Having a Good Time

My dogs are such crazies sometimes. Although it's not always their fault.

The day after Christmas we had a birthday party to attend...we left the house around 3 p.m.

Dinner for doggies is at 4 p.m. and they rarely let us go past that time.

We did not make it home until after 8 p.m.

Can you guess what happened? :)

An entire bottle of whiskey was broken on the kitchen floor...we think they knocked it over getting to the bread and bagels on the kitchen counter. Which they ate in their entirety.

The living room was scattered with plastic and paper from the box of chocolates they had opened and eaten.

It's our fault, we know. We also know that we are lucky to have such big dogs who have fairly tough stomachs because between the alcohol and the chocolate most dogs would have been on their way to the emergency room.

Yesterday morning they also managed to get a hold of more chocolates that were on the counter. We're slow learners apparently.

The bread and bagels are now on top of the refrigerator.

$550 Later

Phew...that was one expensive vetrinary appointment, though we have had worse. Three of the four dogs needed updates on their vaccines and one, Kodiak, needed to be checked out for some hair loss issues.

I love our vet, but boy it's painful when the bill comes.

We did find out though that Quinn has a bladder infection!!! No wonder she pees all over everything all the time. So we have medication for her and hopefully that will help the frequency and urgency.

Kodiak is losing hair. :( The vet didn't think it was just a reaction to a new collar we'd gotten him so he's doing blood work. He also checked for mites, and thankfully there were none. He's thinking that Kodiak either has a Thyroid problem or Propecia (spelling?) ... I think that's what he said.

I see more bills in our near future.

So Much for That

A long time ago I bought a pack of doggy diapers for Quinn, thinking it would be easier than just letting her "leak" all over the place. I bought a Medium or Large and they were nowhere near big enough.

This weekend I decided to try again, but this time I bought an XL, which is supposedly big enough for dogs up to 80+ pounds.

Ha! Yeah right! Nowhere near big enough. Hubby got one over her tail but couldn't get the tabs even close to closed.

She's fat, but good grief...she's not 80 pounds fat. They should make diapers that will fit big dogs. What if Trooper needs them someday? He's even bigger!

So that's another $20 bucks down the toilet (so to speak). We'll keep using the puppy pads on the kitchen floor. She's a very good girl and tries very hard to only go potty on the pads. She's so smart.

She is also still quite spunky. I was feeding the dogs the other day and all of a sudden hear a fight start. It was QUINN and Trooper! I'm 99.9% positive that she started it because he was trying to lick out her bowl, which he always does, but she probably wasn't done. She was totally snarling...lips fully back and teeth barred. We haven't seen her like that in a long time.

I pulled Trooper off of her (of course he was on top and defending himself, even against his sissy) and separated them. That's only the second or third time they've gotten into it. The first was when he was a little puppy and tried to steal her food. She drew blood that time! :) This time there was no blood. (Oh, I remember the second time...a few weeks or months ago, also over food, and Quinn got a little cut above her eye.)

Trooper really is amazingly reserved in his fights. He could easily kill any of the other doggies and yet he rarely draws a drop of blood.

Just another reminder that we have to be extremely vigilent in making sure all food is kept away from the dogs or keep the dogs separated when food is present. Timber and Trooper got into a fight this weekend in the garage and hubby said it was over the bags of dog food we store there. :(

Most of the time...I'd say 95% of the time, all four dogs get along very well. It's the other 5% that stress me out and make me want to send Trooper to Seattle to his auntie.

Quality Matters

I'm a coupon fanatic...as my husband will attest. Recently there were printable coupons for Milk Bone dog treats for $2 off a box. They of course are advertised as nutritious and healthy...and we go through a LOT of dog treats at our house. At Walmart they're $4 a box, so that's a box of dog treats for $2. And then they were on sale at Albertsons a week or so ago for $3...making them $1 a box. So I've bought around 5-6 boxes.

We've gone through almost one full box of them so far. But I don't think we'll use the rest. Trooper and Timber seem to be reacting to them with incredible itchy-ness. Trooper has always been very sensitive, but not his skin usually. Generally its his bowels. And Timber has always been itchy in the morning but not all day like he has been lately.

Both dogs are attacking their skin. And the only thing I can think of is the dog treats. Kodiak and Quinn seem fine, but they've never been as sensitive to foods.

