Thursday, October 14, 2010

Puppy Problems

We have had our hands full and our bank account empty over here in The Smelly Life.
Last Monday I posted this picture of my cute little pup who was all cuddled up on my lap trying to keep warm.

Let me add a sidenote that, for once, Mr. B and I had were fairly on track with our money and even had a little extra in savings.
I guess in the end the whole point in having savings is to use in case of emergency.
We just didn't expect the emergency to be quite so soon.
Although, we should've expected it because last time we had money in savings our car went in needing an oil change and came out with an oil change, alignment and three new tires costing us not $30, but $400.
Such is {grown-up}life.


My cute little puppy woke up from her nap and I noticed that her eyelid was staying up instead of  tucking under her skin like usual. 
Thank the Lord, eyes are not typically like because I'm not gonna lie- this was gross. 
It needed to go back where it belonged.
Under the skin.
It was all red and slimy looking.


I gave her a bath, hoping that it would just wash it's way back down.
That was unsuccessful.
I used a warm wet cloth all through out the day.
That was unsuccessful.
I gave her a benedryl, thinking maybe it was some allergic reaction.
That was unsuccessful.
I gave it some time to see if it would heal, trying to avoid going to the money sucking vet, if possible.
That was unsuccessful.

It got worse.
Grosser.
Sadder.


I felt so bad for my poor little pup.
Not only was it disgusting to look at, I could tell it was really bothering her too. 
She was acting and eating fine, but she would paw at her face every so often trying to fix it.
First thing Wednesday morning, I took her to the vet. 
Dreading the cost, but knowing she needed some medication.
She is officially petrified of the vet so we did the whole I-drag-her-in-work-up-a-sweat-become-all-flustered-drag-her-to-the-scale-to-be-weighed-she-runs-away-I-bend-down-to-pick-her-up-my-butt-crack-shows-to-the-world-I-am-oh-so-classy-I-finally-get-her-on-the-scale-and-then-we-repeat-to-get-her-in-the-exam-room.
  Oh the joys of the vet.
The Dr. comes in. 
Takes a look.
Doesn't know what it is.
Suggests taking a bunch of different tests.
I feel pressured.
Just give me eye drops and I'll be on my way. Thanks.
Except, I don't have the guts to say that so in real life I say "Ok"

She does test number 1. 
$17.
"Nope, she has no scratch in her eye!"
Awesome..there goes $17 in .001 seconds.

Test number 2.
$20
"No problem with her tear ducts!"
Wonderful...20 more dollars down the drain.

Test number 3.
$18.
"Eye pressure looks perfect!"
Perfectttt....18 more dollars and we still don't know.

No diagnosis, but eye drops to see if they help.
$11.

Total spent on the inconclusive appointment: $111.

The eye drops didn't seem to be helping.
It looked like it was getting worse.
I was really worried it was cherry eye and we were going to have to spend $600+ on surgery.
Thankfully, the vet suggested we try eye ointment and ditch the drops.
At an additional $13 this seemed worth it with the thought of expensive surgery in the back of my mind.

Success.

As soon as her eye was just about healed it was time for her scheduled surgery. 
Microchipped and fixed: $233.

Total vet bill in one week: $344

No.one.was.happy.
This was my poor puppy when I picked her up from surgery. She was whining the whole way home, her ears as far back as they could go and her little nub practically in her butt hole. 
{You can see her eye is better though!}

It was so sad.
She was really uncomfortable and by the looks of it, disappointed in us.

And she did this the rest of the night. 
And the majority of today, but she is on her way to recovery!

And I am pretty confident we both hope we won't be visiting the vet anytime in the near future. 

This whole puppy thing isn't cheap, but thankfully she is worth every penny. :) 

20 comments:

Jeska said...

Aww her poor eye :( I'm glad it's better! When I got my Roxy fixed she was miserable after.. not herself at all, hardly alert, and drooling bad. It was really hard for me to see :( She'll be back to normal soon though!

Julianne Hendrickson said...

Her poor eye!! Ouchie! The puppy thing is certainly NOT inexpensive...no one tells you! Ugh...we are looking forward to year 1 being over with :)

Taylor-Made Wife said...

awe, poor baby!! I'm so glad her eye got better though...thats looks gross and terrifying!

Natalie said...

poor poor roxie! : ( And poor you for having to deal w/ all of that. I'm sorry you guys had to go through that but I'm glad she is all better!!!

Geezees Custom Canvas Art said...

Aw, your poor pup, so happy she's feeling better now though.

J and A said...

Ah poor thing. Pups just hate the vet hey, it breaks my heart. I hope nothing else goes wrong! Take care!

Rebekah said...

First, don't you love when the receptionist at the vet just stares at you while you fight trying to get your dog on the scale? That's my fav part.

I'm glad her eye is better! Poor thing. An expensive and what I'm sure was an exhausting week for both of you.

April said...

I. Feel. You. Oh my gosh. We got Luna, our baby beagle, a week and a day ago. Dropped $300 for her, and $250 for our pet fee at the apartment.
Then like 3 days ago, she started pooping blood.
Vet visit! Luckily they didn't have to do many tests, just a fecal exam, but she had parasites and worms ... so dropped another $70 for that appointment and meds.

And TODAY was my husband's first of 5 major dental appointments, totaling over $10,000. Yes. You read that right. Ten. Thousand. Dollars.

And right before we found all that out (that he was going to have to have that much work done), we'd just read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and were totally pumped to start paying off all our debt. So much for that brilliant idea...

Abby said...

Oh, you poor thing :( And poor doggie :(

I hope that your luck changes soon. Sending bloggy thoughts and love!

Emily Powell said...

good luck with the baby making!

The Undomestic Mom said...

oh my gosh poor thing! when its not one thing its another!

Jillian said...

She is such a cute puppy, I love her!

Jenni@Story of My Life said...

Oooh, poor little baby!!! So cute.

Just found your blog, and I'm looking forward to following you! I'm glad to find someone who seems to love their dog(s) almost as much as I love mine! ;)

Caitrin said...

Oh my gosh, poor puppy! What a week for her! Dogs can definitely be expensive, but they are so worth it- especially when you they give you the sweetest puppy face!

Annie said...

your poor puppy! :( i'm so glad she is doing better! i'm sure she is very thankful she has you as a momma!
we have had to spend thousands on our pup at the vet, he's been worth every penny though :)

Alison Mayes said...

I know the pain for vet bills! We have two cockers and they definitely get their fair share spent on them. I stumbled on your blog and really enjoyed reading it. I also understand you pain on the waiting for kids. We are trying to patient for the Lord to move in our little family.

Anonymous said...

Aww poor puppy! And poor you! I know whenever my dog is sick it breaks my heart to watch her. :(

Karen At Home Blog said...

Aw, I am so sorry to hear about your pup! She looks so sad in your pictures. My heart goes out to her.

Karen

LWLH said...

Aww poor pup and bank account :(

Kristi McInerney said...

Our boxers could be twins. We have a female named Paris, who is almost 3 years old and she looks just like your smelly pup!!! Enjoy your boxer they are so sweet and great with kids!