Pet Insurance vs Vet Insurance.

Jekyll maximizing his couch real estate while I try to work.

One of the reasons I started Pawbly.com is because I know full well that most people will do whatever they can to avoid making an appointment to bring their pet in to see me. Whether it’s the inconvenience of taking the time out of their busy day, the stress of taking their pet out of the safety of the confines of their home, the idea of being told that “some medical condition might be serious,” the looming diagnostics, impending follow-ups, and the undeniable fact nothing is cheap anymore, people if given a choice would rather not visit me.

All of the previously listed possibilities scare people. But the simple truth is that in almost all cases if you are concerned about the health of your pet then I am going to tell you that you should have your pet seen by a veterinarian. That physical exam and the discussion that will ensue after, are essential. I know, not what you want to hear, and not what you want to do, but there are a few secrets that your vet has that benefit your pet far more than you might imagine.

Here are a few of the secrets that I tell clients that many of you might not know. (Why we don’t stencil over the front door I quite frankly don’t know? If everyone knew these secrets they would likely not be so hesitant to call us and book that appointment).

OUCH! one broken femur. Fixed a few days later.

Insurance policies

My honest opinion on them is this; if you have enough disposable income and want peace of mind then get your pet an insurance policy. But remember insurance companies are for profit businesses. They will never be able to pay out more than they bring in. You just have to hope that you get the benefits that you expect, when you need them. Human insurance companies are notorious for denying claims and I hope the same is never the case for you. If you think that insurance is right for you then look into the insurance carriers that cover you for accidents and illness only.

Here’s why: Your pet’s routine costs should be fairly close to fixed, thus making it easier to allot for them. The unforeseen disasters are the big wallops that will hit your wallet where it really hurts. If you don’t have the ability to put a thousand or two dollars down for a life threatening illness think about insurance. (If you want a specific company that I recommend just ask).

There are a few guarantees in life. Very few. If you decide to take on the responsibility of a living creature at some point that pet will get sick. It is inevitable. How can you get your pet the care they need and do it without walloping your wallet?

If you think the answer is insurance? I would reply, Maybe?

Little Hunter at his last puppy visit.

But do you know where the best insurance to be found is? At your vets office.

And here’s what should be plastered on every clinics walls. “You want a guarantee? See your Vet.”

Now there aren't many times in life that you are going to get a guarantee. And, in the world of medicine guarantees are elusive. Why? Well, because guarantees are binding. And no half-witted doctor wants to give you a binding obligation. I mean, shoot, we aren't perfect, we don’t have the ability to foretell the future. So, it would be crazy to say “guarantee” wouldn't it?

But, this is a word I will throw around. And I will guarantee a few things when it comes to your pet’s care if you are my client.

Heartworm disease can be fatal. It is a preventable disease and there are many options available to protect pets against it. Insurance? Well, if your pet is tested yearly and kept on a veterinary prescribed preventative purchased through your veterinarian AND if your pet contracts the disease the manufacturer of the heartworm preventive will cover your pet’s diagnosis and treatment. For most pets this is about a $2500 insurance policy. For my clients their heartworm preventative also covers for the intestinal worms it prevents or treats. If your pet’s yearly fecal examination yields a worm on the heartworm label the manufacturer will pay for the fecal test and the de-worming. In my clinic we use this guarantee at least twice a month. Last year we treated one heartworm positive dog on the heartworm manufacturers tab.

Charleston

Vaccines. Your pets vaccines should be individually tailored based on breed, age, location, and environment. Every vaccine your pet gets at your vet’s office is also guaranteed. If your pet gets the disease your veterinarian vaccinated for then the manufacturer will pay to test them AND to treat them. This includes kennel cough and Lyme disease. Which, unfortunately, dogs seem to get even with monthly flea and tick prevention and yearly vaccines. How many times have I called the manufacturer of these vaccines to stand by their guarantee? A lot! Almost weekly.

Any food or product you buy at the veterinary clinic or are prescribed by your vet is guaranteed. Ear cleaner, antibiotics, shampoos, flea and tick preventatives, the list goes on and on. If you spend $100 on a bag of prescription food, (not an uncommon price tag anymore), and your pet can’t tolerate it, or refuses to eat it, you can return it AND get your money back. All of the manufacturers will stand by their products and happily reimburse a client to keep the client and the veterinary clinic returning as customers.

