5. Internship. “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure”

As the saying goes, this is applicable to all kinds of disease and especially to the ones that recur. Urolithisis or urinary calculi are the formation of mineral stones within the urinary tract especially the lower urinary tract such as the bladder and the urethra.

There are many factors that can cause urolithisis in dogs such as urinary tract infection such as cystitis or urethritis, breed disposition, diet, exercise, amount of water drank, age and sex. The formation of different types of stones depends on various factors such as pH of the urine, metabolic or anatomic abnormalities, and types of diet or genetic predisposition. Small breed dogs such as Miniature Schnauzer, Lhasa Apso, terrier, Shih Tzu and Miniature Poodle are predispose to stone formation as compare to large breed dog. Besides that, there is a high incidence of struvite uroliths in Miniature Schnauzer due to its genetic predisposition. Often diets high in certain nutrient such as calcium, protein, oxalates will also increase the risk of stones formation. Dogs fed solely on dry biscuits will make the urine concentrated which will cause the crystals to precipitate and favours the formation of stones.

There is no 100% cure to this disease as it had 30-40% chance of recurrence. This will not only pose problem on the animal but the owner as well. Animal that suffer from urolithiasis may have severe discomfort and pain and may even face death if the kidney is damage or if there is complete obstruction to the urinary tract. This will not only be inhumane but this also involves a large sum of money for the treatment as this may require emergency surgery. Surgery alone may range from $500-1500, and that will be followed by warding fees, medicine, pre-operation blood test, catheterisation, urinalysis, x-ray and many more. The total sum may reach a whooping of $1500-2000. Besides that, how many surgeries can the animal endure within few years of the episodes? Whereas prevention which consist of change of diet, exercise, monthly urinalysis which range from $30-50 and x-ray every 3 months which range from $50-70 will definitely be cheaper and more economically wise. This will not only put your pet out of misery but also save the life of your beloved ones.

Here’s a summary of treatment cost compare to its prevention:

Treatment		Prevention
Sedation	$100-150	Urine test	$50-100
Anaesthesia	$200-300	x-ray	$50-70
Cystotomy	$500-1000	Prescription diet	$30-50
Blood test	$150-200
Urine test	$50-100
Iv drip	$50-100
Suture material	$20-40
Stone analysis	$150-200
Medication	$70-100
Post-op nursing	$100-150
Total	$1390-2340	Total	130-220

In conclusion, many people may not want to follow and won’t bother to consider this regime. However from economic point of view this would be the best and not to forget other considerations like time, emotion, pain and life of your pet.

Prepared by 

Erica Chai Hui Ling