September 26, 2012

Words that strike fear into a dog-mom’s heart

“If money is no object…”

It’s actually not the money part that terrifies me. Rather, when you hear that, you know that what comes next is going to be a serious treatment or procedure that is going to cause your baby additional pain and no little anxiety and fear.

Doggle had a mini-vacation with friends he absolutely adores and they utterly adore him, therefore spoil the stuffing out of him. And we appreciate that to no end.

Unfortunately, he came home with a hurt back, a reprisal of last year’s limping pain, only worse because this time he’s actually vocalizing pain when he sits down too hard, he’s hunched up most of the time and can’t really bear weight on his rear legs.  This from the stoic dog that doesn’t emit a peep when he runs into things, gets stepped on, has had children swinging on him, accidentally smacked his head into cabinets, whacks his head on the kitchen table with a THUD every other day.  He’s in real pain.  Seeing him shuffle or scuttle, afraid to walk normally, slipping and falling when he least expects it, hearing him trip and fall when he turns too hard is just killing me.

We took him to the vet for an exam.  The results were alarming. He had a physical and the interpretation of the x-rays from last year was much more strongly worded.  As usual, Doggle didn’t react to the physical exam, but the vet felt the physical confirmed what he felt he saw in the x-rays: a serious disc/vertebral issue.  This was definitely not what we were told last year and put this way, I would have proceeded to the suggested more aggressive follow-up route last year, the one the other vet said wouldn’t be necessary if he responded to pain meds, because “a serious back problem” says he is a high risk for recurrence, instead of just a one-time oddity that is life as usual with a relatively senior dog.

While we opted to take a more conservative approach last year and that resolved well enough, the last thing I wanted was for this to recur, and to run the risk of causing serious neurological or neuropathic problems!

I didn’t bring home this dog to start losing him less than two years later!

This is my puppy. He’s my heart now. I can’t bear the thought of … well.

So we’re drugging him for two weeks to alleviate the pain and discomfort. He’s loving that. (No, he’s not. He’s already accidentally chomped my finger while trying to spit them out while I tried to shove the pills back in his maw. We were a bit of a mess.  Normally I’m great at pilling him so that he doesn’t taste the nasty ones but I let myself get all distracted and wrung out over the what-ifs & screwed it up spectacularly.  So I have a sore ring finger/nail to show for it.)

Meanwhile, I’m asking for a second opinion, and another recommendation for a good place to go in case this is the right thing to do. And checking the treat stash to see which other ones I can feed him while he dissociates his favorite ones with disgusting meds. We (I) may need to mix up some special Mom’s baby food and rice dinners for a few days too while he gets used to being on medication. He’s having enough trouble standing physically speaking, I don’t know if he’s going to be able to mentally muster the motivation to eat.

I really really don’t want him to hurt anymore, I really don’t want this to happen again and I hate that it did this time. This is breaking my heart.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the end, the money part scares me a bit too. I live in the Bay Area now and not only do I not have any kind of friend, professional or any other kind of animal health care discount that might have slightly defrayed costs in the slightest, pricing is between 25-50% higher than it is down south.  – heart attack –

An office visit alone goes from $30 to $50.  I go into the vet office and come out $160 poorer, 90 minutes later.  Going to a specialist?  I’m not joking when I anticipate the office visit alone starting at $100 and treatments starting in the thousands.

Back in my youth, teens and early twenties, I could only afford as much vet care as we needed for my dog pack by working really hard and being creative. (Not that I didn’t just repurpose my own pain meds for Doggle today. This is totally legitimate. He was getting prescribed the same meds I can no longer use and they are exactly the same thing.)

But now, if we’re going the specialist route, we’re paying for it straight up, and this will sting.  *deep breath*  Wish us luck?

**  11:30 pm: That was fast. The second opinion consultation has already come back. Get us to a specialist now before the damage is irretrievable. Ok.

April 4, 2012

Upcoming Doggleversary

Our dear old Doggle, our canine companion of nearly a year, is now officially spoiled within a inch of his life. Nearly by us, mostly by our friends. Our friends lost their own beloved pet not too long ago and asked for the loan of Doggle when we traveled to fill their empty home for a little while, which we were glad to do as he looooves them.

We’ve now figured out why: the kids not only feed him treats hand over fist, he doesn’t just get a yard to romp in, he gets to sleep on the furniture! *cue heart attack*

We were texted a photo of him stretched out on the sofa, bookended by two excessively happy kidlings. Honestly. New meaning to Barcalounger.

