Vets, pets and death on the road

[justRich]

I'm afraid my four month forthcoming trip to Canada might be Bully's last road trip. 
He's 19-years-old (cat) and has kidney prescription cat food and needs a prescription Silencia injection every month for arthritis.
He's been a camper cat since kitten age.
In human years, he's somewhere in his 90's.

I'm seeking advice and experiences from those who have had pets needing routine, emergency care or have experienced their pets passing.
Most specifically, what does one do with the body if the pet dies or has to be put down?

In younger days:

 

 

[Kstar]

Sorry to hear that your traveling kitty's adventures are coming to an end.  We traveled fulltime with our Cobweb (Cobbie) until his end at age 14.  We were always able to find a vet to work with us.  The vet we found in NH that prescribed special thyroid meds was  able to send it to us wherever we were.  Canada might be more challenging.  Can you get the injections and give them yourself?  We had to make the hard decision to let Cobbie go.  We had him cremated and his ashes still are travelling with us.  Enjoy the time with your fur buddy.

[Kirk W]

That can happen even if the pet is not elderly. The mini Schnauzer that we took on the road with us developed pancreatitis after only 2 years on the road and at the age of 9. Saying goodbye to her was one of the most difficult things that we experienced while on the road. 

[rollinbrian]

Our Shi Tzu is turning 17 this summer and he's still trucking along.  He even ran away from home yesterday and the neighbors brought him back.

I don't know what we're going to do if he passes while we're on the road.

Edited April 28 by rollinbrian

[trailertraveler]

Traveling 6 months a year since 2004 with as many as 3 dogs and a cat, we have needed emergency veterinary services on a number of occasions. We have had one dog pass away while on the road. That was in Memphis while visiting Graceland. We found a local pet crematorium online. We delayed our trip one day to pickup the ashes rather than have them shipped. We have gotten good recommendations for veterinary services from campground managers and locals. In Emporia, KS we used a vet recommended by a waitress at a local restaurant whose family owned a farm near town. In Saint Augustine, FL we found a 24 hr. emergency vet clinic online. In Kingsland, GA we used a local vet with a mobile clinic that visited the campground we were staying at two days a week and had an office in town. When our current puppy swallowed a stone last fall, we used a local vet recommended by the campground manager in Hermann, MO and the University of Missouri Veterinary School clinic to do the endoscope removal of the stone from his stomach. Sometimes it takes some searching and talking to a number of folks, but we have always been successful in finding a veterinarian.

[LiveWorkDream]

Aww I'm sorry about Bully's situation. Like the others, we have also had to say goodbye to pets on the road.

I work with the veterinary industry, and you really want to look for an AAHA-accredited vet clinic. These clinics are the only ones guaranteed to follow the highest standards of care available (unlike human hospitals, vet practices are not required to undergo any inspections from an accreditation organization. Only AAHA clinics voluntarily go through it to ensure that pets get the highest and safest levels of care). You really want to make sure everything goes right not just for vet care but especially for euthanasia. 

Also, unfortunately because Solensia is a biological medication, not a pharmaceutical, veterinarians can't give it out to clients to administer on their own due to the risk of injury if accidentally jabbed with the needle.

When it comes to cremation, choosing an AAHA clinic will also ensure that the crematorium is reputable and has good service for you. Usually there is at least a two day turnaround for cremains so plan on being in an area for at least that long.

Bully is a very lucky kitty to have you looking out for him. I hope you have good, happy travels together on this next journey.

 

[justRich]

On 4/28/2024 at 5:53 PM, LiveWorkDream said:

I work with the veterinary industry, and you really want to look for an AAHA-accredited vet clinic.  

Also, unfortunately because Solensia is a biological medication, not a pharmaceutical, veterinarians can't give it out to clients to administer on their own due to the risk of injury if accidentally jabbed with the needle.

 

This is really good information.  
As for Solensia, I explained my travel situation to the vet.  If a "foreign" veterinary clinic doesn't have the medication, I was provided with one dose, sealed and refrigerated.  I will have a vet somewhere on the road to do the injection.

When responsible adults reach an understanding for the common good, it is sometimes okay to bend the rules.
And my veterinary clinic is an AAHA accredited clinic.

[Kirk W]

If you are in the Dallas area and need emergency health care for a dog or cat, there is an exceptionally good and well equipped facility called MedVet.  They do not do routine care only emergencies and veterinarian referrals. The hospital is on a par with the best of the human hospitals and they have at least 1 veterinarian and 2 licensed vet techs on duty 24/7 with other veterinarian specialists on call as needed. As you may surmise, they are expensive but the care is pretty much the same as you would get at any major hospital. 

[MizzMarzBar]

We recently had to take Max to an emergency vet and tried Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG).  They greatly impressed me with everything, and that takes a lot.  Our family vet set the bar at pole vault height, and I will say that VEG met Dr Vince's standard.  They're nationwide and less money for better service than any other we've used.  Still looking for a regular vet that doesn't operate with the "I know all, do not question me", but at least I know where to go in an emergency.

[Kirk W]

22 minutes ago, MizzMarzBar said:

Veterinary Emergency Group

Link added. 

