Day Five

When Bob Barker reminded folks on a daily basis to "control pet population--spay and neuter your pets", he never once mentioned the cost involved.

Of course, if my pets were ONLY getting spayed and neutered it probably wouldn't be so shocking when I get the bill.

My cat Jackie, (Jackie-o-Lantern...she is a black and orange tortoiseshell and we got her as a kitten in October of 2006..) and our dog Dublin (our 6 1/2 pound toy poodle) are getting fixed today. Finally.

Dublin, however, is also getting all of his teeth pulled. All of them. He is only 5 years old, but has the nastiest teeth on the planet. His dental work is the cause of the huge increase in money owed to the vet.

Taking the time to brush your dog's teeth seems a bit silly, but when you are faced with a bill for over $1000 because of the dental destruction...well, it isn't quite so silly.

Now we get to buy soft dog food for him since he'll have to just gum everything. So he has that to look forward to. Dogs seem to like the canned stuff better than dry anyway.

You know how old folks look when they don't have their dentures in? Well, that's how I picture the dog looking when I pick him up later this afternoon. Kind of like a fuzzy Mr. Magoo. If he were a mean dog he'd now have to resort to gumming people to death. Poor little fella. :)

As for the cat, she is almost two and I can honestly say that cats in heat are the most annoying creatures. And it isn't like a dog that will come into heat just twice per year. No. That would be too kind. Cats are constantly in heat. It is a miracle that she never got pregnant. We were pretty diligent at keeping her in, but since I have proof of what happens when your children get it into their heads that letting animals together to make babies is a good thing, (one litter of poodle puppies is completely thanks to my 13 year old daughter thinking she is hilarious), I wouldn't have put it past them to "accidentally" let the cat out.

I actually put off spaying the cat for so long because in all my growing up years and since I've been married, most of our cats have had death wishes...they have all died young. Been hit by cars, had unfortunate results from anti-freeze, run away, etc. The only exception to that rule was my mom's cat Cid, who died of old age. And that, I'm convinced, is simply because he was the meanest cat I've ever known and was too ornery to die any younger. As a matter of fact, until I met my friend Jon's cat that was 18 years old at the time, I never knew ANY cat actually died of old age. I figured all cats probably died young. So I put off the spay, because I was certain we wouldn't have her very long. It is the same reason why I don't buy the jumbo Costco size bag of kitty litter...I don't want to get stuck with that when the cat decides to take on a car.

And now that she is spayed, it makes me think that she will die soon now since I went ahead and spent money on her...I guess time will tell. I hope I'm wrong though. Kind of morbid thoughts, but that's how things have happened so that is what I expect.

After today we will be a lot poorer, but Dublin will be happier without his rotten teeth (and all of us around him will be happier to not be able to smell his rotten teeth...) and Jackie will be happier to not be in heat forever.

So spay and neuter your pets. And check your animal's teeth so you can prevent having to do a major surgery like Dublin is going through right now, and then your bill will not be astronomical. You could say that if you do the preventative stuff, the "Price is Right". :)

Bob would be proud.