Cost of Loving an Animal is Painfully High. But the Benefits are Also Wondrous!

I just had a very sensitive part of my dog Zeus operated on. It involves an area that no male animal, human or canine, ever wants to subject to surgery. The offending gland was removed and the recommendation was to have said item sent to a pathologist as it may be cancerous.

After that initial emotionally painful shock, came the financial shock of the invoice total for the operation. I could hardly speak. First of all my beloved old guy may have a heinous disease, secondly my bank account was empty. (Yes, I am someone who lives check to check, just like a lot of people.)

Luckily my vet is the best in the entire world! He is equal parts, skilled diagnostician, clinician and surgeon. He understands how someone can love animals intensely and have a hard time affording their care when something goes wrong. He allows me to pay as I can until paid in full.

My decision on the pathology to determine if Zeus has cancer? We'll wait for now. Zeus is 10 years old and for a German Shepherd, that is good. He has battled degenerative myelopathy (a sort of canine multiple sclerosis) for years and still keeps plugging away.

Zeus was 5 years old when I adopted him from my next door neighbor's sister. I originally intended to give him to my sister in Denver. But the longer he stayed with me, the more in love with him I fell. He also had a kind of calming effect on my other shepherd Bella, (as calm as a completely crazy creature can be anyway!). So Zeus became my boy and I became his Mom. Or perhaps I mean, servant, or slave?

He is a loving, loyal, goofy boy, who loves to howl at almost anything. When he could still get on my bed, he would hog the entire left side of it taking the extra pillow for himself. He also loves- - the "cookies" he and Bella get every time they come in from outside, chewing on my cat Cece Pea, having his ears and neck scratched, being brushed and car rides. I will cherish every second I have with him as long as I have him.