would you go into credit card debt for this?

[yukookoo]

I have a balance disorder. It's not treatable, mine is pretty severe, and it is debilitating at times. I recently found out that a service dog could make my life much easier - help me balance while walking down or up stairs, uneven ground, help me be less exhausted from having to look down at my feet all the time while walking and help me pick things up - i drop things all the time and get dizzy bending over.


I have looked into organizations - I have a 2 chihuahuas (not good balance dog candidates and agencies will not place with other dogs in the home, the few i have found that will place with other dogs, require me to do a 2 -3 week intensive workshop (hours away from still nursing dd that has never been without me before) and travel far, time off for dh to watch her etc.


There are private breeders that train dogs. Typically they cost about 10,000$. I have also looked into training myself (no experience) with the help of a dog trainer, but this would cost pretty close to the cost of a trained dog. With dd and the 2 chihuahuas (who are 7) i couldnt take in a large puppy.

I am trying to do some fundraising, but its not going extremely well, in this economy. Just started though so i am somewhat hopeful that we can raise the money or some of it at least.

We cant afford it. We are already in debt (cars, home, student loans) no cc debt though. I have a card i can put the money on.....

Should I use the cc atleast for a down payment on the dog and hope i can raise the money by the time he is trained (dec) down payment is 50%?

It would really make a difference in my life and my families.... It is not life or death, it is a convenience (thats what my insurance co called it)

and i guess the bottom line is if i dont ahve the money i shouldnt get the dog.....

BUT.....

Any ideas to raise money? We are thinking of doing an auction with donated items... online

[LeighB]

Hmmm that's a tough situation to be in. To answer the first question, no I probably would not go into credit card debt. But then, i've never experienced what it would be like to have such a disorder. I'm just basing it off of the fact debt scares the heck out of me.
As far as raising money goes... Are there any charities or insurance plans that could help with that kind of thing? Can you get any kind of pt job? Even something like writing for Associated Content? My good friend has a disorder that sounds similar to yours and she proof reads court documents from home.
Good luck!!

[bobandjess99]

I'm sure I'm going to get called all kinds of heartless, but here goes....am i to understand that if you did not have your 2 dogs, then you could get a dog from an agency for free without having to go to a workshop? if that is the case, I'd re-home your dogs and get a free working dog.
second choice would be to probably do one of the workshops.....even 2-3 weeks of hotels and a full-time babysitter for those weeks would come to WAY LESS than $10K, right?? So that option is viable at much lower cost. If you truly can't be away from dd even for the day quite yet, this option could still be utilized in a few months, right?

[Carley]

I don't know if you've already tried these, but:

http://www.assistancedogunitedcampaign.org/
http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/
http://www.assistancedog.org/our_dog...rvice_dog.html


10k sounds like a lot. I wonder how many disabled people pay 10k for their assistance dog...



/edit - I didn't see your comment about your chihuahuas. If it came down to a not for profit assistant dog or my chihuauas + 10k in debt I'd give those puppies up to a friend, family member or new home in two shakes of a chihuaua tail.

Clearly you don't want to do that. You need an assistant dog, but because of your chihauas you have to buy one. Put it on your credit card, then.

Or call Suze Orman... see what she has to say

[Carley]

Originally Posted by bobandjess99

I'm sure I'm going to get called all kinds of heartless, but here goes....am i to understand that if you did not have your 2 dogs, then you could get a dog from an agency for free without having to go to a workshop? if that is the case, I'd re-home your dogs and get a free working dog.
second choice would be to probably do one of the workshops.....even 2-3 weeks of hotels and a full-time babysitter for those weeks would come to WAY LESS than $10K, right?? So that option is viable at much lower cost. If you truly can't be away from dd even for the day quite yet, this option could still be utilized in a few months, right?

:

[yukookoo]

well no the agencies are not free. Many want 5000 - 7000. The fully trained agency dogs cost about 20,000. Agencies expect you to fundraise for that money, donate what you can and have LONG like 5 year wait lists. I need a balance dog which only a few agencies do state wide. (this is all small print stuff, they will advertise no cost, but the small print will say donation of such and such amount)

People with disabilities typically dont apy 10,000 for a dog. They fundraise. My disability is invisible to others and there is no awareness of it in general so people aren't very empathetic. I dont LOOk disabled at all.

rehoming my dogs is not an option for us, they are family members.

