Reply #59: My dogs

[Coyote_Bandit]

accept and love me unconditionally. That is more than I can say for virtually all the people I know. My dogs don't care about my politics or my religion or my socio-economic status. They don't care how I dress or what kind of car I drive. They don't care about my sexual orientation. They don't care if I cuss a blue streak or pray fervently. They don't care if I'm old. Or young. They don't care if the house isn't perfectly ordered and tidy. They don't ask or demand much of me. And they try to earn their keep. One has fashioned himself into a guard dog of sorts while the other has assumed the role of backyard hunter.

My two dogs are small and weigh less than 35 pounds combined. The oldest is a puppy mill rescue. He was 9 months old when I got him. He had been attacked by another dog and had an open bloody gash in his eye. He had never been inside a building. He is visually impaired in the injured eye. The younger dog has had kidney disease since he was a puppy. He has bloodwork done every 3 to 6 months and eats a prescription diet. The annual expenses for caring for both of them is a total of about $1,000. That includes: Frontline application for nine months ($200); monthly Heartgaard ($70); prescription K/D food ($200); Science Diet adult light small bites food ($100); two vet visits including shots ($200); three renal profile tests ($120); four trips to the groomer ($120). Last year I had about $85 in various Science Diet coupons and rebates. I have used the same vet for about six years. Her office is nearby and her fees are reasonable. She has a lab on site and she has been very good about not running up charges and doing unnecessary testing even when she had the opportunity to do so. When the renal dog was first diagnosed he spent a week in her doggie hospital getting tests and IV therapy. The total charges were about $300. The groomer is also nearby and comes vet recommended. She charges a total of $30 to bathe and groom the two dogs. That includes a bath, a blow dry, a good combing, an ear cleaning, a foot trim, a nail trim, shaping their pantaloons and firkins, and a belly trim during the warmer months.

I have two dogs and I spend just over $40 monthly on each dog. Less than $1.50 daily. About $10 per week. But guess what? I don't eat fast food or dine out more frequently than once a week. I rarely go to the theater or rent movies. I prefer to read library books and buy only a few books and CDs and videos. I take more pleasure in the companionship of my friends, family and pets. Anybody that buys a cup of coffee at Starbucks everyday is spending more money there in a year than I am in caring for a dog. I will continue to care for them until such time that they begin to suffer and live without dignity. They are living creatures and I have undertaken to care for them. They are not disposable.