In yesterday’s post, I spoke of writing a pamphlet warning potential pet owners of what lies ahead for them in regards to their heartstrings.
Today’s post, the back side of my pamphlet, will cover their purse strings.
Pets, like children, are expensive. I’m sure you’ve heard it said, “Don’t have ’em if you can’t afford ’em.” I’ve yet to see this utterance make a bit of difference either way. The fact is, if we all waited to have children until we could afford them, the population would be lacking millions of people. In truth, it’s all relative. What is seemingly unaffordable to some, is perfectly affordable to others. Of course, until it isn’t. Until they – children and pets – aren’t.
All through our lit’l Luci’s illness I was wishing we had pet insurance. In fact, I thought about pet insurance a lot. I even looked it up online thinking surely there has to be an affordable way for us to care for our pets. What was I thinking?? We, us, human beings, can barely find affordable health insurance for ourselves, let alone our pets! Still, I checked into it.
Is pet insurance available? Yes. Affordable for the average pet owner? No.
Sadly, unless you have the resources available to you, many pet owners are forced into the “we’re going to have to put her down” option. Whether immediate or prolonged because the fact is, even if your pet has an illness that is treatable, that treatment can run into the thousands of dollars very quickly. And even if you have the thousands to pay for your pet’s treatment, it may come at a time when those thousands are “dog-eared” for other personal expenses. Perhaps your own impending medical expenses. And there’s always the possibility that treated or not, your furry friend just isn’t going to make it and it won’t matter whether you have the money or not. Much like humans, it’s a roll of the dice and the one thing you cannot buy in this lifetime is in fact, time.
Our Luci got sick when the $1.5+ billion dollar lottery was happening. I sent a lot of prayers up to God on that one let me tell you, but you know what else was happening at that same time? Celebrities were dying. One after another after another. It was very sad and very unexpected. Just as Luci getting sick was and I remember thinking, “Wow. All of those people had millions of dollars in their bank accounts and not a one of them could save their own lives..” It would be the same for Luci. What good would all of that money do? It couldn’t save her life. But I can tell you this. When those vets said our Luci had only a week to live and told us that we should put her down – THAT service they would do for free, by the way! – I would’ve traded every penny of that $1.5+ billion just to have her healthy again.
We were fortunate. After the first vet handed us a bill for $677.00 for a basic check up – no overnight stays, no meds. – The kids went to the Humane Society and were able to apply for, and receive a grant that paid for 90% of Luci’s “in house” treatment specific to that particular visit. It was such a strange thing. The kids had no idea such a grant existed until one of the attendants handed them the form and told them to fill it out immediately because the woman in charge of approving the grant was in the building!  – She shouldn’t have been. She’s only there once a month. It wasn’t a scheduled visit for her. – The kids were approved on the spot and Luci was admitted immediately.
Talk about a blessing…
The bill from the Humane Society, which included a 3-night/4 day vet stay and all tests except for the ultrasound, was $909.00  Our cost was only $69.00. – Sixty-nine dollars. –
The ultrasound that was needed was not covered by the grant because it was considered an “outsourced” test. Outsource testing/procedures is any tests or procedures that have to be done outside of the Humane Society facility. Fortunately, our Humane Society uses a mobile ultrasound tech who brought her equipment/machines to the Humane Society so there was no need to transport our sick pup all over town. The ultrasound was $250 and that was 100% out of pocket for us.
Once we were able to bring Luci home, the grant and all of its wonderful benefits were done. Any and all treatment and medication would now be 100% out of pocket. Currently, she is on antibiotics at $56 per prescription. Seems a bit pricey and yet not because we’d spend every penny we had. I personally, would beg, borrow and prostitute myself to get our lit’l Luci well.
It’s what we do as pet owners, isn’t it?
Because of the kindness and generosity, and truly, the life-saving grant and treatment Luci received, we, of course, feel compelled to pay it forward.
We must.
So, just a heads up. I’ll be getting back into my sewing and crafting and you may see things for sale here or on Facebook and I’m toying with the idea of online raffles. Nothing set in stone. Aside from our own personal monetary donations, I’m going to do an 80/20 split on any proceeds I make from the sale of my craftiness. 80% will go to the Humane Society and into the grant that saved Luci’s life, and 20% will go towards replenishing my stash of fabric and other crafty items.
This isn’t a sales pitch or pressure of any kind. I’m simply letting all of you know what I’ll be up to – am up to. – I’m currently putting together a quilt to be auctioned off at a Humane Society summer party and I’m super excited to be doing that!
Thanks for reading and listening guys. I know this post and yesterday’s post were a bit lengthy but it’s just been such an emotional time and I know I’m not alone. I think it’s important to note that second opinions are always a good idea and if you have a good Humane Society in your area, they’re worth checking into. Ours not only saved our pup’s life, it also afforded us her treatment.

TOMORROW’S POST – “JANUARY – At A Glance”