Do You Take Amex...

My dog had his teeth cleaned at the vet yesterday and thankfully he is fine. I was a little nervous because they put him out for the procedure and I really didn't want there to be any complications from the anesthesia.

They said he did great but he did have to have three teeth pulled, two were extremely infected and one was just loose. I am glad that we had this done now because if we left the infected teeth in his mouth he could have gotten very sick. I am partially convinced that the cause of my other dog's liver failure was the fact that we never had his teeth cleaned and that an infection spread to his liver (conspiracy theorist anyone?). Binky's teeth are sparkling clean and they even cut his grotesquely long nails for me (taking him to get his nails cut at PetSmart is a nightmare because he freaks out). My little doggie is on pain medication for his teeth and also an antibiotic for some rash he has on his stomach (I'm a bad dog owner because I didn't really even notice it). While I was there I also got a twelve month supply of Heartguard and an eight month supply of Frontline flea and tick stuff (I bought six doses and got two free- what a deal!).

What was my grand total? Well, don't crap your pants now, but it was almost $600. Yeah, wow. That was for the teeth cleaning, three tooth extrations, heart worm testing and some other routine testing, pre-anesthesia lab work, two prescriptions, Heartguard and Frontline. That is why I didn't send my husband to pick him up- he would have probably walked out and left the dog (I'm half kidding). The flea and tick stuff alone was about $80 and the Heartguard was about $50 so without that stuff it wouldn't have been too bad (on a planet where money grows on trees).

I know that some people may say that spending that kind of money on a dog is crazy but having my other dog put down opened my eyes to the fact that I chose to own the dog so I need to step up and give it the care it needs to live a long and happy life. I do not, however, believe that my dog needs to live up to the standards of a human. He is a dog and lives a good life for a dog.

If you can't afford to give a dog the care it needs then don't get one- they are expensive. If you want a cheap pet get a hermit crab. Or get no pet and borrow someone else's dog from time to time. Same thing with kids- they are pains. Borrow someone else's kids for a bit and then give them back and go out and enjoy your freedom (I'm somewhat kidding...).

And for the record, my vet doesn't take Amex. I did use my Amazon Visa card so I did earn rewards points- I suppose it takes the sting out a bit. (OMG, did I really just admit that I used a credit card to pay for something I couldn't afford to pay for in cash? Oh, the horrors...)