Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Owning Pets
[Listening to: Radiohead - Hail To The Thief - 2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)]
I am (or rather was) dog-sitting my sister's King Charles Spaniel. The dog is not house trained, nor is it trained generally, which makes the experience of looking after the dog, a lot less pleasurable than it otherwise would be.
While our Border-Collie/Labrador is still a bit naughty at times, she's quite obedient and is house trained.
We don't so much mind that we've got to look after the dog while my sister is going through some difficult times and is trying to find another house. We can put up with a few holes in the garden and cleaning up puppy mess, it is family after all.
What is a lot more difficult to take however is the trip to vet I had to do last night. The poor little puppy hasn't been herself for a couple of days, not eating or drinking and pretty much just sitting there being miserable. It vomited the other night and had diarrhoea, so I took it to the vet.
It transpired that the puppy hasn't had it's shots and has contracted Parvovirus, which is often fatal.
So my sister is stuck with a $1200 vet bill, for a dog that may not survive, and will be in considerable pain, and all because she didn't spend the $60 on getting the dog a couple of needles.
So, my message.
If you are going to get a pet, look after it and get it's fucking shots. If this is too hard, or too expensive, don't buy a pet!
