A few days ago Selena had surgery to remove an obstruction.  Very
distressing to her, me and the vet, especially since the hair on her tummy
had just begun to grow back from her adrenal/spleen/pancreas surgery last
month.  As with the last surgery, the first response from any number of
people who hear the latest is "and how much did this one cost?"  I'm not
telling (but I can guarantee it's a lot less than it would've cost for an
equivalent surgery in humans).  I can see in their eyes and by the way they
shake their heads as they walk away that they are thinking I'm unbalanced
to be spending "so much money on an animal."  Just as a mental exercise
(have to fire up the synapses every once in a while or the battery goes
dead), I decided to calculate how much I've spent on Selena over the course
of her life.  She'll be eight in August.  My best estimate (I haven't been
keeping receipts on these things all these years so I may be off by a few
dollars) is that we've definitley crossed the $3000 mark with this most
recent round of surgeries.  This includes cages, food, annual
vaccination/check-ups, sleep sacks, hammocks, things that squeak, things
that roll, things that jingle, food dishes, cheerios, plastic tubes for
tunneling, and other miscellaneous accessories.  Averaged over eight years,
that comes to just over a $1/day.  In my opinion, that's a VERY small price
to pay for all the affection, companionship, and joy I've gotten in return.
I won't say money doesn't matter (I've never won the lottery and just
finished grad school with a mountain of student loans), but it's never an
issue in deciding what's best for my "kids".  I'm just grateful to have a
compassionate and skilled veterinarian who can help me keep my little girl
healthy for as long as possible.
 
Tammy - lighter in the wallet, but so much richer in spirit
Selena - "If I'd known you were going to shave my tummy again, I wouldn't
have eaten it!"
[Posted in FML issue 3064]