ER Visit

The doggey ER that is. You know I used to roll my eyes at people who treated their pets as though they were members of the family and purchased health insurance for them. I used to think "seriously" it's a pet...easy come, easy go. Now you pet lovers out there, don't judge me, I grew up on a farm and had my fill of animals. I can only remember my folks going to extreme lengths to try to save a pet once, that was when our dog broke it's leg and had to get a cast...she ended up getting getting an infection and not surviving. I can recall a couple of our dogs "running away"; now that I am an adult I do have to wonder if that was just an easy way to cover up that they had to be put down...hmmm?

So this evening recieve an urgent request from Jaydin to come to the back yard and look at something that was very "serious". Indeed it was...spots of blood in the snow leading into the back porch. When I went to inspect Digger, she had a pool of blood where she had been laying. She was experiencing rectal bleeding...and lots of it. So I tried to remain calm in front of Jaydin as I went to locate the Vet's phone number and ask what to do....when Jaydin saw the blood she broke into sobbing. So I am on the phone trying to explain the situation and trying to calm Jaydin down when the Vet instructed us to go to the 24 hour Animal ER. I didn't even know there was such a thing. So Jeremey loaded Digger in her kennel and off we went. Jaydin insisted that she had to come along and be with her puppy because she just couldn't bring herself to go to dance when her dog was at risk. So off we go....in my mind I am seeing $$$ flashing and I am trying to rationalize what amount is realistic to invest and at what point do we say this is it. All the while I am thinking hey....sure would be nice to have some of that doggey health insurance, as I know that I am going to pay whatever it costs to heal/fix Digger. I can't stand the thought of letting her go, and I can't watch my kid's hearts rip apart at the thought of loosing her either.

When Dr. Adams returned from examining Digger, we learned that she had an absess in her rectal gland. She was able to flush it out and has put her on some medication for a week. 2 tablets 2X a day for a week and hopefully the infection will dissapate. She also informed me that Digger has a heart murmur and recommends that she get an ecocardiogram done if we notice that she is coughing and having a hard time breathing. So my friends the good news is that she is hopefully on the mend and it was only a couple hundred dollars this time....the bad news...she is old, and is more than likely going to start experiencing heart problems and other issues. So I am off the hook for now, but I fear I am facing a day when the tough decisions will need to be made. Rob and I have decided we will try to give her a quality life, but we won't go to extreme measures (doggey DNR per say) should her time come.