I'll donate the rest of the boxes to the pound as I figure any treats are good treats for the poor pups stuck there. And we'll go back to the expensive treats for our babies. I guess that is one reason to keep couponing...so I can afford the healthy food and treats for our doggies. :) We don't skimp on food (just spent $350 to stock up on food before the two legged baby come) so we shouldn't on treats either.

An Idea

Related to my last post about me being a busy body, but with good intentions, I had an idea.

It takes a little bit of time to write out a handwritten note to someone. That's generally what stops me from leaving notes for people (I see a lot of dogs left in cars).

What if I had little notes made up for me (or do it myself...novel idea) with a bit of info about how hot a car can get even on a cloudy day? Something small and simple with a few basic facts and maybe including a link to a website for more info.

I'm sure it would anger some folks...but if even just ONE person reconsidered leaving their dog in a car on a 'moderate' day it could make a difference.

Even on winter days I hesitate to take the dogs out if it's sunny out because the car can still get warm (and Trooper is especially sensitive to heat). But I think these little cards would be mostly for spring/summer/fall days.

Thoughts? Too busy body? Obnoxious? I don't mind being obnoxious. :)

Do You Order Online?

I’ve seen the commercials - order your pet’s medicine online and save money. I’ve never actually done it though. I generally buy all of our doggies’ medications directly from the vet. Mostly because none of them are on anything that is too expensive or that is ongoing.

But if one of them were on a regular medicine it would make more sense to order those online - as much for saving money as for saving time driving to and from the vet.

I wonder though if my vet would start to get snippy if we requested a prescription to purchase somewhere else, the way Two Nervous Dog’s vet did. I’d like to think that mine wouldn’t as they have sent us to the regular pharmacy in the past for medicine that could be bought cheaper there. I will admit that it was weird to get a prescription filled for my dog at a people pharmacy.

It seems like quite a few vets have issues (scroll down for the article parts) with allowing their customers to purchase medicines online, which is too bad. I realize that vets are also trying to make a profit, but it seems like they’d also be able to support their customers’ needs for lower cost meds. It creates good will and trust when a business looks after the best interests of their customers. And that in turn creates more loyalty and profitability.

My vet must make money on things other than medications…they sure charge enough. They are worthy it though.

Do you order medications online? How have you found the experience? Any problems? Concerns? Cautions for others?

Problem Found

As I wrote last night, Timber continued to act weird after I got home from work and when we started getting ready for bed.

Every night I’ve been taking one Vitamin B-6 and a Unisom in order to combat the horrible nausea that my pregnancy is causing. So last night I went to take my pills…but the bottle of Unisom was missing. Just gone. Nowhere to be found. We started searching and finally found the EMPTY bottle under the bed with tooth marks.

That’s right. Timber had eaten more than 15 liquid gel Unisom pills. The little *&$#. Add Unisom to the list of things he’ll eat…which now includes soap and foil.

So we called the emergency vet who had us call poison control who told us to take him in. As we described his symptoms…first acting kind of slow in the morning and then ramping up with jitteriness and general weirdness…the guy on the phone said that they were classic symptoms of the active ingredient (something I can’t even really pronounce) and if we just tried to wait it out Timber could have a seizure or slip into a coma.

Lovely.

So I’m sobbing and begging hubby to take Timber in to the emergency vet…he didn’t want to go without me but I had to try to get some sleep. Hubby is already on a night schedule and on his work days doesn’t get home until 2 a.m. so heading out at 8:30 p.m. isn’t as hard for him. Off they went and I did doze with the phone clutched in my hand waiting for a call. Finally a little after 10 p.m. they came home and I was SO relieved.

They gave hubby the option to leave Timber at the clinic for observation or take him home and treat him there. Hubby brought him home. He fed Timber liquid charcoal, which I thought we’d have to force feed him but he ate right up with food. The doctor said that within 4 hours he should have to go outside and do #2, but nope. In 4 hours I got up and Timber was snoozing away…still breathing and wanting his belly rubbed when we got down on the floor with him.

When I got up and out of the shower at 6 a.m. he wanted his breakfast and howled as usual. Finally starting to act like his normal puppy self. I followed him outside afterward and he FINALLY had a small bowel movement…he hadn’t had one all day yesterday or all night. Hopefully he’ll have a few more today.

I cannot even say how stressful this was. I kept imagining that we’d wake up to a dead dog.

