Tuesday, September 26, 2006
House repairs or dog repairs?
We finally took Maverick to a surgeon. The verdict: Maverick has a bum left hip, and as a result favors his right leg. While favoring his right leg, he overdid it, and tore the cruciate ligament (doggie equivalent of an ACL). Now he has to use the left leg more, which is making his hip worse. Both joints have damage from arthritis. Our options:
1. TPLO surgery to repair the knee joint. The outcome is usually quite favorable. With his right leg fixed, his left hip should stabilize, and give him a few more good years. Downside is that the surgery is quite expensive.
2. Leave it as is. The outcome here is that his right leg and hip will both get worse. He will have to be a house dog with virtually no exercise. The damage from arthritis will get progressively worse and more painful.
Seems like a no brainer, right? I am ashamed to say that we took a long time thinking about this. There are so many other things we'd rather put that money toward: crown mouldings, a buffet for the dining room, some artwork, a play structure for Chloe, a new lawn... It's an awful thought, but we could get a new dog (several actually) for much less than the surgery.
But then I flashed forward to a conversation I would be having with Chloe in a few years:
Chloe (age 5): But Mom, why CAN'T we take Maverick with us to the beach?
Me: His legs hurt and he can't walk.
Chloe: Can't the vet make him better?
Me: Actually, we looked into that a few years ago, but you know, we decided we'd rather get crown mouldings and artwork for the living room.
Lesson: Material things come first.
Right. Well, that's not exactly the example I want to set. I'd rather her be able to play with Maverick, go to the park together, and take walks through the neighborhood. I want her to have happy memories playing with her dog. I want her to have compassion for other people and animals - not choose to put her pets in pain.
So, he will have the surgery on Thursday. He'll stay over night and come home to spend 8 weeks in his crate, which has a new spot in my office, so that he'll have easy access to the backyard without having to go up and down the stairs.
We said we'd never spend this kind of money on a pet. But we think it will be the best thing for all of us.
1. TPLO surgery to repair the knee joint. The outcome is usually quite favorable. With his right leg fixed, his left hip should stabilize, and give him a few more good years. Downside is that the surgery is quite expensive.
2. Leave it as is. The outcome here is that his right leg and hip will both get worse. He will have to be a house dog with virtually no exercise. The damage from arthritis will get progressively worse and more painful.
Seems like a no brainer, right? I am ashamed to say that we took a long time thinking about this. There are so many other things we'd rather put that money toward: crown mouldings, a buffet for the dining room, some artwork, a play structure for Chloe, a new lawn... It's an awful thought, but we could get a new dog (several actually) for much less than the surgery.
But then I flashed forward to a conversation I would be having with Chloe in a few years:
Chloe (age 5): But Mom, why CAN'T we take Maverick with us to the beach?
Me: His legs hurt and he can't walk.
Chloe: Can't the vet make him better?
Me: Actually, we looked into that a few years ago, but you know, we decided we'd rather get crown mouldings and artwork for the living room.
Lesson: Material things come first.
Right. Well, that's not exactly the example I want to set. I'd rather her be able to play with Maverick, go to the park together, and take walks through the neighborhood. I want her to have happy memories playing with her dog. I want her to have compassion for other people and animals - not choose to put her pets in pain.
So, he will have the surgery on Thursday. He'll stay over night and come home to spend 8 weeks in his crate, which has a new spot in my office, so that he'll have easy access to the backyard without having to go up and down the stairs.
We said we'd never spend this kind of money on a pet. But we think it will be the best thing for all of us.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
"It" is a SHE, and SHE is better than yours!
You always here about competitive moms. I have heard them on the playground..."Oh, Johnny just learned how to do that? How old is he, I mean, my Daniel's been doing that for months..." I've even talked to a few. I usually just say things like, "Well, they'll all be turning over/crawling/walking/pooping on the toilet/insert cool new skill here by the time they go to the prom..." and leave it at that.
But today, I wanted to scream. Not at the competitive mom, but at the competitive grandpa. I had to go to the lab for routine bloodwork, and Martin and Chloe came with. Chloe, all dressed up in pink from head to toe, got fed up in her stroller, so Martin took her out, and walked around the waiting room with her. She held one of Martin's fingers, and just toddled around looking at everyone, and offering her cow for people to play with (she's good at sharing, is yours?).
Anyway, this old guy looks at her and says, "How old is IT?"
(It? She is dressed head to toe in pink, and maybe the old guy is color blind, but Chloe also has flowers and ruffles on her pant legs.)
Martin: SHE is just over a year.
Old guy: Really, because my grandson is that age, and he can run all over the place.
Martin: That's nice.
Martin was more gracious about it than I would have been. I wanted to speak up on her behalf, say, oh yeah, well, can your kid say Giraffe? How about tickle? How about "whatisthat?" Oh, does he know that a cow says mmmmooooo, and a cat says "meowmeowmeow"? Can he tell you where a hat goes, and whether he has pooped his diaper? Does he know that the clock says tick tock tick tock? Can he blow his nose? Does he hold up 1 finger and say "wah" when you ask him how old he is? Yeah, I didn't think so.
I've never felt that competitive before over her...and this was just some random old man. Someone I'll likely never cross paths with again.
Ah well, I know Chloe is better than his grandson, and that is all that matters!
But today, I wanted to scream. Not at the competitive mom, but at the competitive grandpa. I had to go to the lab for routine bloodwork, and Martin and Chloe came with. Chloe, all dressed up in pink from head to toe, got fed up in her stroller, so Martin took her out, and walked around the waiting room with her. She held one of Martin's fingers, and just toddled around looking at everyone, and offering her cow for people to play with (she's good at sharing, is yours?).
Anyway, this old guy looks at her and says, "How old is IT?"
(It? She is dressed head to toe in pink, and maybe the old guy is color blind, but Chloe also has flowers and ruffles on her pant legs.)
Martin: SHE is just over a year.
Old guy: Really, because my grandson is that age, and he can run all over the place.
Martin: That's nice.
Martin was more gracious about it than I would have been. I wanted to speak up on her behalf, say, oh yeah, well, can your kid say Giraffe? How about tickle? How about "whatisthat?" Oh, does he know that a cow says mmmmooooo, and a cat says "meowmeowmeow"? Can he tell you where a hat goes, and whether he has pooped his diaper? Does he know that the clock says tick tock tick tock? Can he blow his nose? Does he hold up 1 finger and say "wah" when you ask him how old he is? Yeah, I didn't think so.
I've never felt that competitive before over her...and this was just some random old man. Someone I'll likely never cross paths with again.
Ah well, I know Chloe is better than his grandson, and that is all that matters!
