"Michael "Dog3"" wrote
> "cshenk"

>> Don wants to get another rescue dog but he wants a bigger one and i am
>> resisting as I look at the food and vet bills. Not financially
>> stressed now and do not want to be in the future.
>
> That's where I'm at right now. With remodeling the house and the animals
> we have, we just can't take on any more responsibility and financial
> obligations right now. I would like to but for once my brain is
> functioning
> and saying no. Maybe when the dog dies (I suspect it will be soon) I'll
> think about it but not right now.

I'm with ya. Close to 25,000$ to repair renters damage (some was just
normal wear and tear and some was stuff that wasnt maintained right, but a
lot was just senseless damage). Thats since Oct07 when we got back. It
would have been far worse except Don and I are pretty handy at repairs.
Estimate if we had contracted it all out, 45,000$ at least. (We contracted
fireplace repair, sunroom rebuild of 2 exterior walls, 2 window
replacements, and a new tub that rusted out so it leaked under it).

We replaced ourselves, 2 screen doors, rescreened the back porch, replaced 7
exterior flood lights (some are motion detectors on a separate circuit), 2
exterior doors, and 2 interior ones (with 2 more interior to go and a
re-frame of one that leads to the sunroom), 1 toilet, 1 sink, 1 sliding
glass patio door, one dishwasher, one washing machine, 2 wood fence portions
(had help from handyman for one gate section), one wood enclosure (heck if I
know what they did with the old one!), one garage door, some 70ft worth of
baseboards, paneled 2 walls, replaced the kitchen dropped ceiling, and are
in progress of rebuilding the brick BBQ then wallpapering the kitchen. We
also had a hell of a mess with the yard (sapling trees seeming everywhere
and 15 large garbage bags of broken rum bottles and beer cans).

Wow. I left alot off the list too <g>. So, no second dog in the plans. We
can well handle the 2 pets but adding more just now isnt wise. The food
cost isnt a concern (about 40$ a month in wet and another 25$ in dry for
Cash-pup) but the vet bills if i didnt have good pet insurance would have
already cost me close to 3,000$.

Yes, grin, we adopted knowingly, 2 rescue pets one with heartworms and still
in the first 2 months of treatment. Cash-pup was known in advance to have
heart damage from them. Daisy-cat has teeth problems which will be fixed 6
Sept when Cash gets neutered.

Cash had to wait for that due to the heart worms but now they are ready and
we agree the danger of him getting over excited by a girl doggie in heat now
exceeds the danger of the procedure. He's slated for the day when the heart
specialist is at our local clinic and he's going to be the one doing it.
The procedure itself won't be covered by insurance (but the plan does reduce
the cost a bit). The plan *will* cover any complications due to his heart
condition including extended hospital stay if things go wrong. I'm scared
but the vet says he should be fine now. He's been turned down 4 times for
this due to health. He's the rare instance of when a pet is adopted from
the local rescue center before being 'fixed' because the vets kept turning
him down (2 times before we got him so they know it's legit and we had the
vet email them the records the 2 times with us he was not ready yet).

Cash came to us at 34.5 lbs and now is 55 (give or take 1 as he fluctuates
normally just like any of us do). Per vet, he is almost perfect weight, if
shy of perfect by 1-2 lbs. We are to keep him at this weight and he's been
stable for 10 weeks at this. His eyes are bright, his coat softly glossy,
and he's now allowed to jog at my human speed for 1/2 mile a day! He's a
little breathless when we do it but he loves it. We walk back gently and he
also enjoys peeing on all the interesting stuff on the route back <g>.

To keep at least minimally on topic, his diet is: 3/4 cup quality dry in
morning and evening, and an added 1/2 can wet in evening. He gets about 7
dog treats a day, and most days at 'lunch time' he and Daisy get home made
broth or dashi, with a little nibble of whatever meat bits we may have that
have been fixed in such a way as to be ok (salt free, no onions etc). He's
not allowed rawhide as he eats it completely, even the biggest strongest
ones, in about 30 mins. He gets real bones (cow leg ones) and I worry about
splinters but the vet says with his build and nature, this is the only thing
that will work for him and dogs have been etating such in the wild since
before domestication. It takes him 2 days to eat (and I mean *eat* as in
nothing left) one calf leg bone with knee and hip joint.

Cash is by everyone's best guess, part beagle and part bull mastiff with
looks to any but a dog specialist of beagle but second glance is 'my gosh
thats a huge muscular beagle!'. Measure of 'points' leads to strong
relation to a short legged bull mastiff. His actions are largely beagle
(scent hound). He has to be walked on a harness vice neck collar as his
neck width is very close to his head width so you either choke him or he can
slip free (grin).

Gosh, I do run on! All pet fanatics do though!