The only thing he did that wasn’t normal for him this morning is when I was getting my lunch ready…he normally sits right next to me and begs for scraps but this morning after going potty he went right back into the bedroom and JUMPED ON THE BED!!! WOOHOO!!! We were so happy that he did it on his own. We even gave him his ball back. LOL

Trooper must have been worried about him too because he also normally sits with me as I prepare my lunch and he went right back into the bedroom after potty time too. Silly boy.

All of our medications are now capped and put back from the counter edge. It never occurred to either of us that any of our dogs would eat our medications. Never in a million years. I’m so grateful that he ONLY ate the Unisom as I had five other medications that would have caused much more serious consequences.

It’s a good thing that he’s over 70 pounds and seems to have a stomach made of steel. I love that damn dog. =)

Weird Dog Acting Weirder

Is weirder a word? It must be because spell check didn’t give me a red wavy line when I typed it.

I came home from work and only three of my doggy babies greeted me at the door. Timber was outside in the yard … just sitting. Looking at me and wagging his tail. But he would not move no matter what we said.

He was also really protective of some toys he’d accumulated around himself. He was growling (kind of) at papa when we approached but didn’t do his scary growling attack mode. We took one of the toys away and he was fine. But when I went to the grocery store he and Trooper apparently got into it pretty bad over the toys. Hubby wasn’t sure which one but there was lots of snarling and barking…no blood though.

Hubby finally got him inside and put away all his toys since he seemed to be obsessing with them. Now we’re cooking dinner and he is acting like he’s never eaten before. Absolutely chomping down on anything we give him (which is normal when we cook…he’s getting cauliflower and stuff) and practically shaking with excitement. And panting.

He’s also taking Rhimadil which I don’t like. My SIL had a bad experience with her dog Koyuk and she thinks the drug caused his liver problems which eventually led to his death (though he was much older).

I’m still very worried about my puppy boy. He is not acting like himself. Though he’s letting me touch his back end he sort of tries to scoot away or sit down. We’ll see if he tries to jump up on the bed (it’s really high) tonight or if he sleeps on the floor.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I cannot handle this stress!

UPDATE - Pray for Timber

UPDATE: Hubby called and the vet doesn’t think it’s anything too serious or internal. THANK GOD!!! I seriously went in the bathroom and cried. I hate that. They are still doing some exam stuff and I’ll know more later this afternoon. Sounds like they’re going to send hubby home with some anti-inflammatory meds.

It’s so scary when your normally crazy hyper and active dog stops being active all of a sudden!!!

——————————————-

Please pray for my baby boy. I don’t know what is wrong with him. He seemed fine this morning - he ate well, just like he always does. He didn’t seem lethargic to me.

Hubby called and said that he’s been acting funny all morning. He isn’t acting like his normal puppy self…when hubby threw the ball Timber didn’t chase it. Hubby tried throwing it just a few feet and he said that Timber wanted to get it but couldn’t.

Hubby thinks he’s having a hard time with something blocking him up. I hope it is something simple and easy to fix. He’s on his way to the vet right now and he said that Timber didn’t even act like his normal self going out the door…he normally tries to jet out in front of us (yes, we’re working to stop that but still) and instead just walked out slowly. And that when he tried to jump into the truck he didn’t make it all the way up. However he was excited to get his collar and leash put on him so that is good.

So please just keep my baby boy in your prayers. I don’t think I could handle it right now if something were seriously wrong. I’m having a hard time keeping it together at work. Sheesh. We’ve had doggy issues before and I haven’t gotten this upset.

Why does he have to eat everything in his sight? I’m worried that he got something bad in him. I hope to hear from hubby within an hour or so…I’m sure this is going to cost us. Great timing too. I should hear final word about my job next Wednesday.

Trooper is Throwing Up

I hate it when I don’t know what is wrong with my dogs. Trooper started throwing up this morning. He was kind enough to jump up on the bed to do so. Right on top of hubby. Wasn’t that sweet of him to share?

It wasn’t chunky…just pure liquid … kind of yellow / milky. He threw up three times. I’ve been watching him like a HAWK ever since and only fed him 1/4 of his normal meal for breakfast. I’ll give him a bit more later on if he keeps it down. So far so good.

He’s not lethargic and was playing with Bullet a few minutes ago. His appetite was good - he ate all that I gave him. He’s drinking water as I type. And I think he’s still hungry.

So I’m not going to call the vet just yet. They already own my entire paycheck for the month. That’s another story that I will share soon.

What causes dogs to throw up?