Almost anything your pet needs your vet can help you resolve. ANYTHING. Big disasters can befall your pet, but your vet can help you find options. There are ALWAYS options. Ask for them, and don’t be afraid to ask about what your options may be at other veterinary facilities. There are referral clinics of every specialty, and if by chance they are beyond your means there are also general practitioners who have areas of interest and treatment options that your vet may not have. Ask many questions and search for a treatment plan that works for you.

Now, here is where I am going to stick my foot in my mouth. Veterinarians are some of the hardest working, most generous, compassionate, and selfless people around. Most of us own our own practice or work for someone who has spent decades building theirs. We live and work in our small community and word of mouth will kill you. We are, like many other small businesses in your community, there for the long haul and dependent on maintaining this relationship. If your pet needs something and I can help, I will. It is not a matter of how much you can afford, it is merely a matter of whether or not you want to help the pet that you are responsible for and that needs you. I’ll press my boldness further. We will stand by our services, goods, and your pet through thick or thin as long as we are both on the same side, and with veterinary healthcare there is only one side, helping your pet.

Savannah

Be good to your vet, be better to your pet, and get the best deal anyone can ever give you by keeping your pets care under your vet’s roof.

I guarantee that there isn't anyone who can beat that deal.

If you have a pet related question you can ask it for free at Pawbly.com. Or find me at Twitter, @FreePetAdvice. 

Guest Blog, Dawg Business Mini Survey, Heartworm Disease and Prevention

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Veterinarians Answer: Heartworm Disease And Prevention

Do you think your dog might be at risk of contracting heartworm disease? Do you think it's something to worry about or not so much? Is your dog on preventative or do you think they don't need one?

I asked my veterinary friends.

Question: Have you been seeing heartworm positive dogs in your area? Do you feel that dog owners underestimate the seriousness of the issue?

***

Yes, we do see heartworm positive dogs in our area. 

Some of them are rescues coming up from the south but some are residents of Rhode Island.

I do feel that many owners underestimate the seriousness of this issue and I believe that internet sites that advise people that their dogs don't need heartworm or that the preventive medication is dangerous are a big part of the problem.

I believe it is irresponsible as a blogger or writer to be giving that type of advice.

—Dr. Lorie Huston, DVM, Rhode Island, Pet Health Care Gazette
    Dr. Lorie on Facebook and Twitter

***

Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes.  This means thatheartworm disease is a regional issue which correlates to climate. When I lived in central Pennsylvania, I saw very few cases of heartworm disease.  I now live on the coast of South Carolina, where the locals joke that the mosquito is our state bird.  Unfortunately, our practice has seen 10 heartworm positive dogs this year.

A few of those dogs were from shelters, presumably not on preventative, but the rest were beloved companions, whose owners were sporadic in administering preventative, or had stopped giving it through the winter months.  Their owners, like most, underestimated the seriousness of the issue.

Treating heartworm disease is neither simple nor benign.  Treatment involves killing adult worms (which can be up to 14 inches long) residing in the dog’s heart and pulmonary arteries. It expensive for the client and painful for the dog, not to mention that the dog must be very strictly confined for one month following the final treatment.  Thankfully, prevention is simple, safe, and comparatively inexpensive!

—Dr. Julie Buzby, South Carolina, ToeGrips
    Dr. Julie on Facebook and on Twitter

***

I think that in light of the last few years of a struggling economy and many people being squeezed so tightly to try to make ends meet among a long list of demands from all sides thatheartworm disease has become more prevalent.

I have spoken to many clients who have had to choose between "ideal care" for their pet which included flea & tick prevention, heartworm prevention, all recommended vaccines and high end food. For many of my clients their concerns about feeding their family and keeping a roof over their heads meant foregoing the recommendations of me, their veterinarian. I saw heartworm prevention sales decrease, and routine visits followed. I also saw an increase in advanced illness because many people took a "watch and wait approach" which in some cases caused more advanced, expensive, and more difficult to resolve diseases and illnesses.

Between the decrease in available funds for pets due to the economy and a false sense of safety about the prevalence and consequences of heartworm disease I have seen more dogs test positive for heartworm disease in the last few years.

I do think that many people do not understand how easily and unknowingly the disease is spread, how simply and economically it can be prevented, and the expense and danger treating this disease poses to their pet.

It seems that no matter how many times I tell clients about this potentially life threatening disease, the danger and expense of treating it, and the advances of modern medicine in being able to prevent it so effectively, I still see dogs that test positive.

