iluvdogs

Well, being back in California for the holidays has been wonderful, but my bank account is begging for mercy. It didn’t help when I arrived and I saw that my 10 year old English Cocker Spaniel needed to visit the vet for a dental cleaning. Now it might seem a bit extreme to spend $300 on your dogs teeth, but really this dog has already cost me so much money it’s a drop in the bucket. Let’s do a tally.

Cost of puppy: 5,500 baht ~close to $220

Cost of airfare to US from Thailand: 20,000 baht ~$500 (included crate, air travel, vet exams, etc.)

Cost of biannual dental cleaning: $1,100 (3 visits)

Grand Total: $1720 and that doesn’t even include dog license fees, annual dog vaccinations and dog food

Why spend the money? Well, this particular dog has been with me since I was 16 years old. I bought him at Chatuchak market one Saturday with my dad. He was the most adorable puppy with long, silky ears and a stubby tail. I named him Rusty for his dark buff fur and he was a great lapdog. When I left for college in the states, he climbed into my suitcase repeatedly and wondered why I wasn’t packing his stuff too. When we put my suitcases in the back of the truck, he jumped in with the luggage. In the end, we had to put Rusty in the house as I drove away.

It was over a year until Rust came to America. One of my cousins went for the summer and I sent an airline approved dog carrier with her. She came back with Rusty a few months later, although he looked a bit worse for wear after spending 20 plus hours in that crate. He seemed very confused at his new surroundings, but when he saw me his stubby tail and entire back end started wagging. We cleaned him up as soon as we got to our house and Rusty has been living with my aunt and cousins ever since.

Now I was living in college apartments where dogs were not allowed, so Rusty stayed with my aunt. Eventually, everyone fell in love with him and his lovely personality, so everything worked out fine. For the first two years I didn’t come home that often because I lacked my own transportation, but eventually I got my own care and I would come home every two weeks or so. Each time Rusty would greet me with his wagging stubby tail and attack me once I walked in the door. He would wait for me at the door if I went out and sleep next to me each night.

Since I’ve been living in Thailand, I’ve only been back home twice. Everyone always says “poor Rusty” because when I come back, it’s like he’s my shadow. When I went away for the weekend and returned, Rusty acted like I’d been away forever. He paces around wondering what I’m going to do next and finds places to nap wherever I am in the house. I try to be a good owner, taking him for walks and car rides, because I feel guilty that I’m his favorite person and I live in Thailand.

So, when Rusty was weakened by the poor state of his teeth four years ago, everyone cried and cried. We couldn’t put him under anaesthesia because his blood test revealed that he was anemic so we had to give him antibiotics and more protein for a week before taking another blood test. The second blood test showed that he was strong enough to go under the anaesthesia to do the dental cleaning. When he came back from the vet, he was disoriented and missing about 6 teeth but his remaining teeth were clean.

About a year later, we did a routine cleaning to get rid of the build up and make sure never to let Rusty’s teeth get so bad again. It’s been about a year and a half since his last cleaning and the build up on his canines were noticeable again. As a habit, I get the blood test done before the vet puts him under because I’m afraid that he might have a big infection again. He’s been okay and the vet gave me a dental was to spray on his teeth daily and told us to brush his teeth regularly. A guess some dogs just have more problems with their teeth as they get older.

Rusty’s been sleeping next to me the entire time I’ve been on the computer. I think it’s about time that I took him for a walk at the park. He had a rough day at the vet last week and I think it will make him feel better.