Well when I google “dog throwing up” the first link is to this forum where some of the members suggested that a hungry dog will throw up yellow, frothy bile. !!! Really?!?! I’d never heard of this! But it made me feel a TON better. And it makes perfect sense for my big boy.

I also found this …

If your dog is throwing up in the morning before breakfast, it may be because the time between dinner and breakfast is too long. Try splitting dinner into two separate time, one at the normal dinner time and the other right before bedtime. This will leave food in your dog’s stomach throughout the night, and it should prevent or at least minimize the morning vomiting.

Dinner time is at 4 p.m. and he gets his two scoops of dry kibble (or one scoop of dry and a cup of The Honest Kitchen dehydrated food). He generally gets a treat or two before bed but sometimes not. Clearly he needs to have *something* in his belly before we go to bed.

I think I will go give him the rest of his breakfast now.

Quinn Diagnosed - Oral Papillomas

My poor girl. *sigh*

Hubby took her to the vet yesterday to find out what the growths on her lips could possibly be.

The diagnosis was surprising - Oral Papillomas - a benign tumor caused by a Papilloma virus. It’s actually supposed to target young dogs (6 months to 4 years) but because she is older her immune system is more vulnerable to things like this. They’re sort of like warts but bigger.

It could have come from Bullet, our foster dog, who is 10 months old, but we haven’t seen any signs of oral growths on her. Though it is hard to get her to sit still and examine her. My suspicion is that she picked it up on her visit to the farm with us last week for agility. We took her, Kodiak, and Bullet to play in the neighboring field while Trooper and I trained.

The treatment is surgical removal or “benign neglect” as the book says. I’m going with neglect in this case. The lesions do not affect her ability to breath, eat, sleep, or do any other normal activity. I’d rather save the money it would cost to do electrosurgery. Plus I don’t really want to put her under anesthesia again.

So the plan is to monitor her and see if they go away on their own. It could take up to 24 months according to the print off the vet gave us, but should be between one and five months.

I would worry about our other dogs because it is apparently very contagious but since none of them show any signs it seems that they are immune. I hope so because the last thing I want to deal with is separating all my dogs for five months. Sheesh.

What is THAT?

Once again Quinn and daddy will be making the trip to the vet, more than 30 minute away from our house.

I took her on a walk on Sunday afternoon (she’s looking a little chunky and ever since Bullet arrived she hasn’t gotten a lot of attention) … so we’re going along at a super slow old lady pace and she’s panting and I see something a little ‘off’ in her mouth. It almost looked like her teeth were sticking out somehow.

On closer examination I realized that she had some weird growth on her lips!

My poor baby girl. Getting old sucks.

I don’t know what the growths are…I’m hoping it’s something easy that the vet can easily remove or treat without too much effort. I don’t want to put her through a ton of traumatic testing or procedures. She’s already at the point where she doesn’t like the vet office. *sigh*

She still seems to have energy and is very alert. I think the walk was a little tough because by the end she was walking behind me. Slowly. The arthritis in her back must be worse - and her weight doesn’t help. Papa need to be more careful about the amount of food he gives her.

Dog Food Warning - Nutro's "Nature's Choice"

Just when we thought the madness was over there appears to be another suspected dog food scare out there. It’s really disheartening to me that pet food companies seem to only care about the bottom line and disregard the love people have for their pets. Animals have become family members and while human children are protected through the FDA (as protected as any government agency can make us) animal food has no such oversight.

The warning about Nutro’s Nature Choice comes via the cat/dog Log and her work with a rescue organization in Florida. Apparently several dogs have died and the believed cause is this food. Sadly Nutro has shut out all inquiries and is not communicating about this scary issue.

Nutro’s “Nature Choice” line of food is highly suspected in the deaths of six dogs in Florida in the past month. Two Rottweilers and a German Shepherd from one household, and three German Shepherds in another household all consumed this product and then died within 48 hours.

Considering the fact that I am bringing a new dog into my house and will need to pick a food for her, this scares me so much. I want to pick a lower cost food than what I feed my dogs (because honestly we can barely afford their food!) but want it to also be healthy. I may have considered Nutro!!! Not anymore of course.

Always use the utmost care when picking your dogs food. The more natural the better, of course. But always read the ingredients and look for things like ‘meal’ or ‘by-product.’ Those are not high quality ingredients. Even treats need to be reviewed carefully.