One mention of advice (my hashtag is after all "FreePetAdvice), Please buy your heartworm prevention from your veterinarian. If you do your dog is protected by the heartworm manufacturers guarantee, IF you give it monthly (as prescribed). And please test your dog yearly. If your pet tests positive you need to know ASAP.

—Dr. Krista Magnifico, DVM, Pennsylvania,  Diary of a Real-Life Veterinarian,
    www.pawbly.com
    Dr. Krista on Twitter 

 ***

We saw three dogs with heart worm disease last year.

 I don't think that dog owners realize that the NY metro area is seeing an increase in heart worm disease due to a number of factors.

1. The natural spread of this parasite over the years
2. The importation of infected dogs by rescue groups tat mean well but don't test dogs before bringing them north
3. Potential resistant strains of the parasite emerging in the south.
4. Mild winters increasing the numbers of insect vectors

All dogs in endemic areas are at risk, even if they do not go out, as mosquitoes will come in. And cats are at ink as well, but that is another question for another time

—Dr. Keith Niesenbaum, VMD, New York, Crawford Dog and Cat Hospital
    Dr. Keith on Facebook and on Twitter

***

To first quote the OVMA website " How prevalent is heartworm in Ontario? Do I really need to worry about it in my pet?

The actual number of heartworm positive pets in Ontario varies from year to year.

While there is currently no system in place to track every case of heartworm in the province, a survey conducted in 2010 found thatthe number of dogs with heartworm in Ontario increased by 60% between 2002 and 2010.

Of the dogs that tested positive for heartworm in Canada, nine per cent of them were confirmed as having been imported from the Southern United States (Katrina dogs) and 12 per cent had been imported from other parts of the United States or other countries. Fifty-one per cent had never left their local area.

The take home message is that Ontario pets are vulnerable from a variety of sources, and prevention is the best approach."

Now the best information resource for this information is one's local veterinarian.

On the internet one can find opinions and information from around the world. The problem with parasites is; they behave differently depending on the local climate, and density of the hosts available to them.

Within my practice the risk of heartworm is measurably greater 10 miles away than outside my front door.  Go another 10 miles it increases again, and go 60 miles and the risk is now as close to 100 % as mother nature allows us to get.

Dog owners that have lost a dog to heartworm stay on top of testing and prevention. Those that have not been that unlucky may feel it is not a concern and under estimate the impact. The science and epidemiological information is there for heartworm, humans pay attention to things they feel are of importance to them and ignore those things they feel are not important.


—Dr. Rae Worden, DVM, Ontario,  Fergus Veterinary Hospital
    Dr. Rae on Facebook and Twitter 

***

Most of my clients understand heartworms are bad news. 

They also understand there is easy monthly prevention. The only problem we ever get into is this business of "you can skip giving heartworm and flea prevention in the winter" that some clients have been raised with.

Almost invariably, that logic causes a gap in prevention that begins innocently enough as a plan to skip December, January and February. Yet somehow, it always seems that May rolls around, the snowmen are all melted, Christmas is long forgotten, the flowers are blooming, the dog is swarming with mosquitoes, crawling with fleas, and has no heartworm or flea prevention on board because the owner was so busy enjoying spring that he forgot to protect his furry loved ones. Then we get to spend the rest of the year fighting nasty fleas that could have been easily prevented, and worrying if Fido is growing heartworms inside until that six month post-exposure recheck heartworm test.

I realize prevention is a hassle, and can get expensive. The alternative is worse.

Train yourself to a habit of giving your dogs their monthly flea and heartworm stuff on the same day every month forever, and you'll prevent a world of hurt.

—Dr. Greg Magnusson, DVM (Leo's Daddy), Indiana, Leo's Pet Care
    Dr. Greg on Facebook and Twitter 

***

No, I have not been seeing (an increase in numbers of) heartworm positive dogs in my area of veterinary practice in southern California (Los Angeles).

There was only one occasion when I diagnosed a dog as being a positive in my seven years of SoCA practice.  This occurred in a dog that was brought to Los Angeles from Louisiana (where heartworm disease runs rampant) after being rescued from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

As our desert-adjacent climate is typically sees very little rain and is generally quite arid, the conditions that support the lifecycle of the mosquito are not as available as other parts of the country

Yet, such conditions do exist and mosquitoes can prosper.

Plus, wild populations of changes (coyotes, etc.) have been reported by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to carry heartworm disease and could be a vector for transmission into our domesticated companion canines (and other species).

