I Wonder if they Accept Referrals

My hubby turns 40 this year. The BIG one. He’s not one for parties so his sister and I are planning a get away to the mountains.

How does this relate to the home zoo?

Do you know how hard it is to find a cabin or house to rent that will accept dogs? Let alone FOUR dogs? Four BIG dogs?

It’s nearly impossible.

Two years ago we did rent a cabin and made special arrangements to take four dogs (we had three and my SIL had one). It worked out great and we left the place cleaner than we found it. Do you think that place would give us a referral? hahahaha Somehow I doubt it. We would stay there again but we really want some snow and it’s going to be April. So we have to go up into a real mountain … this place was only halfway up the hill.

It’s hard to convince a place - a business - that our dogs won’t cause damage. I’m sure all owners say that. But in our case it is TRUE. Trooper was still a puppy when we took him on this other trip and we watched him like a hawk (he wasn’t even neutered then) and had no accident issues at all.

Quinn leaks but it seems periodic and we’d bring her blankies for her. Kodiak is about as mellow and easy going as any of them.

Timber has never been to a new place but when I brought him home from the pound he never lifted his leg and he has only once or twice had an accident - and it was in the beginning. I have full confidence that he is fully house broken now.

I totally understand where the businesses are coming from but boy is it frustrating as a pet owner … and a responsible one at that. We want to go away and we always include our dogs. The only time our dogs don’t come with us on vacation is if we fly somewhere tropical.

There’s probably a great business opportunity catering to pet owners.

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.

My Dog Turned Green

I mean that literally. We had Agility training tonight and I decided that Kodiak and Quinn deserved to come along. There are several fields fenced off and they usually move the sheep so the dogs can get some energy out before and after class. Since Quinn and Kodiak are so often (always) stuck at home they’re starting to get a little too chubby. It’s hard because Kodiak can’t endure too much physical activity. And we thought that Quinn was getting too old.

I was very wrong about Quinn. I almost started crying (with happiness) watching her run up and down the field chasing another dog and a ball. She looked SO happy and so beautiful. She didn’t run as fast as she used to, but moved faster than I’ve seen her in ages. She chased the other dog, while the other dog chased a ball. She growled and barked and had so much fun. When the dogs went to work in class in the next door field she walked up and down the fence wanting to join us.

It was so hot. Too hot for Kodiak but Quinn loves the heat, which is so weird. She will lay out on the deck even when it’s 100 degrees. We have to force her to come inside and cool off.

As I watched Quinn run around in ecstasy I look over and see Kodiak rolling around with a look of pure joy on his mug. Then I hear the trainer say, “There’s fresh sheep poop in there.” … Yeah, thanks for the warning!!! But it was so cute to see his face that I didn’t even care.

He rolled and rolled and got up and then rolled some more. My sweet crippled boy was SO happy.

It was too warm for me and for Trooper. I started getting a headache about halfway through and Trooper was not concentrating at all. I had a very hard time keeping his attention and getting him to go over jumps.

With 15 minutes left in class Trooper really lost it and jumped OVER the freaking fence separating the two fields. Good grief. At least we know how high he can jump. By that time I was done anyway and I needed to take Kodiak in the barn and wash him off.

Dried sheep poop does not come off easily. I got as much water on me as I did on him. His fur literally turned green as I rinsed him off.

The photos here are obviously representation of how he looked. =) It was pretty gross but I was just so happy to see him out and playing in an open field that I didn’t care. I’m hoping we’ll be able to take them again soon. Though he will need at least a week to recover. He wouldn’t even jump into the truck when we packed up to go home. Poor guy.

I hope he isn’t too sore in the morning but I am glad that they both got to get out of the house. It’s so hard to balance their need for exercise with their limitations (age and injuries).