[Ola_]

First of all, I'm a dog person so there is no way I would rehome your pets so you could get a dog for free. I can't even believe people are suggesting that. I'm assuming your current dogs are not dog aggressive, because in that case the whole situation would be unworkable.

Honestly, I would expect to do something like the intensive training course no matter where you get your dog from. If that is not part of the deal, I would worry. Training a dog, as you probably know, is not like programming a computer - you put the commands in and once they work anyone can use it. There are a lot of fine details that you and the dog will need to learn about each other, especially with the advanced skills that you need from a service dog. And there is a huge relationship and trust that needs to be built. If someone is telling you they will train a dog and you can just pick it up, frankly I would be very suspicious and worry that it's not the best value for your money.

IMHO

[carlychan]

I love my dog, but...

I would totally rehome the 2 you have. You will love the service dog a lot, also. I guess YOU have to make the decision...is it going to help you enough to give up your dogs? Which is more important to YOU? I would find a loving home for my dogs. They adjust easily. Good luck!

[Ironica]

Most disabilities have negative impacts on finances. I would think that there are extra expenses or reductions in income due to your disability as well. To what extent might having a service dog mitigate those expenses?

[PlayaMama]

Originally Posted by Ola_

First of all, I'm a dog person so there is no way I would rehome your pets so you could get a dog for free. I can't even believe people are suggesting that. I'm assuming your current dogs are not dog aggressive, because in that case the whole situation would be unworkable.

Honestly, I would expect to do something like the intensive training course no matter where you get your dog from. If that is not part of the deal, I would worry.

If someone is telling you they will train a dog and you can just pick it up, frankly I would be very suspicious and worry that it's not the best value for your money.

i totally agree. especially with the bolded part.

Originally Posted by carlychan

I would totally rehome the 2 you have. ... They adjust easily.

um, i really hope you never get a dog. people that think it's really easy to find older dogs new homes and that the dogs do great have obviously never been involved with any sort of rescue or shelter work.

i think that $10,000 is totally worth the companionship of a dog. when my older dog got cancer i was going to fly her and i across the country three times to try a new experimental vaccine. it would have easily cost me $10- $15,000 that i didn't have. luckily her tumor removal went really well and i didn't need to do that but paying $10,000 to be able to keep your dogs would be well worth it in my opinion.

of course, this is posted in frugality rather than pets so i'm betting you are going to get more responses like that rather than like mine and ola_'s, i'd pretty much go for the agency that wants you to do the workshop and perhaps postpone this until you have saved up a larger chunk of change and don't have to put so much on the credit card.

[yukookoo]

i completely agree with the training workshop comment that is a good point. I didnt write that i expect to continue work with a trainer privately. Here in the area and in my home (with dd in an ergo most likely if I can handle it, or a stroller). I didn't ad this cost into the 10,000 cause it is a monthly cost like dog food, vet bills etc.

[Stone Fence]

Speaking of Suze

What about contacting Oprah? She's a dog person. I think she'd get it. I'd hate to rehome also.

Check out this blog This woman trained her own service dog.http://wendyusuallywanders.wordpress.com/

She has balance issues too.

I can't imaging the difficulties you face. I think in your place I would "need" the dog, but debt scares the bejeezus out of me.

[A&A]

I'm just looking into Rolfing (also called structural integration.)

From what I've read, though, better balance is one of the benefits. You may want to look into it.

[laohaire]

Damn straight I would go into debt for a quality of life issue like that.

It's a real shame that you have to. A crime, really. But on your deathbed are you going to be thinking "Gosh, I am glad I didn't go into what was in those days considered a relatively small amount of debt even though it affected what I could do and was a struggle every day for me"?

You can pay off debt. I think the struggle to pay off the debt will be more minor than living with a disability that could be relieved somewhat.