 —Dr. Patrick Mahaney, Los Angeles, The Daily Vet
     Dr. Patrick on Facebook and Twitter 


***

No, we don't see it on our area. As for prevention in endemic areas, yes, owners to underestimate the issue.

Heartworm disease doesn't show itself until the dog is quite sick.

It is easy for owners to ignore prevention and most owners don't realize the seriousness of the disease and how risky it is to treat it once it is diagnosed. All those things lead owners to underestimate the disease.

—Dr. Karel Carnohan, British Columbia, Animal Nutrition and Wellness Services
    Dr. Karel and Facebook and Twitter

Did these answers change your mind regarding heartworm prevention?  

Dawg Business Mini Survery, Heartworm Disease and Prevention

Heartworm Survey

I received an email from my fellow blogger and dog health advocate Jana Rade. She writes the widely viewed blog DawgBlogger, publishes the DawgBusiness journal, and the daily online paper DVM's daily, and on twitter @DawgBlogger.

http://dawgbusiness.blogspot.ca/. 

http://paper.li/DawgBlogger/dvms

She can also be found on twitter @DawgBlogger. If you have any kind of dog query I guarantee she has researched it, published about it, and helped other dog parents with it. 

The question she asked me was;

Question: Have you been seeing heartworm positive dogs in your area? Do you feel that dog owners underestimate the seriousness of the issue?

Your answer can be as long or short as you like. Publishing your answers includes backlinks to your website/blog. Here are links to the past surveys. 

http://dawgbusiness.blogspot.ca/2013/02/veterinarians-answer-what-is-biggest.html

http://dawgbusiness.blogspot.ca/2012/12/veterinarians-answer-what-is-your.html

http://dawgbusiness.blogspot.ca/2012/11/veterinarians-answer-what-do-you.html

Here is my answer;

Hello Jana,
What a great question!


I think that in light of the last few years of a struggling economy and many people being squeezed so tightly to try to make ends meet among a long list of demands from all sides that heartworm disease has become more prevalent.


I have spoken to many clients who have had to choose between "ideal care" for their pet which included flea & tick prevention, heartworm prevention, all recommended vaccines and high end food. For many of my clients their concerns about feeding their family and keeping a roof over their heads meant foregoing the recommendations of me, their veterinarian. I saw heartworm prevention sales decrease, and routine visits followed. I also saw an increase in advanced illness because many people took a "watch and wait approach" which in some cases caused more advanced, expensive, and more difficult to resolve diseases and illnesses. 

Between the decrease in available funds for pets due to the economy and a false sense of safety about the prevalence and consequences of heartworm disease I have seen more dogs test positive for heartworm disease in the last few years.


I do think that many people do not understand how easily and unknowingly the disease is spread, the simplicity and how economically in which it can be prevented, and the expense and danger treating this disease poses to their pet.


It seems that no matter how many times I tell clients about this potentially life threatening disease, the danger and expense of treating it, and the advances of modern medicine in being able to prevent it so effectively. I still see dogs that test positive.


One mention of advice (my twitter hashtag is after all "FreePetAdvice), Please buy your heartworm prevention from your veterinarian. If you do your pet is protected by the heartworm manufacturers guarantee, IF you give it monthly (as prescribed). And please test your pet yearly. If your pet tests positive you need to know ASAP.


I can be reached anytime at "Diary of a Real-Life Veterinarian" or if you ever have a pet question, curiosity, or just want to visit other pet loving people at www.Pawbly.com
Thanks Jana for always asking such great questions, and always educating us pet lovers.

Here is another link to an article on about the cost of treatment for heartworms;

http://www.smartbrief.com/05/20/13/ounce-heartworm-prevention-worth-pound-cure#.UZzClKKR-So

A link to an article on why we recommend annual heartworm testing;

http://www.smartbrief.com/04/11/13/why-annual-heartworm-testing-important-0#.UZzC9qKR-So

A link to an article on the rise of heartworm disease;

http://www.smartbrief.com/04/07/10/study-heartworm-cases-pets-are-rise#.UZzDP6KR-So

A link to understanding the heartworm cycle;

http://www.smartbrief.com/12/01/11/understanding-life-cycle-heartworms#.UZzDxqKR-So

Did you know that heartworm disease can be found in all 50 states? And that there is no treatment for cats?

http://www.smartbrief.com/04/03/12/early-spring-requires-extra-vigilance-preventing-heartworm-disease#.UZzEDKKR-So

Do you think that you can't afford heartworm prevention? Did you know that there are many options for prevention and that some of them are very affordable. Commercially available from about $4 per month. At over $1,000 for treatment and the considerable risk the disease causes, can you really afford NOT to treat?

