Basset Hounds for You

All names have been changed for privacy reasons.

Hi Reddit,

My wife and I have been married since 2017. Like any newly married couple, we were full of hope and plans for our future. Shortly after, we adopted two sweet basset hounds, siblings we named Duke and Queen, and started building a life together.

Within months though, things began to unravel.

My wife lost her government job due to budget cuts. I was laid off soon after that. We moved in with my in-laws while I took an entry-level job and she pieced together part-time work. Then came the first of many emergencies: Queen swallowed rocks on 3 separate occasions. Two surgeries and a hospitalization later, we were deep in debt. We didn’t know about pet insurance then, so we paid it all out of pocket.

Despite the debt, we were hopeful that the chaos was over and that we’d recover.

But then family issues forced us to move out suddenly for our safety, and we lived in a motel while working full-time and trying to find housing. This resulted in more debt and more stress. My mental health started to hit a breaking point. I had a very real, very close call with suicide, but fortunately therapy and medication saved my life.

Eventually, things seemed like they were looking up. My wife entered a new field that she loves, and I found a higher paying job. But the medical issues with our pets never stopped. Queen developed glaucoma, leading to years of eye drops, and eventually lost both eyes to blindness and pressure buildup. Duke started having dental issues, then back problems from a rare spine condition, and now recurring cysts and lipomas that rupture and require surgical removal. His last surgery in June removed six of them.

We’ve also faced car repairs we couldn’t afford (I went 3 years in Arizona with no A/C). We rescued two cats before Queen’s eye problems began, and they’ve thankfully been healthy, but caring for two aging dogs with chronic conditions has drained us completely. Every time we start to get a little ahead, something else hits.

This summer has broken us.

• Three pet check-ups with follow-ups

• Duke’s surgery to remove six cysts/lipomas

• Car A/C repairs—$1400 each

• Queen is now developing lumps that will be biopsied and may need surgery

• My wife did not receive a paycheck for 2 months due to an HR error

We’ve maxed out a card with vet expenses, have another building up from living costs while my wife hasn’t been paid, and a third tied to when she had to get medically necessary braces. We don’t spend outside of the necessities since we’re just trying to keep our pets healthy, our bills paid, and our heads above water.

I am hesitant to ask for help as I know times are hard for so many. We’ve been fighting to get through this for 8½ years and we’re so tired of never making progress and continually being pushed into deeper holes financially. If you can contribute, share, or even send us encouragement, we’d be incredibly grateful. Any help will go toward reducing the debt that’s snowballed from our constant emergency vet care so we can finally start preparing for future pet needs instead of falling apart during each crisis.

Thank you for reading and for seeing us.

TL; DR:

• Queen (dog): 2 surgeries for rock ingestion, 1 hospitalization for rock to pass, glaucoma in both eyes (2+ years of treatment), both eyes removed, now developing cysts/lipomas

• Duke (dog): Extensive dental work, spine issues managed with meds (may need $6–10k surgery in the future), multiple surgeries for bursting/rupturing cysts/lipomas (6 removed in June)

• Us: Multiple job losses, in-law conflicts, depression, years of financial stress, wife unpaid for 2 months due to employer error, ongoing car repairs

• This summer alone: 3 vet checkups + follow-ups, major dog surgery, car A/C failures, wife unpaid, Queen may need more surgery