Tracking Class + Coco gets her Spay

Westarbor Animal Hospital is my local Vet and I cannot say enough about them - THEY ROCK! The entire staff rules my world!

They hosted a great Tracking class last Saturday and I thought we'd give it a whirl. Well - Coco was a total Brat for the first hour. She walked in thinking that they had thrown her a SURPRISE PARTY, so she was all over the damn place socializing and distracting everyone. UGH. Well, after an hour she settled down and totally got into it. We set a trail for her to follow and once she got it - she was a ROCK STAR!


Coco is feeling poopy
















Poor baby, she is feeling super sore and is having a hard time getting around. I wish that I could tell her that she was spayed and that this pain will wash away, but right now she's sick and dizzy and she's giving me her most dramatic pout EVER. Even still, I'm a BIG supporter of "population control" and I know that in the long run this will be best for her health. But I have to admit, when I was on my way to pick her up, I did have a strange wave of guilt. Coco is just such a sweet pup, and what if she did ever have pups? They would be little GEMS! But, they would result in more dogs being euthanized through shelters and they would contribute to the horrible over population that is resulting in over 1 million euthanizations per year.

PedMeds.com Vs my Vet

Soooo, I spent a small fortune on Frontline and Interceptor on top of her spay. It was a big expense that I was saving for, so I was ready. Luckily, my VPI Pet Insurance will be reimbursing me about 30-35% of my entire bill - stay tuned for that one. But like $240 of that bill was for Coco's Heartworm/Flea medication. Some of my friends use PetMeds.com, so I jumped online and compared costs.

12 Months of Interceptor

My Vet: $119.34
PetMeds.com: $96.99

6 Months of Frontline

My Vet: $115.98
PetMeds.com: $93.99

Hmmm...those prices certainly do not include shipping. Nor do the prices contribute to keeping the doors open and the lights on at my favorite Vets office. Yeah - I'd save some money. But I understand the need for "overhead" and I want to see my Vet stay open and functioning, so I'll probably stick to supporting my local vet over PetMeds.com.

Decisions...decisions...decisions

PET INSURANCE, PRONG COLLAR, MICROCHIP ~ OH MY!

A new dog bed for Coco. She lives a life of Luxury & Prestige!

MICROCHIP ~ NO FREAKIN' WAY!

Coco is scheduled to have her spay on May 11th. The spay will include taking care of a hernia issue that Coco has, but it was also scheduled to include a Microchip. After some research via Google, I found that some cases of Micro-chipping have led to cancerous tumors. Adding a Microchip to Coco was not something that we were all that interested in, but our Vet suggested it because so many pet owners are doing it and it has been successful in reuniting lost pets with their family members. We were strongly considering it, and those ads with emotional testimonies from enthusiastic pet owners were persuasive. But Coco is not going to be running the woods unattended, nor will she EVER be unsupervised. So we're gonna pass.

Update: We decided on the Microchip

PET INSURANCE ~ A RELUCTANT YES

This was the most difficult of all of my most recent decisions, in regard to Coco. I honestly still feel a little indecisive about this. I signed Coco up for a Premium pet insurance plan through VPI. They were referred to me by my Vet and after I shopped around, they ended up being my best bet. They cover quite a bit, including 2 office visits per year, a dental cleaning per year and I'll be reimbursed for a decent sized portion of Coco's spay - so it will pay for itself over the next 12 months. A lot of my friends say that they just never used the insurance and advised against it. However, I work with quite a few people who SWEAR BY IT and have been reimbursed thousands of dollars after unexpected injuries/illnesses. Well, I'm gonna give it a try. There's no contract and I can cancel at anytime. Coco officially has better Health Care than millions of Americans. Any suggestions out there??

PRONG COLLAR - OH HELL YES!

Both Chris and I were skeptical of Prong Collars. We see Cesar Milan use them on The Dog Whisperer and have heard nothing but positive things from our friends about them. But to be honest - Prong Collars look like something out of a Torture Chamber. I mean come on -- they are down right intimidating looking and it's going to take some time before I walk Coco and not feel like a BAD DOG MOM. Well - this reluctance to even consider a Prong Collar completely disappeared after being dragged half way across the road this morning. I took Coco out around 7 AM, as usual. Things were going well, she was following commands but there were a lot of distractions between the HUGE Watership Down type bunnies, birds, the morbidly obese squirrels...the Canadian geese...it was a lot for Coco, but she was doing great.

Until we saw the jogger.

She wasn't being aggressive, but she wanted to run with that guy. I had her by the leash and could feel her pulling a bit, but once he flew by us things changed instantly. I was suddenly on the ground and being pulled by my baby 5 month old shepherd! It was unbelievable. Then the pain set in. I had twisted my left ankle and my lower back was throbbing. I hobbled home and I have to say - I've never been soooo PISSED OFF with another creature in my entire life.

I went to work and Googled Prong Collars and sought the advice from some pals, then we hit Huron Pet Supply on Jackson Rd right after work. The sales guy gave us the whole Dog and Pony Show and there was even a nice lady that said "Your dog will straighten right up!" Well, you all were right! She's turned right around and doesn't even seem that uncomfortable wearing it.