What are your experiences?

Please share them with us, and please help educate others in the importance of protecting pets from this disease.

Thanks,

Krista

Have any questions about heartworm disease? Or heartworm prevention?

Ask us at pawbly.com. Always free, always there for you and your pet!

ASK --> CONNECT --> LEARN

Heartworm Tests

Heartworm disease is spread by infected mosquito's that bite your pet. Many people have heard of heartworm disease in dogs, but not many realize it can affect cats too. 

Heartworm tests are recommended yearly for canines at many clinics. They are performed to insure that our dogs are heartworm disease free if they are currently on a preventative, or before implementing heartworm preventation. To add to the convenience of this test many laboratories and test kits combine other tests to the heartworm test.

Heartworm tests can be performed with an in-house SNAP test. When I explain this heartworm test to a client I tell them that it is like an at home pregnancy test, except we use blood instead of urine. Specifically we need 3 drops of blood. After a few minutes the test gives us a dot or series of dots. Many veterinary clinics use a combination test, for example, at my clinic we use a 4-Dx test for Dirofilaria immitis, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Borrelia burgdorferi. In plain terms heartworm disease, two other tick born diseases, and Lyme disease. This in-house test is quick, convenient, and accurate, but it’s not perfect.

There are also heartworm tests available through outside laboratories.These too are available as single or combination tests.

No one test is perfect because heartworms can be a bit elusive. Here's wh. If there is only one worm in the heart (mind you one worm can be a big worm, and the heart is a terribly sensitive fragile delicate place to have a bug). But one worm may not be enough to turn the test positive.The test is reported to be about 90% accurate of there are more than two worms.To further complicate the scenario if there are no females in the heart then the test will come up as negative. Also there is time delay between a dog becoming infected and the test being positive. This can be up to a 6 month delay. 

The most important thing a person can do is keep their pet on monthly heartworm prevention. With monthly heartworm prevention and a negative yearly test there is a very high likelihood that that pet is truly heartworm negative. For a newly adopted pet or a pet who doesn't get the preventative routinely it is suggested to perform the heartworm test every 6 months. Two negative tests 6 months apart is generally accepted to be a negative dog.

Here are some other helpful heartworm tips;

Any pet who tests positive should have another test done to confirm the first test. 

Any pet who has been off of preventatives for longer than 3 months should be tested, and then re-tested in 6 months.

Any pet who has heart disease and clinical signs consistent with heartworm infection should be re-tested.

Heartworm is a potentially fatal disease. It is easily and affordably be prevented with a preventative. As a veterinarian I urge my clients to protect their pets from this dangerous and expensive to treat disease.

For more information on heartworm disease see The AmericanHeartworm Society. http://www.heartwormsociety.org/

"Trends" magazine January 2013 edition had a veryinformative article. https://www.aahanet.org/AdvSponsorship/TrendsMagazine.aspx

If your pet tests positive talk to your veterinarian about how to best confirm the test. If your pet tests negative but has any signs of heartworm disease ask how you can confirm a negative test, or run other diagnostics to check for the presence of heartworms.

For information on an in-house IDEXX SNAP test. http://tinyurl.com/albbgmg

Signs Of A Bad Economy?

I hope that I can someday look back and talk about this time in my professional life the same way that my mentors talked about what being a vet was like 25 years ago.

I worked with one vet who would always talk about flea & ticks with the same opening lines. He would say, "25 years ago we only had powders and toxic smelly dips to use to treat flea infestations. Now we have these convenient monthly topicals. Boy veterinary medicine has changed! We may pay a little extra, but gone are the days of pets having to die of flea infestation because we didn't have anything effective to treat them with." He sold a whole lot of flea and tick preventatives when he recalled the "old days" with his clients.

I hope that someday I will be looking back, and talking about this terrible economy from an "I learned about blank because I lived through that time."

Here's how I am seeing the effects of a terrible economy.

