Challenges

Well, immediately we ran into "challenges", of course! We took the 75 lb dog, Moose, to his first visit to Petsmart on Sunday. He did great...he did not even eat one little dog! There were some dogs hobbling around in there that he COULD have eaten in one bite, too! Since Moose has been mainly just a guard dog running around in our backyard in Jackson for the last 5 years, he was not "kept up" in the manner that a true urban dog should be. And since he will be living the life of an urban dog at least for the next couple of months, we felt Moose should be groomed...well, at least a shampoo, flea dip, and cut out all the knots in his tail and behind his ears!

We took him into the grooming area of Petsmart and set up an appointment but they said he needed his rabies documentation before he could come there. When I called my Jackson vet, my fears were confirmed - Moose was very much out of compliance and needed a new rabies shot. So, we got the nearest appointment for the Petsmart vet we could, which was yesterday, Wednesday morning. They gave Moose the vaccine and, at my request, ran a heartworm test so I could put him back on the monthly treatments. Much to our chargrin, Moose's heartworm test showed positive. The Petsmart vet gave an estimate of $870 for treatment! My heart sank. We don't have that kind of money...I had thought twice about even running the heartworm test because it was an extra $32! $870!!! And she told us, without us asking, that no vet will now put a dog down for a treatable disease. It would have been difficult for us to do that anyhow since Moose did not even look sick at all. I told her I did not even know what to do...we did not have the money. She suggested that we go home and call some other vets to get estimates from them. Most would not give even an estimate over the phone, but it was looking like I could not get out of this for under $500. But I did get a response from an "Angel Animal Hospital". After a short conversation with the receptionist, the vet himself got on the phone with me, asking me questions. He told me he didn't think it should cost more than $500 but maybe he could keep it around $300 or $400. Well, that sounded a little better....not money we keep around...but not over $800.

The vet office was only 10 minutes from our apartment. It was a very old office...with very old posters and pictures on the wall. I found out why; "Doc" Angel was a very old man. But a very interesting one though! I read an article on his wall that told of his fighter pilot days in WWII! When I questioned him about it, he said he was 20 years old at the time. He seemed like a very caring man and, despite frowns from his assistants, gave us the best deal he could...he said no more than $300 and he would even try to keep it closer to $250. Which means the man is not making money off of us...probably just paying for the medicines he is giving to Moose. And I met my first "character" in Cincinnati area! I love characters!

We are still concerned about Moose. He has to undergo some painful shots for the next few days and we can not take him home until Saturday. The medicine to kill the heartworms is strong and he probably feels bad. When he comes home, we will have to keep him penned up and only walk him on the leash for short periods of time so his heart will not be stressed. But really where he is now is perfect for that. We were upset that when we came here that Moose, who is used to running around on a half acre of yard, was going to have to stay penned up in the little one car garage of our apartment and only taken out on short walks around the neighborhood. He was not going to be allowed to run around free as he was used to. Now we find out that the only thing that may save him is his confinement! God works in mysterious ways. Maybe that is a lesson for me, also. Something that feels like confinement is actually the only thing that may be saving me. Sometimes things are painful and I don't understand why they are happening and I don't like them and they seem awfully confining....but they maybe the things I need to survive...just maybe.