Originally Posted by JoeRedskin
Trust me, I know this one by heart.
I have had two dogs die in the past 4 years. Both young, both expensive. Add in the 12 year old lab who requires $50-60 in meds each month for his dysplasia and we’re talking real money.
Abby had epilepsy and always had her worst seizures on off hours (of course). We took her to the Pet ER who gave her a shot and then would insist on her staying the night for monitoring. We did this once, at tremendous expense. After that we spoke to our regular vet who gave us an epi-pen for dogs so that we could administer the shot. We had to do this several times and our vet kept supplying us with the pens at minimal cost. On occasion, when she would have truly bad strokes, we would take her to the Pet ER and after they calmed her, take her home. In doing so, the Pet ER people made us sign a waiver that, essentially, said “We are horrible parents, if the dog dies it’s all our fault. We were warned but chose to ignore the warning.” I know it’s a disclaimer for the purposes of CYA as Schneed10 said, but, damn, they do their best to make you feel like crap sometimes.
Abby got cancer and died after some expensive tests and medication. She was six.
Then there was Bronwyn who died this past Christmas.
She was a sweet and beautiful puppy who led a short and hard life. In doing so, unlike many humans, she never complained, loved us with her last breath and was my son’s best playmate and protector.
She was a crazy happy puppy who wanted to play all the time. One day in April '07, she bolted out our front door and ran down the block and across the avenue to “her” field. She was only 7 months old and we were still working on obedience training. She simply was not responsive to my calls as her desire to play outweighed her desire to obey. She ran right in front of a car and was hit. Broke her back, fractured her skull, broke a femur and lost all the ligaments and tendons in a rear ankle. She spent 2 weeks in Pet ER (Do the math on that one!) and spent another six weeks, essentially, crated at home. Over that time, we had to change her bandage 3-4 times a day where the skin, tendons and ligaments had been ripped away to avoid infection and take her to the vet 3 times a week. Unbelievably, she made a full recovery with only a slight limp in her ankle. We called her the “Miracle Dog”. In September, she went to the beach with us and was swimming in the surf. The total cost of the treatment was in the neighborhood of 6-7K.
Then Christmas came and we went away for a couple days. When we came back, Bronwyn was clearly not well. We waited through the night to take her the vet. The tests came back very bad. She had an auto-immune disease called IMHA. Her red blood cell count was low and falling fast. Our vet told us to take her to the Pet ER for monitoring. 48 hours and two blood transfusions later, she died in the middle of the night (a kindly neighbor came over at 2:00 a.m. to sit with our kids while we went to be with her).
On the night she was to die, my wife and I were leaving around 11:00 pm. to visit her. As we were getting ready to leave, my four-year old son comes to me, sits in my lap, and whispers so only I could hear him - “Dad, please don’t let Bronwyn die.” It was the innocent plea of a child who still thinks: “Dad can do anything”. All I could say was “I’ll try son, I’ll try.” -- In all my life, I have never felt so powerless as that moment.
Bronwyn died 4 hours later. Did I mention I felt powerless?
Although her time with us was brief, Bronwyn left an indelible mark on our hearts. For all her troubles, she never slowed down. For her, regardless of the pain and suffering, life was about joy. She had no concept of bitterness or anger at her circumstances. Rather, at every stage and until the very end, she showed us that each moment of life is to be enjoyed no matter the trials faced.
In her short life, Bronwyn cost us well over 10K. My wife and I constantly stressed over money and, now, as we face tuition bills, we worry and punish ourselves with our choices. In the end, however, while I wish it had not been so costly, I would do it all again and my only regret is that Bronwyn is no longer with us.
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