Of course now that we’re home, he’s bored and aloof and his old bed is too small. And smooshed. And boring. And Pic, feeling the sting of mopey dejected dog, is ready to bribe Doggle with Yet Another Bed. That’s right, his third bed in less than a year.

Shall we recap?

He’s gotten in the last 11 months:

A new home.
Two beds.
Leashes and collars.
A car.
Two toys he really loves.
All the health care he can stand (and then some).
Oh, and endless food, love and affection, road trips to see extended family and friends who dote on him. And far too many treats from zany neighbor and kooky older people who can’t help themselves.

Next year, he’ll probably get a house with a yard full of grass we’ll have to water and mow for him.

Does anyone want to say it? No? Lucky dog!

Obviously, pretty tongue in cheek “resentment” here, he’s a lot of work wrapped up in an adorable fur coat and it’s equal parts love and sigh.

Oil and Garlic has run into a much more sobering difficulty with her dogs that I’ve known very well back home in Southern California.

October 25, 2011

Pets: Putting Doggle in Financial Perspective

As much work and as costly as Doggle has been in the totting up of his bills over the months, there are some pretty amazing things about this dog that makes me say it’s totally worth it.  Also, I like to point out that if you really want to think about the costs, you have to think about the FULL picture, and that includes considering what kind of dog we could have gotten since we did get really lucky with the pup we brought home.

Remember, this big man was abandoned for at least a year before we brought him home, and we have no clue what his history was before that.  He could have been a shivering wreck inside his head and ready to burst out with all kinds of crazy after we took him home, just hiding it behind a stoic face when we first met him.  It’s not that dogs are duplicitous, it’s just that when they first meet you, all the nuances of their personality aren’t going to be evident.  That was certainly true of Doggle. It took him about three months to come out from his shell entirely and show that he actually had a personality lurking underneath.

Happily, most of that livelier personality is more pleasant than not.  There’re also some rather … limpet-like parts to his personality.  It’s usually cute but … sometimes it’s not.

How Doggle Costs Money: 

Oh Vet Bills (Medication/Supplements):  Doggle has been to the vet every other month since he’s been with us.  We’ve spent over a thousand dollars on his medical bills so far.  *_*

Carpeting:  His poor staggering legs don’t deal very well with the slippery floors so we’ve laid down new (to us) rugs.  Thank you, Craigslist and Costco for relatively cost effective rugs and padded squishy mats.

Food: He just keeps on eating.   And I’ve turned into a bit of a sucker about buying him a stock of treats.  Yeah.  I’m that dog mom.  I never was before.

Car upgrade:  But let’s be honest.  It wasn’t like PiC hadn’t been looking for his car upgrade for several years.

How He Doesn’t Cost: 

Furniture:  He doesn’t mark on anything at home, thank goodness.  He’s embarrassed us in places where other dogs have previously marked their territory as that lights up that little area in his brain that says “oh! I should pee here too!”  But as our home has been unmarked, so it stays.  Whew.

He also doesn’t chew, scratch or (mostly) climb.  Occasionally he takes a freak into his head that maybe he should try to get on the sofa.  Then he gets put in timeout.

Shoes/Bags/Socks/Clothes/Books/Small Items:  He also doesn’t steal, chew or destroy any of these things.

People Food:  He’s not allowed to have any.  Not that that has diminished his interest in our cooking activities or eating at the table or anywhere else one whit.   But he also doesn’t beg.  He’s allowed to hang around and sniff within a certain limit.

Toys: He’s still not interested.  He’s just starting to get the barest inkling of how to socially interact in play with other dogs or people. I’m trying to teach him and expose him to other big dogs because small dogs around here are frankly, brats, who mostly don’t want anything to do with him if they’re not being snappy, snippy, yappy and their owners just don’t socialize or train them out of those nasty behaviors.  Bigger or younger dogs really like him, though, and that’s really nice.

Energy:  95% of the time, he has amazing indoor manners.  Which is to say, he is incredibly quiet and mellow inside.  If you’re hanging out, he’s hanging out.  If you’re sleeping, he’s sleeping.  If you’re cooking, he’s in the way.  But he doesn’t bark, he doesn’t scratch, dig, growl, or generally freak out in any way.