And I do belong in this forum; frugality is very important to me and I sigh when I see folks going into debt for silly things. This isn't silly at all, and it's one of those cases where "it's only money" vs "this is your LIFE."

[just_lily]

If you get one of the organization's dogs, do you have to agree to never have other dogs, or just when the assistance dog is first placed? Do they follow up on this, or do they just ask the question.

I wouldn't consider rehoming, but I may be willing to fudge the truth a little bit. Do you have a friend that you could leave your other dogs with during any home visits, and then maybe again while the assistance dog gets settled?

Without knowing all of the details of your disability, I would be willing to go into debt for something that is really going to improve the quality of my life. I have extremely poor vision and a strong family history of glaucoma, so if there comes a point that I need an assistance dog I would do whatever it takes to get it. Money is tight here right now as well, and I told DF that if something were to happen to my glasses we would have to beg, borrow, or steal the funds to replace them. I simply would not be able to function.

But, that being said.... do you have access to some cheaper debt rather than credit cards? Do you have an asset you can refinance (like a car) or are you eligible for a line of credit against your home. Unless you have a very low rate CC I would exhaust other options for cheaper debt first.

Good luck!

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by just_lily

But, that being said.... do you have access to some cheaper debt rather than credit cards? Do you have an asset you can refinance (like a car) or are you eligible for a line of credit against your home. Unless you have a very low rate CC I would exhaust other options for cheaper debt first.

Yeah, that's true. My response just focused on the question asked - if I'd go into debt. But though my answer is Yes, that doesn't preclude the possibility of better ways to do that than CC debt. But I'd even do CC debt if there were truly no other options.

[Carley]

Originally Posted by PlayaMama

um, i really hope you never get a dog. people that think it's really easy to find older dogs new homes and that the dogs do great have obviously never been involved with any sort of rescue or shelter work.

Actually I do have a dog. I adopted my doberman from the county shelter as a senior (she was also labeled "Aggressive") & am also a foster home for Seattle Purebred Rescue. It is possible to dogs new wonderful homes, even untrained, crazy, old, sick and dying animals. It might take a while, but that's where foster homes come in. Many rescues would totally rehome those dogs considering her cirumstances.

I would definitely rehome any animals I had if they comprimised my ability to function. Dogs are not people. Dogs are animals. Think what you want. Hopefully you and I are never in that situation.

[Carley]

I wanted to add that every so often we get dogs from homes with owners who have become disabled, diagnosed with a degenerative illness or the dog has aged/gone crazy & no longer accepts a child. It's totally common.

It is NOT cruel, wrong or irresponsible to rehome a dog under any circumstances, especially when it's neccessary.

Not that it matters, the OP has already made her decision.

I'm going to second/third/fourth being weary of trainers who promise fully trained dogs. I'm friends with one of the best trainers in our area who runs one of the best kennels & training facilities in the area.

They have a board in train, however she is adament that the owners understand "I can train your dog to react perfectly for ME. YOU have to do the work when they get home to make them react for you." Board & train without owner follow up/passivity = waste of 20k, apparently.

Here in Seattle we have programs for families who want to train assistance dogs. The future owners go through training prior to receiving the dog and also once the dog is transferred to their care.

There's no way around it... even if you buy a "trained" dog.

[RoadWorkAhead]

In a word, no. I have 1 child with medical special needs, and likely her brother will soon have the same issues. We refuse to go into debt..>We make do with lesser fixes until we can afford the bigger fixes. We need a high quality double stroller but will be buying an inexpensive used one for now. We need a cooling vest for both but will be using misting fans for the time being. I'm not okay with going into large amounts of debt that I have no forseeable way to pay off quickly.

[SunshineJ]

I don't think the question is if the dog is worth it - it seems pretty obvious that it is. From what I'm reading, rehoming the current dogs would only drop the bill by about $3k, so what's the point at that amount? You said your insurance company considers it a "convenience". I would totally start there. Appeal the decision, get all the documentation and statements you can, have your dr's go to bat for you on this!! If you can get the insurance company to kick in even half of it, then I'd absolutely find a way to do it - even on a cc. As for fundraising, try contacting some of the local tv and radio stations to see if they even have any suggestions or can help.