I HATE THIS PART OF HAVING PETS

Masher waiting for his afternoon snack..

Masher

              Masher   &     Sophie

We just got some really sad news this weekend.  Our 8 month old puppy, Masher (the cause of Luke's stitches and currently deformed face) was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia.  MY PUPPY NEEDS 2 TOTAL HIPS!!  This is just so SAD on many levels.  Sad, because there is no way we can spend $6,000 to fix him.  Sad, because he is going to have to medicated the rest of his life to make him comfortable (the aforementioned medicine is $100/month, isn't that just great).  Sad, because he is just a puppy and he can't run around and jump and play like a healthy puppy.  Sad, because he has to be on a diet.  (Seriously, that one is the worst...)  Sad, because we really love him even though he molests our naked children after bath time.  Sad, because I hate to see anything in pain, let alone an innocent animal.  (Side note... I once ran off the road to avoid running over a bunny.  I let go of the steering wheel and covered my face with my hands. Todd, not even my husband yet, had to push me out of a huge snow drift.  He couldn't even speak he was so astounded at my inappropriate reaction..)  We are going to push the hard core drugs for as long as it helps him and he seems to be fairly comfortable, but then we will have to put him down.  Unless I can get Oprah to lend me some money to fix his hips... she's a dog lover, she might.