How much did it cost to treat your dog for canine influenza or shelter cough when you adopted?

August 28, 2009 7:49 AM

How much did it cost to treat your dog for canine influenza or shelter cough when you adopted?

We are currently looking to adopt a dog, and one with either canine influenza or shelter cough (the vet will have the answer by Thursday next week) has fallen into our laps. Essentially, it needs a foster home immediately so as not to infect other dogs, and we would intend to adopt the dog after fostering it when it was better. I'm just wondering what the treatment entailed and how much it cost for you, since Googling has had answers ranging from warm baths and baby aspirin to antibiotics, and seems to be of little help.

posted by itsonreserve to pets & animals (9 comments total)

My vet bills for when my dog got kennel cough this last summer were about $60. The gave her antibiotics and cough supressant. My other dog caught it and got over it on her own after about 5 days.
posted by nickerbocker at 8:10 AM on August 28

Our dog had kennel cough when we adopted her from a shelter, and they sent her home with antibiotics. There was no additional cost, as when we took her to our vet a week later for a check-up and shots, she had recovered. (Our dog is a lab/collie mix.) I also had a friend who adopted a beagle who developed a more severe case of kennel cough and had to be hospitalized to be hydrated, etc. In that case, the place she had been adopted from helped with a lot of the cost. I wouldn't let it deter you, though, as I was really wary of adopting a dog with kennel cough after my friend's experience, and it turned out to not be a very big deal at all. Medication was mixed with her food, and she just slept quite a bit her first week with us.
posted by questionsandanchors at 8:22 AM on August 28

About $80-90 for exam and medications. I'll also add in the cost of the vaccine, which was properly administered, but our dog had a resistant strain that had developed late season...go flu!
posted by mrmojoflying at 8:42 AM on August 28

We've adopted two dogs with kennel cough - it's a common problem in crowded shelters. Like others said, treatment was the cost of a vet visit, plus about a weeks worth of antibiotics that were $30 or less. We also gave one dog over the counter Robitussin according to the vet's instructions as a cough suppressant.

Oh yeah, and our dog came down with it after she had been vaccinated too. Like people vaccines, they don't cover all strains.
posted by geeky at 11:50 AM on August 28

Just another anecdotal data point here, but my dog had a mild case of kennel cough when I adopted him, and it was gone within a week with no special treatment. From conversations I've had with other dog owners, just getting them out of the shelter environment often does the trick.
posted by trip and a half at 12:17 PM on August 28

Oh I meant to elaborate a bit more: I did mention the cough to the vet on our initial visit, and he just advised me to "keep an eye on it". I did, and the problem solved itself.
posted by trip and a half at 12:20 PM on August 28

My dog had kennel cough (and giardia) when I adopted him, and the rescue actually paid for his treatment and meds. I also did a foster-to-adopt, and while I was fostering, the rescue took care of his vet bills. You might talk to the rescue/shelter about this.
posted by mingodingo at 1:55 PM on August 28

I adopted my little puppy girl when she was 8 weeks old and she was just starting with her case of kennel cough. She apparently had the more severe strain of it, because it took her 3 weeks to get over it. She went through several courses of anti-biotic and we had to keep a vigilant eye. All told, it cost us about $300 including food, meds, and other supplies.

In my case (City of Los Angeles), the shelter specifically makes you sign a waiver for this kind of thing. They will let you know if the pet you're adopting is ill in any way, but it becomes your responsibility to pay for any further medical care. Ditto if your pet ends up sick within 10 days of adoption.

Also, make sure you go to a vet that actually knows what they're doing with this. The initial treating vet on her case was just horrid and managed to drag her illness out for longer than it should have been due to pure incompetance.
posted by arishaun at 3:06 PM on August 28

Can the shelter or rescue group at least give you a tax receipt for an in-kind donation based on your expenses? A penny saved and all...

You may be able to save money with online antibiotics. Some dog people get cheaper large vats of drugs at feed stores and then give dog-size portions, but I've never trusted my math skills enough to do this.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 6:45 PM on August 28