A couple days ago Andy took three of our four dogs in for their annual vet appointments.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
$999 later he came back.\u00a0 No lie, nine hundred and ninety-nine freakin’ dollars.\u00a0 UGH!<\/p>\n
I didn’t want him to take Astro.\u00a0 Astro is old old old.\u00a0 We found him on the street in Austin (fully grown) in 1993.\u00a0 So we have had this dog for 15 years.\u00a0 Who knows how old he was when we found him.\u00a0 He can’t hear, can’t see well, and is frail.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 But he did, and of course they wanted to do blood work, especially since he has a big growth on his side.\u00a0 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).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Oh and he also has an ear infection.<\/p>\n
Then there is Shiloh- she also had ear infection.\u00a0 All else was fine with her crazy self.<\/p>\n
Barley the Golden has had allergy issue her whole life.\u00a0 First there was the testing, expensive!\u00a0 Then we find out she is allergic to everything.\u00a0 Nice.\u00a0 Then the shots that we give her each week, that don’t work.\u00a0 Then the steroids to keep her from going nuts.\u00a0 While we on vacation she got a big hot spot on her head so they shaved that- she is a mess!\u00a0 Oh and she is a tad overweight.\u00a0 103 pounds, they like for her to be about 20 lbs. lighter.\u00a0 Oh and she has an ear infection too.
\nSigh.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Funny how people stare at you when you are walking a huge dog with a gaping head wound.\u00a0 It felt good to be moving again though- I have had a tension headache for about 2 months now- or so it seems.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 When Barley saw that (she was very tired by that point) she turned and looked at me like, “HEY!\u00a0 That looks like a great idea!”\u00a0 The thought of me riding a bike with Barley strapped on my back had me cracking up the rest of the way.
\nAnd the question we keep getting asked- no we will not replace Astro when he dies.\u00a0 We prefer to have only two dogs, but since Shiloh and Zoey equal (in weight anyway) about 40lbs. they really only count as one.\u00a0 Right?<\/p>\n