Paying it forward!

While waiting at the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (a.k.a. - the vet school) yesterday, I met a lady from Springfield, MO.  She had her yorkie there, getting some expensive scans done.  As she told me her story, I knew I had another moment to pay it forward.

She began by telling me what was wrong with her dog and what had brought her to the vet school.  Her dog possibly had a condition that would require surgery.  She was a single dog mom, like me.  Her dog was her kid.  She also told me of her conversation with her sister, a single mom of three children.  Her sister couldn't imagine her spending that kind of money on her dog.  She said she quickly ended that part of the conversation and moved on.  She also told me how when she told her co-workers, and even though she was bawling while telling them, they all joked about what they would do with a sick dog out on the farm.  JERKS!

Her mom, however, treated her pup like her grandchild.  She is fairly smitten with the yorkie, according to the lady.  The grandma had just had something done, I forget what that was now, a procedure or something, but something that had cost a lot of money.  She had told her daughter that had she known her granddog would need help financially, she would have not had it done!  The dog mom said, you know, oh well!  So now I won't have some work done on myself!  My dog is more important!

I was reminded of the summer of 2002 when Pooh was diagnosed.  I had had LASIK surgery done in June.  Had I known Pooh would get sick a few weeks later, I probably would have spent that money on her and not me.  Which, I added to our conversation.

When the conversation got to a point that I could use my story, I did.  I told of the vet tech and dog moms conversation I had heard 10 years earlier that had changed my way of thinking.  The dog mom had a very similar story and yesterday's dog mom.  The vet tech told her that she should never feel sorry for loving and caring for her pet.  She should instead feel sorry for the people that had never experienced that kind of love and companionship of a pet.

There are different levels of pet ownership, in my opinion.  Some of us wouldn't spend money on a dog, some of us would.  I remember a former co-worker saying that he couldn't believe I was spending that kind of money on my dog.  Even though he clearly knew I was a devoted pet lover and had been there when my first dog passed, and knew I treated them as my kids.  I think like me, he wondered how I could get so lucky to have so many dogs with problems!  Anyway, I am trying to say, he wasn't questioning me, we were having a conversation.  I asked him to add up how much money he had spent on his daughters competitive softball team.  Uniforms, travel, food, hotels, just in the past year.  He quickly bowed his head and said "point taken"!  I told him that my dogs care would probably never add up (I hoped) to the cost of raising one kid through college.

Also, think about how much money people spend to watch a sporting event, race cars, crafts, or gardening. Or any other hobby that you might be involved with.  We all have passions.  We all spend our money on something.   My hobby and passion greets me at the door and welcomes me home!  Anyone who embraces that will tell you,  It's NOT just a dog!