“With the exception of women, there is nothing on earth so agreeable or necessary to the comfort of man as the dog.” ~Edward Jesse, Anecdote of Dogs
I got some bad news this weekend. I took the dogs to the vet on Saturday to get checked out. Well, Murphy didn’t check out so good. He’s got heartworms. And now he needs to go through a bit of a rough (and expensive) treatment to get through it. The doc says he’s healthy, and he’s acting completely normal, so those are good signs that the treatment will be successful.
This is completely my fault. I got lazy in giving Murphy and Max their heartworm meds. And now Murphy is going to suffer for it. I feel like shit. I just want the little guy to come out of this okay. And I have to consider it a miracle that Max didn’t have heartworms. Any treatment on Max would have much more risk since he’s older.
I know Murphy is just a dog. And not a bright one at that. But after hearing the vet explain all the risks involved with the procedure, I couldn’t look at Murphy and not be a little emotional. I know there are a lot of people out there that their pets are their lives, taking them everywhere they go, dressing them up, taking them for pictures with Santa, etc. Well, anyone who knows me know that I don’t go to those extremes. But I also can’t imagine life without my dogs. And the thought of losing one of them is depressing. I’ve learned my lesson. I will make it a point to never let this happen again.
So tomorrow morning Murphy starts his two days of treatment. And all the recovery time that goes with it. Hopefully he’ll be doped up on enough painkillers to forgive me for my outright stupidity.
I’m sorry, Murph. Maybe once this is over, we can look back and laugh at this whole ordeal over a drink or two. Just like the good old days. Deal?
-Dave Q.
Hi – thanks for the suggestion anyway!