The dog had a vet appointment today. No big deal, just her annual checkup.
She saw a new vet. First he did the exam, remarking several times about what good shape she's in for a dog her age. (Not that we know her age...I picked her up from the pound eleven years ago, and she was full grown then. She was a stray, and I got her for nothing. Yep, a free dog.) Then we went through her medical history...the grade 3 heart murmur that's now almost zero, the mitral valve prolapse, the lyme disease, the idiopathic thrombocytopenia.
The thrombocytopenia (low platelet count, which means the blood would not clot) was two years ago, discovered completely coincidentally when I took her in to have a cyst removed. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the cysts and their biopsies in the above list.) Anyway, she's seen a few different vets in the practice since the thrombocytopenia resolved. Last year, the vet looked back in the chart at her blood counts and exclaimed rather loudly "Holy shit!" Today's vet whistled and said "Holy crap," under his breath.
"She's had some interesting things," I said.
"I'll say," the vet responded. "Not only is she in great shape for a dog her age, she's lucky to be alive."
As I paid her bill, I looked at the inches-thick medical chart and started calculating...the check ups, the vaccines, the drugs, the ECGs, the blood tests, the diagnostics. So much for free dog. On the way home, she stood in the front seat next to me, her big dumb dog tongue hanging out of her mouth, her big dumb dog ears flapping in the wind, her big dumb dog tail wagging so hard I could hear the thump every time she hit the seat.
I'm not even going to try to add it up, because it doesn't matter. Never has the dog ever acted sick or in pain, and I've never had to go without dinner to pay a vet bill. She won't ever be sticking her head out of the window of a Lexus, but I think that's all right with us both.
Posted by Nic at June 25, 2005 02:03 PM