Friday, April 18, 2014

How to Spend $403 per Second

I was intending to post a chart today but something more pressing appeared.

Our dog Honey jumped off the couch last night and landed head first right into our heavy stone coffee table. Contrary to the wishes of our dog, the table did not budge.

She knocked herself so silly that she could not stand. Her eyes were swinging back and forth like a pendulum would (and her body attempted to compensate). They would not stop. As I loaded up the car with our dog, I couldn't help but think that it would be the last time I ever saw her. She was looking really dazed and confused, much like those with a serious brain injury would look. The odds of her returning home seemed very low. It didn't help that she had fluid all over the side of her face seemingly originating from her left ear (which hindsight says was just water from our other dog's water bowl kept just below the coffee table).

My girlfriend drove her to the emergency vet. As I still have Shingles (don't even get me started), I was in no condition to join them (nor would anyone want me to be there spreading Chicken Pox vapors).

Fortunately, our dog looks to be making a full recovery. I would never have thought it possible. I have never seen any creature look so incredibly disconnected from the real world (financial "experts" offering advice from within ivory towers notwithstanding).

Honey experienced vestibular disease. Between the visit and the lab tests (to rule out brain bleed conditions), the total came to $403. It took our dog a single second to rack up such an impressive spending habit (not counting the trip to the vet or the hours spent there), but fortunately she could not keep up the pace.

Life is a fragile thing, but our dog has once again persevered it would seem (knock on wood). Keep in mind that she racked up more than $12k in vet bills over the last year or so (and has made a nearly complete recovery from all of that). That makes this month rather light by comparison. D'oh!

I intend on posting a chart tomorrow, should the "illusion of prosperity" gods allow it. I am certainly doing all that I can to make the necessary ritual sacrifices to appease them, lol. Sigh.

In any event, I am grateful that we did not lose a pet in the last 24 hours. It was a close call. Honey is doing great today. Further, her blood work results just came in and show nothing to be worried about. Whew!

9 comments:

fried said...

Mark,
I have an elderly dog myself and I read your post with real fear...I know how ill Honey was earlier and to hear that she had badly injured herself again was frightening.
I am so glad there are wonderful vets around and that your SO was able to get Honey emergency care...that Honey has recovered is really a cause for celebration.
I am so happy for you.
It's impossible for folks who are not dog lovers to understand how much they mean to us. I have regretted a lot of things in my life, but not a penny that I have spent on my dog.
Have a great Easter.

Jazzbumpa said...

Wow.

Scarey story has a happy ending.

Cheers!
JzB

Mr Slippery said...

I am glad Honey came through that. Tough dog.

Well, I can't match shingles and a head bump, but I do have a moderate case of poison oak from an off trail hike last week, and I took our bearded dragon to the vet today for mites. $237 out of pocket, after replacing most of the stuff in the terrarium. The dragon was never in any danger, but I need more calamine lotion.

Stagflationary Mark said...

fried,

I'm amazed and relieved that Honey is doing so well right now. Her bounce back has exceeded our wildest expectations.

She's the tiniest bit wobbly still, but since recovery times for this are generally measured in days we could not be happier. Any improvement from here is just a bonus.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Jazzbumpa,

Happy ending indeed! :)

Stagflationary Mark said...

Mr Slippery,

I have not experienced the "joy" of poison oak (or ivy), but I do have calamine lotion lined up in case Shingles reaches the itchy stage. May you recover quickly! May the itchy stage elude me!

Bearded dragon mites? It's always something, isn't it? May your pet recover quickly too!

dearieme said...

Love is the soul's electric flame.

TJandTheBear said...

Reminds me of an episode with a Samoyed of ours in the late 90's. Luckily the results were pretty much the same -- no permanent damage.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Honey is pretty much back to 100% now. :)