[justRich]

On 5/2/2024 at 8:31 AM, Kirk W said:

Link added. 

Thank you for that.

[trailertraveler]

On 5/2/2024 at 11:31 AM, Kirk W said:

Link added. 

I visited their website. Looks like they have locations in 15 states. None in the Plains and Mountain States. More in some than others. In previous threads on similar topics. Banfield Pet Hospitals has been mentioned. Some are co-located at Petsmart stores. They are one of three veterinary partners with services at Pet Smart Stores. I have never used any of them simply providing the links for others information in an emergency.

[justRich]

trailertravler:  Thank you for the Banfield Pet Hospitals reminder.  
Pet Smart Stores are good resource - I think that I've used them in the past for getting a pet Health Certificate before crossing the border into Mexico.

Thankyou everyone for helping me mentally prepare for a pet emergency.  I was kind of floundering when thinking about a "what if" situation.  Obviously, there are many pet resources if one knows where to look.  
I feel much more reassured that I can respond to such an event.

 

[Kirk W]

It might be a wise thing for any pet owner to spend some time researching the pet emergency services facilities, before the need arises. We didn't even think of that until our dog needed it and then it was truly emergency surgery. Our regular vet does a lot of surgeries but we were told he needed surgery immediately or be put-down. Under the circumstances we went to the facility that his vet recommended. We took him in on Friday afternoon and he saw a vet shortly after arrival and then had a consult by another. His surgery was at 7am on Saturday. We were not prepared for the price involved and I'm not sure what the decision would have been if we had an accurate estimate of cost. Our vet did warn us that the price would be at least $3500 and probably more, but it was a lot more. Once there and the prepay was $6000, we had to choose if our cash or our dog were more important. There was no time to do price comparisons when our dog in trouble. 

We should probably ask things like, is there a vet on duty 24/7? Is surgery performed at night or on weekends? What sort of pet recovery services after surgery or other emergency treatment? Is there a minimum cost? Do they accept pet health insurance (if you have that). What veterinary specialists are on staff? I'm sure that there are other questions to ask. 

Edited Monday at 02:06 PM by Kirk W
add a thought

[Danfreda1]

You should find out the hospitals and urgent care places every time you move locations in case of an emergency,why wouldn’t you do that with pets too? Probably all on the internet. 

[Ray,IN]

On 4/30/2024 at 9:07 AM, justRich said:

This is really good information.  
As for Solensia, I explained my travel situation to the vet.  If a "foreign" veterinary clinic doesn't have the medication, I was provided with one dose, sealed and refrigerated.  I will have a vet somewhere on the road to do the injection.

When responsible adults reach an understanding for the common good, it is sometimes okay to bend the rules.
And my veterinary clinic is an AAHA accredited clinic.

FWIW, in most US states it is legal for a lay person to give another person a shot of medication. I give my DW B12 shots every 2 weeks, our Dr and Express-scripts is fine with our arrangement. Injection syringes are sold over the counter at drug stores, but you  do have to sign their accountability book and show your driers license, which they record in the book.

Same should apply to pets IMO.

As to a deceased pet, I'd do the same as for me when I die, direct cremation.

Edited Tuesday at 02:31 AM by Ray,IN

[Kirk W]

14 hours ago, Danfreda1 said:

You should find out the hospitals and urgent care places every time you move locations in case of an emergency,why wouldn’t you do that with pets too?

Are telling us that you do that at every stop when traveling? We did always locate emergency medical care and hospitals when we stopped for an extended period, but only then. For pet care we have only needed a vet on 3 occasions that I can think of over more than 40 years of RV travels. On those occasions we got recommendations from local people and only 1 time was it an emergency visit. All 3 were while in an area for an extended period of more than a month. Over those same years, I had my wife to an emergency room twice for stitches and to a "doc in a box" clinic for illness twice. 

I think that I would agree that we should do those things but wonder how many of us do them? Should we do so at each 1 night stop, each 1 week stop, or for what period? I think that perhaps we were very lucky as we traveled with our children and didn't do that.

[Danfreda1]

10 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Are telling us that you do that at every stop when traveling? We did always locate emergency medical care and hospitals when we stopped for an extended period, but only then. For pet care we have only needed a vet on 3 occasions that I can think of over more than 40 years of RV travels. On those occasions we got recommendations from local people and only 1 time was it an emergency visit. All 3 were while in an area for an extended period of more than a month. Over those same years, I had my wife to an emergency room twice for stitches and to a "doc in a box" clinic for illness twice. 

I think that I would agree that we should do those things but wonder how many of us do them? Should we do so at each 1 night stop, each 1 week stop, or for what period? I think that perhaps we were very lucky as we traveled with our children and didn't do that.

We do it when we stop for more than a couple nights,and know the county you are in for weather warnings. Usually I find them just by looking at google maps to see what’s around us. When boondocking with no phone signal we try to find where the nearest one is before we get there. And try to be real careful we don’t get hurt that we need to go. Having to go for a health reason is anyone’s guess as when that will happen. Wife says no climbing ladders when boondocking.