Monday, April 24, 2006
Support Your Local Vet
My daughter Sarah is ten years old but is already wise beyond her years. For the last few months, she has been carefully mapping out her future life. She already knows what size house she wants (three bedroom), where it will be located (in our current neighborhood) and what type of furniture it will have (probably IKEA).
As part of this ongoing exercise in planning, Sarah has also considered what career she should pursue. So far, she has thought about becoming a lawyer, a personal shopper, a professional dancer and an aesthetician. Her latest career choice is pediatrician.
All this is fine and good. But after last week, I am strongly urging Sarah to become a veterinarian. Once again Oreo made a trip to our local vet. It seems part of his recent scratching episode was due to an ear infection.
Cheryl took the pup to the vet last Friday. This time it was for what I assumed would be a quick diagnosis and some medication to put in Oreo's ear. So I was surprised to learn that the bill came in at $220.
It turns out that the latest bill also covers costs for some ongoing medications that all dogs need. But still, most of the cost was for spotting and treating a simple ear infection.
In a little over a year, we've already racked up vet bills totalling about $1,500. And it's not as if Oreo has experienced anything that unusual. There was the neutering operation and the stitches for his puncture wound. But everything else was just routine puppy medical maintenance.
So from now on, when Sarah wants to discuss her future employment plans with me, I'm going to stress to her that three-bedroom homes don't come cheaply and that she might want to consider a career as a vet. Especially if she ever hopes to be able to afford to own a dog.
As part of this ongoing exercise in planning, Sarah has also considered what career she should pursue. So far, she has thought about becoming a lawyer, a personal shopper, a professional dancer and an aesthetician. Her latest career choice is pediatrician.
All this is fine and good. But after last week, I am strongly urging Sarah to become a veterinarian. Once again Oreo made a trip to our local vet. It seems part of his recent scratching episode was due to an ear infection.
Cheryl took the pup to the vet last Friday. This time it was for what I assumed would be a quick diagnosis and some medication to put in Oreo's ear. So I was surprised to learn that the bill came in at $220.
It turns out that the latest bill also covers costs for some ongoing medications that all dogs need. But still, most of the cost was for spotting and treating a simple ear infection.
In a little over a year, we've already racked up vet bills totalling about $1,500. And it's not as if Oreo has experienced anything that unusual. There was the neutering operation and the stitches for his puncture wound. But everything else was just routine puppy medical maintenance.
So from now on, when Sarah wants to discuss her future employment plans with me, I'm going to stress to her that three-bedroom homes don't come cheaply and that she might want to consider a career as a vet. Especially if she ever hopes to be able to afford to own a dog.