2% of the time he has little freakouts where he goes into corners and huddles or has to be on the sofa which is a no-no.  3% of the time he is really really really happy you just got home or we’re going for a walk.  That is a really manageable percentage, in my mind.

Extra Baths and Carpet Cleaning:  He only gets baths on our schedule which varies between every 3-6 weeks.  We can do this because he doesn’t roll in the dirt, he doesn’t rub himself in gross stuff he finds on his walks, and while he might get himself a little in his poorly-aimed, old man spatter, he lets us wipe him down after every walk and wipe his paws as well.  Docile as anything.

At the end of the day …. 

I’m so glad we’ve got him.  We have made a lot of adjustments. We factor him into the morning and evening routines to take the time to take him out twice a day, (but that’s all we have to do – we have neighbors who walk their yappers FIVE times a day!) We either travel with him by car, one of us stays home with him, or have to make arrangements for him.  We mostly do the first two, though.  I’m hopelessly attached. 😉

July 19, 2011

Another month, another visit: The Doggle Saga

Poor Doggle.

He’s going to have to live past 22 at this rate to amortize the amount we’ve put into him this early on.  We had to take him to the vet again because he’s exhibited some joint pain and I wanted to be sure there wasn’t an injury that was readily apparent to the vet that I was missing.

It turned out that while the pain was quite real, the vet couldn’t be sure whether it was a joint or soft tissue injury without manipulation under sedation and x-rays. He was in far too much pain to relax for that exam, but given his slow improvement throughout the week, I decided we would opt to treat with pain meds, ice and R&R for a few weeks first before committing to $500 worth of diagnostics.

Either way, we needed a good pain medication while he recovered even if it was just a minor injury because his discomfort hadn’t faded after a couple of days, even if the symptoms had improved a little.

If he noticeably declines in the next few days, or at any point during his prescribed bed rest, then we’ll just take him in immediately.

Happily, he loves his meds and doesn’t mind the icing at all.  Strange pup.

Tallying up his tab: 
This visit: $106
Doggle Chariot, split w/PiC because honestly, PiC’s been considering a new-to-us car for years: $5000
Month One: Coming Home: $835

July 14, 2011

A Doggle Chariot and Long Term Outlooks

Well. Now we’ve dunnit.

The situation:  After setting the date for a car purchase in 2012, and swearing up and down that nothing was going to happen on that front until we had that settled, what happens?  PiC finds a potential Doggle Chariot.

I was pretty frustrated with the thwarting of my financial plans.  But then I decided that was a knee-jerk reason not to buy and self-centered to boot (my finances, my decisions) so I sat down with spreadsheets and crunched the numbers until I had a clearer view of where we both stand.

Financing was never an option, period. That’s not something I’m willing to compromise on – paying interest (unnecessarily) in order to defer payments means you can’t afford that purchase.

The Analysis:  Considering our cash position, I didn’t really want to spend the money.  [I know, when do I ever?]  But the unwillingness was based on the fact that, if our finances were merged, our net worth would not be at a place that I would feel comfortable making a major purchase. But as we’re not married yet, the monies are not merged.  And even if they were, discomfort or not, this purchase would not significantly hurt our big picture goals.  True, it wouldn’t do us any favors for the year, and it will be a pain to juggle around cash for property taxes but, it wouldn’t actively put us in a bad position and I’ve also always been cash heavy so we wouldn’t be breaking CDs or other funds to pull this cash out.

From that perspective, if this was the right car, and if the seller accepted our offer, the amount could be under ten thousand dollars, paid in full, in cash, therefore not a financially disastrous decision.

We also don’t intend to carry three cars on the insurance so his car would have to be sold, and that would make up some of the purchase price.

Considering the wedding plans that aren’t coming along but would still need to be paid for at some point when it does come together, I was still on the fence, but agreed that we were in a position to at least look at the car in case it happened to be a well-maintained vehicle that was worth spending on earlier than originally planned.

Of course, the car was not only in great shape with low mileage, and much of the major maintenance had already been done on it early and the work checked out.

The Outcome:  I should stop poopooing PiC’s Craigslist stalking, he managed to find the nicest people to buy a new car from. Not only did they accept a really good (for us) offer, they accommodated our needs for the various bits leading up to sale since we weren’t terribly close to each other and even had purchased road trip supplies for Doggle as gifts when the sale was finalized, knowing we were buying it for Doggle.

