for the operation and ask your vet about payment plans.

These are very tough questions when you get to the point where you realize as much as you love your pet, money does matter after all.

I almost got to that with my Pom, although under different circumstances. He was 13 years old and had cancer and I was making decisions that would cost thousands of dollars, and might only give us a couple of months. Those are hard decisions.

We spent quite a bit at the end, but we were spared from the ridiculous $ options by the aggressiveness of the tumor which made it pointless to try radiation and chemo.

We love her very much but are torn as what to do. Any opinions??
I'll say this, I am an animal lover and I understand where those people are coming from that say, "I'll spend whatever it takes to save my buddy..." but I also think you should be told that it is reasonable and fair to reach a point where you cannot go on with treatment.

If you dump a dog at the first sign of trouble, then I don't have much use for you as a person. But in your case, you've clearly made financial and personal sacrifices and if you cannot make any more, you should rest easy with a clear conscience.

I hope you are able to save your lab, but my thoughts and best wishes go out to you either way you decide.

Sincerely,