The Worth of Dog’s Health: How Much Is The Health Of My Dog Worth To Me?

How much is your dog’s health worth to you?

As veterinary medicine advances, there are constantly newer and better options for taking care of our canine friends. But how far should one go? When it’s too far, and when it’s not far enough?

That is a decision everyone must make themselves, and it is not an easy one—I had to make many of them. This article, however, is a funny story that I hope will brighten your day regardless of what decision you are making today.

The Worth of Dog's Health

My story

It was at the time when Jasmine tore her knee ligament. We were coping with knee surgeries and newly discovered IBD, which was actually good news because the original suspect was cancer. It was at the time when she was put on Previcox, which almost killed her.

Jasmine’s body was dealing with all kinds of inflammation, and I really wanted to help her.  I wasn’t, however, ready to consider steroids, not after what had just happened with the NSAIDs.

An alternative option for GI inflammation?

I was researching all I could and found that digestive enzymes could help out.

I liked that idea and went to discuss it with Jasmine’s vet. He agreed they could help, but we’d have to be careful about which product we choose. He also emphasized that he doesn’t normally prescribe those because of the expense.

All along, he kept priming me for some astronomical figure this might add up to.

It costs what?

Sometime later, we were in to see him to check on Jasmine’s post-op progress. There was a lot to worry about then, and my brain was in overdrive.

As we were leaving, he remembered that he had found an enzyme product that would be OK for Jasmine. He asked me whether he should order it for her. I was excited. “How much would that cost then?” I asked.

“Ninety to a hundred a month,” he replied.

“Oh, wow,” I exclaimed, “you weren’t kidding! This IS expensive! Wow, this might just as well cost a million!” I was so devastated that I didn’t even notice their bewildered looks.

I was freaking out

Hubby stood there, watching my reaction. He knew that this didn’t make sense. Something was amiss. Then it dawned on him.

He took my arm gently: “ninety to one hundred dollars, honey,” he said.

Can you guess what I thought I heard? Yes, I heard ninety-two hundred! That, however, wasn’t the scariest part.

Ninety-two-hundred dollars a month

At first, when hubby figured out what just happened, it made him smile. As he continued to watch my face, though, his smile disappeared. I was trying to figure out how we could get it! How much could a kidney go for on a black market these days?

OK, my brain was very exhausted. And I kept being told to expect a high cost. But if I could get it somehow, I would have. Of course, I was relieved to realize the actual price.

Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, everybody had a good laugh. However, it remained an ongoing joke when the vet bill ads up to a lot of money.

“At least it isn’t ninety-two hundred a month.”

Jasmine means the world to me. We could have bought a nice house for the amount of money we have spent on her medical care to date. But she was my baby.

She was my heart dog. Forever, and ever, and a day.

Related articles:
CCL/ACL Injury in a Rottweiler: How The Odyssey Started—Jasmine’s ACL Injury

Further reading:
How Much Would You Spend on a Sick Pet?

Categories: Conditions • Dog care • Dog health advocacy • Real-life Stories

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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