Now we’re able to have more than two people plus 1 dog per car ride, which is helpful.  Most importantly, Doggle’s much more comfortable getting in and out of the Chariot now, and has more room to move around, although now you mostly only see his big head if you look in the rearview because he likes to be Right In The Middle.  This is much better for his joints.  He was always a bit scrabbly trying to get into my car and you could see him visibly heaving himself up into the backseat.  Now he’s still leaping but it’s much more graceful and puts far less stress on his body.

My Realization: It’s still really hard for me to talk through major or minor financial decisions with adults and trust that they are open and willing and committed and going to make the right decisions.  I can talk, but I can’t trust.  It’s still an emotional imperative that I must be the one to make the decisions at the end of the day or suffer the consequences.  Thanks, family.  And I’ve always been hands-off with PiC’s finances, outside of sharing general (or specific if asked) information.  This transition is a bit tough.  But it’s something I’m working on.

July 9, 2011

Adventures with Doggle: Month Two

We’re now in Month Two of Doggledom.  I’m like a proud mama who can’t stop bragging on her child, even though he’s odd and slightly bratty.

He doesn’t bark, except twice at mailmen, and one muted w–oof! at PiC the other night when he was sooo excited about … I think … getting mocked about being excited?  That last was the first time I’d ever heard him bark.  Excitement for all!
He hangs out with us all the time, quietly, and mostly in a silly half-needy, half-but-it’s-ok-if-you-ignore-me kind of way.  Underfoot as close as you can get, but mutually ignoring.
He loves to follow an inch behind you when you’re trying to Swiffer; double points if he manages to predict the direction you were going to turn and gets in the way.  He’s really good at this game.
We discovered there are actually two treats he really enjoys, out of all the treats that we’ve offered, so much so that he’s now showing emotion beyond the staid ear perks and ear-downing of happy.  He also gets very very conflicted when offered the choice between a walk and the treat.

Doggle’s thought process (Lots of running around involved):  Treat? Walk? Treat? Walk? Treat ON walk?  No?  Finish treat, then walk? No?  Walk now? Treat ON walk? No again?  Walk now now? *drops treat* Auuughhhh nooooo don’t leave me I’m coo-mm–in–gg!! 

Unfortunately, he’s not just camera-shy, he’s kind of camera-angry.  Camera-resentful? Takes after his mom that way. If he sees the camera come out, he walks away from you with an eye pip cocked. How dare you? his gait says.   He hears a click that might be a camera? Head snaps up, eyes gleam with a balefulness that makes you apologize before you’ve even hidden the evidence.  Because you want to hide the evidence.But at the same time, he’s the gentlest, most tolerant soul I’ve seen for an older dog with a hidden past.Children of all ages and sizes don’t faze him, car rides of any length don’t either, any multiplicity of other dogs make him cheerful.  Strangers will use him as a training tool for their puppies.  Seriously.  We’ll be eating outdoors somewhere, and someone will use the fact that he’s completely calm and unmoved to train their yapping, flippy-outty, over-excited baby dogs to “calm,” “sit,” “it’s ok,” right in front of him.

You know he doesn’t actually necessarily love it when I bear-hug him, but he lets me anyway.  (He would prefer it if I’d stop, probably.  Not gonna happen.)  He’s definitely got some Happy Place in his head and he’s a perma-resident.

After regaling my oldest friends with stories of his depression during our weekend without PiC, his clear designation of PiC as the alpha or his favorite, doesn’t like my walks so will go to PiC if I hold the leash, one of them asked: How does it feel to be rejected by your own dog?  *snicker*

Better ask PiC how it feels to be Doggle’s BESTEST FRIEND EVAR.  He didn’t think there was a possibility that the Doggle would choose him!

He’s a love, though, and comes to me for quiet company.

Word to the wise:  The dental chews from Costco reek to high heaven.  But Doggle, who again, barely showed registered emotion on a normal scale for the past year and then some about anything was ecstatic about them.  He’s even now voluntarily sitting at random times, possibly hoping for a treat. Or a walk. We can’t tell, but it’s pretty funny.  There’s hope this old dog is learning us new tricks yet.  😉

Ed Note: I forgot to mention, you know how I know he likes me?  Even if PiC is his favorite? He lets me alligator face him. 🙂  You know. Put my hands under his chin and push up so he has the fattest-looking alligatorey, beestung face ever. He just squidges his eyes shut and goes with it. Love. This. Guy!

