Who will care for your dog when you go away?

[Amber]

I have a pug dog with spinal compression. She cannot urinate herself thus requires us to do this at least three times a day. She is also incontinent of faeces.
We have no problem caring for her needs at home, as she is part of our family but we are wanting to plan an overseas trip before our children grow up and cannot bear the thought of leaving her.
The biggest problem though is who would look after her? Would a catheter be the way to go? Do dog's have suprapubic catheters? Such a hard decision to make, and probably best just to stay home.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Bobbie]

There are some dog care kennels that will take a disabled dog. A better bet is to ask around at yours and other vets for a technician who does pet-sitting. You can train a pet-sitter to care for your dog even if she hasn't taken care of one before but the hardest part is expressing and a vet tech may already know how to do that.

[Amber]

There are some dog care kennels that will take a disabled dog. A better bet is to ask around at yours and other vets for a technician who does pet-sitting. You can train a pet-sitter to care for your dog even if she hasn't taken care of one before but the hardest part is expressing and a vet tech may already know how to do that.

Thanks for this great advice.

[Bobbie]

I forgot to add that my friend who did this had the tech come for a day when she was still there- just to make sure everything went well and the pet-sitter knew how to handle whatever happened.

[CarolC]

Another option is, see if you can board the dog at the hospital in your area that does spinal surgeries, as that is where all the vet techs have a lot of experience expressing. If the hospital also offers physical therapy, you might buy him a package of PT sessions so he is getting expressed and exercised and isn't bored...and you will not feel so guilty, knowing he's doing something interesting and good for him. The hospital here is a regional hospital and many people from outlying towns (even some distance away) bring their dogs. Some of the dogs do board because there is no way the owner could drive hours back and forth every day to get PT, they only visit on the weekend, for example.

[viktor]

If you do not have any person from your family, then it is possible to address the specialized centers where your dear pet will get the required help and care.