Our sick boy

Cooper isn't doing well.  He has an infected anal gland/sac.  I won't go into details, but all you need to know is that is hurts him to walk and poo at the moment.  We had to take him to the emergency vet yesterday because it was Family Day and our vet was closed.  He was constantly licking himself and wouldn't move without whipping around to get at his bum, so we had to take him in.  $500 later he is on antibiotics, pain meds, wearing the cone of shame, and sleeping all day.  Yesterday was the day we decided we needed pet insurance.

I wouldn't say he is an unhealthy dog, but I wouldn't call him healthy either.  He's had an ear infection ($200), a cold that went away on it's own, he ate a tennis ball and we had to get the vet to induce vomiting ($120), he refused to eat for 24 hours that gave us a scare, and now this.  Plus we suspect he has some kind of allergy but we don't know to what.  Oh, and he had an umbilical hernia which cost us another $200 on top of his $600 neuter.  Don't forget all the puppy vaccines and rabies which cost about $400.  Pet insurance it is.

In any case, in the past six months we have paid for Cooper at least four times over.  Having a dog is expensive.  People told me this.  All I thought that meant was treats, food, yearly check-ups, toys, crate, leash, etc.  Not infected anal gland emergency trips.

So now we will add another monthly expense.  Pet insurance.  Will I be organized enough to actually follow through on this? Time will tell.

In the meantime, we'll continue to pay out the nose for our little guy.  All of this has really made me appreciate the free health care we get here.