Marc on Pets

Sometimes when I have a lot to say on a subject, it paralyzes me a little bit because it seems like it will take too long to complete my thoughts. That's my lame excuse for a long absence from the blog. So here goes, although I may not be able to get everything out that has gone through my mind on this subject.

Let me start by saying, Brad, that I'm very sorry for your loss. There are no "ideal" conditions for putting down a pet. For lack of a more sophisticated word, it sucks, no matter how it goes down. Putting our Andie down was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, and that is not an exaggeration.

It's really no surprise that the pet industry is so huge. Unfortunately, a good part of that is because pets, just like cars, have become a status symbol. Not just the pet itself, but the pet accessories. The really outrageous stuff is probably associated with people that have more money than they know what to do with anyway. I doubt that the guy who is working double shifts at 7-11 is worried about an eye lift for his dog or is buying specialty organic fresh prepared meals for his cat. Rich people are excessive in all kinds of things, and pets are no exception. When you have money dripping out of your ears, why not? I still remember the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker scandal when it was discovered (among other things) that they had an air-conditioned dog house for their Saint Bernard. It sounds completely outrageous, but if you had Bil Gates money and loved your dog, wouldn't you build him a posh dog house? What's the difference between a $10K dog house and a $185K car? The answer is that they are both ridiculous in the mind of people that don't have that kind of money.

I'll take a little detour here for a minute and say that even the idea of pure bred dogs and the money associated with them is crazy to me. There are a million perfectly good dogs available for adoption in shelters. I know there are benefits of knowing family history, etc., but wanting a certain breed of dog just to say that you have a certain breed of dog doesn't sit well with me, and in many cases that is the rationale. I will admit here that I'm a bit biased because Jennifer and I managed to get a pound dog that would be in the running for best pound dog in the world. But if we ever decide to get another dog, it will definitely be another adoption. Even for people who are looking for a pure bred, you can find them through breed specific rescues if you are willing to be a little bit patient.

The part of the article that (sadly) made me laugh a little was that 40% of American pets are obese. Big surprise. That's because people are as undisciplined with their pets as they are with their kids! They feed them all kinds of junk food, don't take them out for exercise, and wallah! Fat pet. We're not saints by any means, but we don't give Duke table scraps. He yaks them up anyway, but it also has gone a long way in keeping him extremely healthy.

The hard part is the medical care. In the end, the guiding principle for me has to be quality of life. As you guys know, we are trying to sort out some medical issues with Duke right now. What is making it difficult is that his quality of life is great… none of what is going on is really affecting his day to day life. So, do we have a potentially cancerous growth taken off his leg? It means surgery ($$), discomfort for Duke, AND he's 14 years old. Do we do it? Is it going to do anything for his quality of life? It's difficult when you can't communicate with your pet. Duke can't tell me if his leg hurts (it doesn't seem that it does) or if he wants to have surgery. We've eliminated radiation because of the cost ($7500).

Even if he was 4 or 5 I'm not sure I'd be willing to spend that kind of money, but then again I'm not sure. Duke is family. He really is like a son to us. And when you put it in those terms, how much money are you willing to spend on medical issues for your family??

The bottom line on for me in regards to this huge pet industry is that it is simply another symptom of wealthy America. If you've watched the news in the past year or two you would think that we're standing in line for our ration of bread every day. But we're not. We have LOTS of money. If Jennifer and I weren't enjoying the standard of living that we currently do, the issue of pets and money would be a lot simpler.