Dog advertised on Craigslist has cancer, heart defect.

Veterinarians are concerned that ongoing difficulties with the economy may mean pet owners will cut back on preventive care for their animals, according to an Aug. 15 article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. (click here to read it)

The article suggested that while most practices seem to be weathering the downturn, vet practices in areas where the housing crisis has hit hardest -- primarily Florida and California -- are seeing a decrease in revenues.

Which makes me wonder: Was the poor doxie that Mack, of Florida Dachshund Rescue, recently picked up a victim of rising home foreclosures and gas prices? Or of an uncaring owner?

Here's Mack's e-mail to me earlier this week about poor Mollie:

"I picked up another little sweetheart on Thursday of last week. The owner was listing her free to a good home on Craigslist. Dog has a cancerous tumor as big as golf ball on her face.

"She saw a specialist today, who believes he can remove it but it will be costly. The owners let that mass sit on her face for a YEAR and now the surgery is very tricky because the only way to remove it safely is to also remove her perfectly healthy right eye."

I understand how it is to feel overwhelmed by the cost of an animal's medical emergency. I once had to borrow some money from a boyfriend in order to pay for my cat's kidney surgery. But these people advertised their sick dog on Craigslist??

Here is an update on Mollie from Mack today:

"Just heard from the surgeon this morning. He is not going forward with surgery. They detected a heart murmur that was quite severe. As a result, they took X-rays which found an enlarged heart. She would most likely gone into heart failure had they put her under anesthesia.

"So now we have to figure out where to go from here. An ultrasound would show the severity and whether there's any leakage from the heart. At her age, 7, and weight, only 11 pounds, she's not a good candidate for surgery even to fix the heart. It could be controlled with medication if not too serious.

"So, we have to determine if the heart can be improved just so she can have the cancer surgery. Doesn't look good."

Will keep you posted. At least Mollie is with people now who will try to help her.

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