June 16, 2011

An Expensive Adoption, and a Justification Thereof

Doggle’s Details, continued.

Now that I’ve shocked and appalled you all with the high cost of living in California, and particularly in Northern California… 😉

I’ve never paid more than $50 to adopt a pet, and rarely even that much, in the past, so this adoption was quite a bit unusual in a number of ways.

I have never considered purchasing from a breeder or a pet store – my philosophy against that is clear.  Those future pets will eventually find homes because they were bred with the intent to be sold and someone has a vested interest in placing them elsewhere; animals in shelters and rescues are only a step away from euthanasia. I am an adopter, always. I was that kid hauling home strays trying to figure out who they belonged to and how to get them home if they had a home. Once in a rare while, we would become the new home.  My parents were sympathetic but they weren’t crazy or wealthy so it was a meal and a roof until the dog could be placed somehow.

It was a lot easier, back in the day down south, when we had a yard.  Someone was sort of always around to keep an eye on the pups running around or keep them separated if you had a new stray in. Surrounded by friends and family nearby, you could even easily phone someone for a quick drop in if you really had to on an extra busy day to feed the dog(s).  We never did that but you always knew the safety net was there.

Now, though, PiC and I wanting to bring home a dog is a very different story. The simple lack of a yard alone changes the game entirely.  Add in the frequently inclement weather, our working hours and commute times, all of these spelled out a need for a completely different approach.

Suddenly, we had to satisfy a profile if this was to work.  We couldn’t just pick a nice looking friendly pup and call it a day. We especially couldn’t have a puppy: they need attention, socialization, training, access to the outdoors/potty pads every few hours while they’re learning bladder control since neither of us wants to have to unteach bad habits we helped instill.

I’d been wanting an older dog; PiC prefers larger dogs.  We knew we needed a dog that enjoyed going for walks but could tolerate being indoors for long periods of time.  This dog had to be dog-friendly and kid-friendly because there are loads of both running around here, and not a barker by nature. We’ve been living with a barker below us and it’s driving us batty but we tolerate it.  I guarantee you, however, that the neighbors would not be so tolerant in return. There are some incredibly petty people in this HOA.

Looking at shelters alone didn’t quite cut it. While they were great starting points because they had all kinds of lovely dogs we were limited from the outset against adopting specific breeds, and the local shelter is heavily stocked with those specific breeds. My favorites were cut straightaway, the jerks! They don’t allow Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Dobermanns, etc.  Breedists. I despise blanket restrictions like that. I love dogs of just about any breed and pit bulls especially because they can be so very good-tempered, intelligent and trainable, and the local shelters prescribe mandatory training classes when they adopt out pit bulls which is absolutely smart, so it’s a great set-up for their lives, but noooo…. *still bitter about this*

We stumbled across a specific breed rescue that pulls northern breeds from shelters and puts them into foster homes directly, and while Doggle’s actually not really a pinpointable member of any of the breeds they cater to, he’s close enough that they couldn’t resist him.

He’d been with them a year, had a surgical procedure and follow-up, vaccinations, a microchip placed, and was mellow the whole time.  Reviewing that year with him, his foster mom was able to give us his history of behavior, preferences, reactions to people, other dogs, changes, diet, toys, length of time he was happy to be left alone – all of this practically before we ever came to see him.  When we met him, he was this chubby cheeked cheerful fellow that just radiated curiosity and goodwill. He’s been that way ever since.  It would have been tough to get that consistent and detailed a perspective from most shelters.

While our local shelter does do fostering and would have been half the price, they didn’t have anyone that fit enough of the profile that wasn’t a Pit.  (I love our Doggle and wouldn’t trade him but I’m still annoyed on behalf of the Pits who won’t get placed because of places like ours.) I truly look forward to moving into a home where the only rules are our own: a dog that is in need of a home, trainable and gets along with other dogs and people.

The high(er) cost for his adoption, then, was because of the rescue organization that we went with.  They are non-profit, yes, and it also costs a lot to rescue, care for and maintain the dogs for the length of time it takes to get them to their permanent homes.  All the volunteers, going all the way up to the top of the organization, work for free. (I checked.) While I’m not one to pay a higher price for perceived value, this was a higher price for something we put a high premium on: knowledge that we could rely on and the availability of a pet that was the right fit.

Also, let’s not kid ourselves about the cute factor. 

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