*chicken by-product meal - an inferior source of protein made from necks, feet, intestines, etc.
*Fish meal - Like with all other animal sources, if a type isn’t specified, you never know what type or quality of fish is used.

The Dog Food Project has a nice list of ingredients to avoid with your pet’s food. I know it can be expensive to feed healthy food to our animals, however I try to look at the long term benefits. Over time, poor nutrition can have a significant negative long term results that can require even more money to treat.

I want what is best for my dogs and the dogs in my care. I wish dog food manufacturers felt the same way.

Too Hot For Living Souls

Today in the Pacific Northwest it is in the 90s. It’s a “dry” heat, which means absolutely nothing to me except that I know humidity is just more miserable. We’re not used to this kind of weather though. Summer has been slow in coming, and while I was getting tired of clouds, this heat is no fun for me or the dogs.

Animals can so easily overheat in this kind of weather. I was sick to my stomach yesterday as I drove home. I saw two different trucks with their dogs in the back beds. The dogs looked absolutely miserable - completely out in the open with no shelter (not to mention no security…but that’s another topic altogether) and I presume no water. Their tongues hanging out, panting so heavily I just wanted to roll down my window and yell at the drivers. It was worse because it was stop and go traffic on the freeway - it just seems hotter surrounded by all that pavement.

I was thinking about those dogs this afternoon when I took Quinn with me to the Post Office. I’m sure someone thought I was being abusive to her - taking her out in this heat. What they don’t know is that Quinn LOVES heat. Seriously LOVES it. She will lay out on our deck even in the hottest weather and won’t come in unless we force her. She was born in a hotter climate (Spokane, WA has much hotter summers) but she’s still a black and white dog. She will come in panting like mad but she just loves it. I wonder if the heat feels good on her old bones.

Anyway, my point is that I know my dogs and I knew that she could handle the short trip to the Post Office. I left all the windows down (it wasn’t too busy so I felt safe doing that) and could see her from the post office as I waited in line. I watched her carefully and was prepared to go back out if she looked distressed. She didn’t even pant for the first few minutes. And she purposely stayed in the sun with her head hanging out the window. She’s so cute. By the time I got out to my car (no more than 10 minutes) she was panting (not heavily) but still in the sun with head hanging out. I offered her a drink of water from my water bottle and she wasn’t that interested.

I know how my dogs react to heat. I could never have taken Trooper or Kodiak on that short trip. Both would have been absolutely miserable. I also know Quinn’s limits and if I’d left her much longer she would not have been comfortable. All animals have different tolerances.

We can’t even walk the dogs in this weather. In 70 degree heat they get so hot that after we’re done they go immediately to their kiddie pool. Trooper and Kodiak spar to see who can get in and dig around the fastest. It’s hilarious.

Quinn rarely gets in the pool.

So now, in this heat, we have our small air conditioner (window unit in the bedroom) going full blast with the fan blowing on high and the dogs are still inside panting. Our house gets full on sun until around 4 p.m. so it heats up very hot. I need to get curtains to keep the sun out and keep the house cooler. The only reason we got the AC unit was for Trooper. Before we got it the house would get to over 100 degrees. With all his extra fur he’d probably get heat stroke.

While the dogs are miserable, my cats are in heaven. They love to sun bathe and at their new house with grandma I hear they are enjoying laying by the sliding glass door in the sun even in this hot weather. But even cats can get overheated.

Stay cool everyone!

My Poor Little Princess

Poor Quinn. Her grandma reports that she cried all day Friday. The vet didn’t send us home with any pain pills. So she lays there and cries this super faint absolutely pathetic whine. And she keeps licking herself …. ‘down there.’ She’s been doing that more and more but for some reason seems to be doing it more now. And crying. I hate the crying. She woke me up at midnight with her soft painful cry. =(

We don’t know how old she is…but she’s definitely up there in doggy years. We adopted her in 2002 and the adoption place estimated her age at 4-5. So if that were accurate she’d be 10-11 now. Good grief. She’s an old woman. Her ears have gotten salt and peppery - they used to be dark black.

We know she has arthritis in her back…she had x-rays a couple of months ago that showed it clearly. Plus she just moves slower. She does get excited and hop around once in awhile but not like her “Circus” days where she used to balance on her back legs and jump around. It was so cute!!! Now she sort of hops up and jumps her front legs up quickly and back down. Howling. She’s a howler.

Hubby came home today after a week away for work and she was SOOOO excited to see him. She missed him so much. She’s daddy’s little girl.

