I don’t even know where to start and I’m hesitant to even begin but, as I’m typing this, I fully realize I’ve already begun so I might as well keep going. Right?
This is where you’re wondering what the hell I’m not wanting to start but have already started.
Let’s just get to it, shall we?
I bought Sophie the day she was born. Actually, I had told my cousin I wanted a puppy if he ever decided to breed his dog and, when I saw Sophie being born, I decided she was the dog for me. She was this little red, striped thing with a white nose, white feet and a cute, white patch at the very end of her tail. She was the runt and she was mine.
Sophie was the first “kid” I ever had and, before you get all crazy on me, I don’t think pets are actual KIDS that should be treated as such. Dogs are pets. They’re, legally, a step up from farm animals–in most states. Does that make me love Sophie any less? Nope. Sophie was the first “thing” I ever had to care for other than myself.
Even though Sophie was supposed to be my dog, Sophie chose Tucker. Sophie chose Tucker’s head to sleep on, Tucker’s clothes to pee on and Tucker’s nerves to annoy. She annoyed and continues to annoy my nerves, as well.
Sophie will be nine this April Fool’s Day. I consider that a brilliant joke. At least, I laugh at it…but I’m used to being the only one to laugh at my jokes.
Sophie moved with us from Arkansas to Florida.
I’m not sure exactly when the “bumps” started showing up but I know for certain that she had the one at the base of her tail when we were in Florida so we’re talking several years ago. Our vet rocked and he just said to “watch it” and if it got bigger then we’d worry about it.
The bump never changed.
Sophie moved with us from Florida to Arkansas and Ollie was born and Tucker finished his degree and we moved to Alabama.
Since we’ve been here, Sophie has grown/developed/spawned several more bumps. So many, in fact, that we were worried she had cancer.
We had a vet, when we first moved here, who said she’d aspirate the “tumors” and that it would cost us $500 PER “tumor” to have them looked at under a microscope. Needless to say, we declined.
We’ve been living with a Sophie-Tumor timebomb since then.
And, then, Sophie decided to get her first ear infection.
I took her to a new, new vet–I hated the one I had been taking her to since we moved into the house–to get Sophie’s ear checked out and mentioned the bumps in a “what do you think these might be” kind of way.
“Well, I’ll just aspirate them and we’ll find out, right?”
I was JUST ABOUT to ask him how much that would cost–and risk “the look”–but the doc had already gotten the cap off of the syringe and was going at Sophie. He aspirated three bumps. Dollar signs were ringing up in front of my eyes.
The doc looked at the slides under his microscope, came back with meds for Sophie’s ear and pronounced Sophie cancer free. To make a long story less long, she has sebaceous cysts–think zits…kinda.
Wanna know how much I was charged for this procedure?
$20.
If this isn’t a case for getting a second opinion, I don’t know what is.
SO! Sophie doesn’t have cancer and I get to treat her gross ear with ear cleaning and medicine.
YAY and bleck.
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