Dogs

A couple days ago Andy took three of our four dogs in for their annual vet appointments.  Zoey wasn’t due so he loaded up Barley the golden, Astro the coyote mutt, and Shiloh the beagle mutt into his car and with and with Austin’s help took them up the road to see the vet.

$999 later he came back.  No lie, nine hundred and ninety-nine freakin’ dollars.  UGH!

I didn’t want him to take Astro.  Astro is old old old.  We found him on the street in Austin (fully grown) in 1993.  So we have had this dog for 15 years.  Who knows how old he was when we found him.  He can’t hear, can’t see well, and is frail.  We have prepared ourselves for his passing for the last year, and I just didn’t think it was worth dragging him in since he never leaves our house.  But he did, and of course they wanted to do blood work, especially since he has a big growth on his side.  So now we know that Astro is old, and also most likely has cancer (the vet left a message today about his “results”- didn’t sound promising).  And while it is sad to hear that he probably has cancer, we also know he has had a very long happy life, and he is OLD, very old for a dog his size.  Oh and he also has an ear infection.

Then there is Shiloh- she also had ear infection.  All else was fine with her crazy self.

Barley the Golden has had allergy issue her whole life.  First there was the testing, expensive!  Then we find out she is allergic to everything.  Nice.  Then the shots that we give her each week, that don’t work.  Then the steroids to keep her from going nuts.  While we on vacation she got a big hot spot on her head so they shaved that- she is a mess!  Oh and she is a tad overweight.  103 pounds, they like for her to be about 20 lbs. lighter.  Oh and she has an ear infection too.
Sigh.  So today I took her out for a walk on the hike and bike trail- I am going to try to get her thin again.  Funny how people stare at you when you are walking a huge dog with a gaping head wound.  It felt good to be moving again though- I have had a tension headache for about 2 months now- or so it seems.  Getting out and running with Barley felt good! There were a lot of people on the trail, including a woman riding a bike with a little Zoey dog in a Baby Bjorn type baby carrier thing.  When Barley saw that (she was very tired by that point) she turned and looked at me like, “HEY!  That looks like a great idea!”  The thought of me riding a bike with Barley strapped on my back had me cracking up the rest of the way.
And the question we keep getting asked- no we will not replace Astro when he dies.  We prefer to have only two dogs, but since Shiloh and Zoey equal (in weight anyway) about 40lbs. they really only count as one.  Right?

Off to watch a soccer game– Happy Saturday Night!