I hope that she’ll stop crying and not be in pain…I can’t tell if she’s crying because grandma did a little too much positive reinforcement today or if she’s actually in pain. Watching her age is so painful to us. I can’t explain how much she blesses our lives.

She really was a true rescue - she was in the kill shelter four times. The final time her family did not come to get her. She was an escape artist and apparently they got tired of paying the release fee. The shelter had a 7 day kill schedule. She was there 14 days. Her sweet personality won everyone over and they kept her around until a spot opened up in the local Husky Rescue. We found her on Pet Finder and drove more than 5 hours (10+ round trip) to introduce her to Kodiak and bring her home. She attacked him that night and drew blood, which I laugh about now. She is definitely the alpha female…he did try to take her bone so it was his own fault (I know…really it was ours for not thinking he’d try to get hers!). But she loves her two brothers and was amazingly motherly when we brought Trooper home. She didn’t bark at him once and only drew blood once when he tried to steal her dinner. Serves him right.

We love her so much. Please help us pray that she recovers and continues to live pain free and comfortably. We know our time together is limited.

I Am A Horrible Mother

At least that is how I feel. My poor darling little girl.

I know she hates going to the vet but she loves car rides. Her head out the window - she looks like she’s in pure heaven. Even as we arrive at the vet’s office. She jumps out and sniffs around and takes a little tinkle. And then when we go to the entrance she starts to pull back. *grin* She knows that she does NOT like going through that door. Nothing ever good ever happens through that door.

We love our vet though. If I didn’t I would not drive 30 minutes (45 on the way to pick her up…I hate traffic) just to go there. He does such a great job and is so great with all our animals (including the kitties).

In the exam room she starts to howl…the only way to keep her quiet is to rub her belly constantly, which, if the vet is running behind, can be quite tiring.

The nurse takes her temp (always a favorite event) and can’t even give Quinn a treat (no food prior to anesthesia). The vet comes in and looks at her teeth and confirms that she needs to get them cleaned. It looks like she may have Periodontal Disease.

So I leave my little princess behind and head home. I hate leaving her. It’s so strange to be home with just two dogs. It’s a whole different dynamic. And Trooper has no one to pick on.

At 4:30 I finally call to see if I can rescue Quinn and I head out into traffic. They close at 5:30 and as I sit in traffic I imagine that I won’t make it in time and how upset I will be if she has to stay there overnight! With 15 minutes to spare I walk in the office.

$450!!!

Good grief. Didn’t I just talk about spending money on pets? *giggle* I knew it was going to be up there but was hoping for more like $300. *sigh* I was just getting caught up on the credit cards.

She had to have one tooth pulled and some deep cleaning done on her teeth. He confirmed that she does have Periodontal Disease and will need to have her teeth cleaned once a year. It will also be helpful if we start to brush her teeth a few times a week. That ought to be fun.

But I think I’m going to start brushing all of the dogs’ teeth. I don’t want to have to go through this with the other two. I asked the vet if I could have prevented it and he said no, but it seems like if we’d brushed her teeth more often it may have helped. She is in the stage where it is not reversible but we can slow it down and treat it.

Bringing her home was difficult - mostly because I kept wanting to turn around and watch her. She was SO stoned and cute and out of it. She put her head out the window just like she likes and closed her eyes. Once on the freeway she laid down and fell asleep.

Getting her out of the car was a new experience. She’s never had a problem getting out of the car - it’s getting in that causes issues. But this time she cried and I had to coax her out. It broke my heart!!!

She got a little bit of her food and then Trooper and I went to agility. She was pretty out of it all evening. The whole situation was very stressful.

It just goes to show that prevention is so important!

How much is too much when caring for sick and injured pets?

Bible Money Matters asks the question. In our house there is no limit. And I am not kidding. When we first got Kodiak he was a tiny little bundle of fluff - as cute as can be. We fell in love with him so fast our heads spun.

One day around the age of 9 months he was outside playing. All of a sudden we heard a high pitched yelp and Kodiak ran into the living room hopping on three legs with his 4th held up. He would not put any weight on it and did not want us to touch it.

Turns out he’d torn a ligament. We started at our local vet, where we spent several hundred on X-Rays and anesthesia (to take the x-rays) and pain medication. Not to mention the leg wrap and supplies to keep him bound up.

