Took Superchunk to the vet today. A new vet, as I was tired of the old vet gouging me relentlessly and having no problem doing it. More on that in a sec.
The new vet took her time getting to me; I waited almost an hour. I was already tweaked because I just wanted to get my dog’s teeth cleaned.
Early in the day, I spoke to my ex vet on the phone.
My ex-vet wanted to charge me…
Are YOU SITTING FOR THIS????
…
$497!!!!!!!!!
I just started laughing at her.
“You’re out of your mind,” I said. She stuttered a bit at my newly found cojones. “Well sir, old dog blah blah old age blah blah have to be sure blah blah give us your money…”
So, that did it for me. No more. I won’t mention them by name, but it rhymes with RANCHO PARK VETERINARY CLINIC ON PICO BLVD.
So, new vet comes in. Nice enough. I start explaining why I am essentially tweaked.
First of all, turns out my vet had been over-vaccinating my pet. Rabies? Unnecessary after a certain age. Especially a dog with a heart murmur. But hey, Rhymes with RANCHO PARK VETERINARY CLINIC ON PICO BLVD had no problem administering it to him just two months ago.
Now, I’m pissed.
They were also prescribing STUPID medication for him that was used 50 years ago and had since made many new meds that were more efficient.
Now I’m super pissed.
Then, she listened to his heart beat…
“Wow,” she quietly mutters.
I imploded on the inside.
Ok, let’s start with this: the following phrases should be forever banned from a Vet’s vocabulary: “WOW”, “OH MY GOD”, and “UH OH”.
Continue with the same meds, she felt deep teeth cleaning was unnecessary at this point as she was able to scrape the tartar off with her fingers.
Ok, before you think I’m getting all California on you by cleaning my dog’s teeth, understand this:
Bad teeth equals bacteria which coarses into the bloodstream, encounters the heart murmur he already has and exacerbates both the valve that is causing the heart murmur and forces the heart to work harder. In other words, teeth cleaning in a dog is pretty important if you want them to um…live.
So, I went home with all the worst possible scenarios playing in my head (mind you: I’m really self-flaggellating here. Superchunk looks in wonderful condition). The thing is he’s a ticking time bomb. There’s no way of telling when his heart will just one day say, “ok, I’ve had enough.” No one knows a damn thing.
The only thing I know is that, when that day comes, I will be inconsolable.
This leads me to my final thought:
You know how sometimes you just need one day every so often, maybe once every other month, to just…be….sad?
Today is that day. I’ll be alright tomorrow; today, I’m just going to be a little down. And I’m going to play with my dog all night long. Anyone who’s ever met Superchunk, just imagine this:
“Go get your hamburger, boy!”