Next we met with the surgeon who lived 50 miles away. The surgery would cost over $4,000. We were only dating at the time but were planning to get married eventually. He rented a small duplex and I had an apartment. I also was going to school full time while working full time. Money was tight. My mom joked that it would be cheaper to amputate his leg but hubby would have none of that.

We charged it. And didn’t think twice. It cost more than $5,000 when all was said and done.

Nearly 4 years later when Kodiak was around 5 years old we noticed that he was limping again and fairly severely in the same leg. So we head back to our local vet who again shaved his leg and took more x-rays.

Yup, you guessed it. He’d injured himself again. It wasn’t the same injury - it was a new one. He’d torn his meniscus.

Off to another surgeon. This time the price tag was slightly less expensive. Only $1,700 and we could apply for assistance to pay it off interest free over 12 months with Care Credit (a program I highly recommend - it is for people and pets). Since we had him insured after his first injury, insurance covered a portion of the surgery (it was the same leg but a totally different injury so it was covered). But we still had to pay over $1,000 out of pocket.

The recovery was much more painful this time and I sobbed his first night home. I slept on the couch so he could have extra room in the living room. He had to be corralled to keep the other dogs off of him. I got no sleep that night.

Less than one year later I noticed him limping again…this time on his other leg. Hubby didn’t believe me and said it was just his original limp (which is constant now). Sure enough, back to the vet - another torn meniscus - and another surgery.

Thankfully the surgeon gave us a reduced rate…sort of the buy one get one half off deal. Not that we cared. If he hadn’t we’d still have paid for the surgery. Even if we needed to use the credit card again.

Kodiak is our “first born” and there’s no way that I could NOT get him treatment. I realize that there are people with money issues who would never be able to provide this level of care. Though there are a programs like Care Credit out there to help finance emergency procedures for animals (and people).

When an animal is part of the family what do you do with a horrible and expensive injury? Do you go for the lowest price even though it may mean not fixing the problem entirely? If it is not a life threatening injury do you get it fixed?

I don’t know what I would do if any of my dogs were so badly injured or sick that the vet could not guarantee recovery. Would we be able to put any of them down? Even the thought of this makes me sick to my stomach and brings tears to my eyes.

Kodiak is now 7 years old and has had three surgeries on his back legs. We know he will (already does) have severe arthritis as he grows older and we are working to do everything we can to make him comfortable, healthy, and happy. And we don’t regret a dime we’ve spent on his injuries.

Play With Your Dog

So often I hear owners complain about their hyper active dog destroying their home or property. Chewing on furniture, mauling shoes, digging holes, and worse. Some owners act as if their dog is the problem.

Newsflash – It’s not the dog’s fault!!!

Think about this. How would you feel if you were left at home for 8-12 hours per day by yourself? When your family came home they said hello and then went about their evening, pausing to feed you dinner, but otherwise ignoring you. I’d say most of us would get pretty anxious, upset, and bored.

Dogs are pack animals and very social creatures. They need interaction with others, whether they be people or other animals.

It’s also critical to give dogs a challenge – something that makes their brain work and think. Solving problems, performing tasks, and experiencing a variety of events are key to a dog’s mental and physical health.

I admit, hubby and I are at times lazy and not always the best doggy parents. They always let us know when we’ve been neglecting our duties for walks and entertainment - often in the form of a torn up living room. My favorite scissors are no more. Several times we’ve come home to garbage strewn everywhere. We never blame the dogs. We know that it’s our fault and promptly take them for a walk.

Lately, Trooper and I have been very active. He goes to daycare once a week. Twice a week, he and I go to Agility Training. This has been the most incredible bonding experience and physical challenge that I’ve ever done with my dogs. I truly wish I’d known more about agility when we got Kodiak seven years ago.

It’s not necessary to join an Agility class with your dog in order to get that important physical and mental stimulation (though I highly recommend it!). There are other ways to ensure your dog’s health and happiness.

One of my favorite gift blogs, Rare Bird Finds, found this incredible board game that you actually PLAY WITH YOUR DOGS!!! I think it would be hilarious and so much fun! Could you get your dog to do sit-ups? Crawl? Stick out their tongue? I don’t know if I could, but it would be fun to try.

What fun and creative things do you do with your dog? That Mutt is currently doing a 30 day challenge - taking her dog to a new place every day. She also did one awhile ago that was 30 days of taking a walk every day. What about teaching your dog a new trick or command every day for 30 days? Or even for one week.

It will do you and your dog a lot of good.