People are dumping their problem pets at the shelters like I have never seen before. Any sign of a problem and they bail. It is disheartening to put it mildly. Somehow humanity has been lost because we are worried about our bank accounts. Now, I know this is a gross generalization, and I know that many people are truly struggling, but the people I see dumping their pets still have cable, iphones, and manicures. I just don't get it. I would sacrifice almost everything, (I mean this) to keep my pets. My pets are my salvation. My sanity, and my life companions. Maybe I just see the world differently? I don't know, I just don't understand it.

I am also seeing the number of positive heartworm cases escalating like I have never seen before. Fewer people are buying the preventative and giving it monthly, and more dogs are testing positive because of this. Subsequently more dogs are carrying the disease, more dogs are spreading the disease.

We are lucky that Northern Maryland is not a prevalent heartworm disease area. I used to see maybe 1 case a year, and these were usually rescue dogs that had come from down south, (heartworm disease is carried by mosquito's and it is much more common down south because of this), but in the last few months we have seen 4 cases.

Heartworm disease is spread by mosquito's infecting your dog (and cat) with microfilaria for a heartworm positive animal. The microfilaria are killed by heartworm preventatives that are available in chewable treat form, topical liquid form and even a 6 month injectable is available. In many cases the preventative costs a few dollars a month for each pet. It is safe, incredibly effective and as I say everyday, "one of the most important parts of pet care. because you get a lot of bang for your buck with heartworm preventatives. many of the available preventatives on the market today not only prevent this potentially life-threatening disease but they also treat and protect your pet against some of the most common intestinal worms your pet is susceptible to. For a few dollars a month you prevent disease, treat your pet or worms, and help insure that you and your children don't get one of these worms yourself." It is an easy sell no-brainer for me.

To make matters worse the treatment for this disease has become almost impossible, (I am using "almost" although it is more honest if I just omit it), to get the treatment for this disease. So what are we to do? More pets are getting the disease, and now we can't treat it. It is a preventative disease that is now becoming more and more common place. And dogs are being dumped at the shelters because a preventable disease is now harder (and very expensive) to treat.

Am I going to look back on this time in history and say, "I lived, and practiced through a time in history where a completely preventable life-threatening disease that I rarely ever saw became an epidemic because people chose to not use the preventative and then couldn't treat their dog when they became positive with heartworms?"

Gosh, I really hope not.

Guest Blogger, My Best friend, and her dog Banjo

Linda, in her store with her two guard dogs. Well, if wagging and barking "hello, come pet me!" is an alarm call

   Ever since Krista started writing her blog, I have threatened to write a guest appearance, mainly about Banjo, the rescue she changed our lives with, but also (like it or not, Krista) about Krista herself.

     There are some days that change your own history and the day I met Krista was just one of those days, although of course I didn't know it at the time.  My husband, Carroll, and I have an antiques store is an obscure and ridiculously remote part of southern York County, Pennsylvania called Gatchellville. About six years ago, I was in the house, which is located right across the driveway from the store, and my husband came in and said there was a customer at the front door of the store.  I reminded him that we were closed and that he should tell the gal to come back another day.  Carroll told me that he told her that to go away and come back another day but that she refused to leave!  Well, now I know that that is classic Krista.  If there is something she wants, she goes after it, and she doesn't leave until she has it.

     It turned out to be a lucky day for all of us.  Carroll and I had just moved to southern Pennsylvania.  Krista and her husband, Joe, had just done the same.  We all loved antiques, good food, old houses, and animals, and along with another couple, Barbara and Richard, we formed a band of brothers, so to speak. 

     We have spent the past six years pondering the universe, fighting over politics, drinking more champagne than I want to admit to, lavishing each other with gifts, and becoming a family. 

     Without knowing what was happening, these people have become the people who, without question, I would lend money, donate a kidney, flip hundreds of pancakes for, and in Krista's case, trust with my animal's medical care.

     Inevitably at the end of a workday, when Krista and Joe show up at our house for dinner (why do I do all of the cooking, by the way?), the topic is first and foremost people and their animals what happened at the clinic how people can be cruel, lazy, and downright stupid with their pets, and how it is a never ending uphill battle to make the world safe for the animals in our possession. We have to get this conversation out of the way before we can go on to other things like how our families drive us crazy, what antiques we saw at a show we went to, and who wants what gift for Christmas.

     I will tell you that Krista-Joe, too-do not suffer fools easily and pity the poor folks who come into her clinic who have neglected their pets.  In her case, the customer is not always right and she does not mind telling them.  Well, that's as it should be. 

     For me, I know she has gotten my own pets miniature poodles named Mason (who has since passed away), Noodle, and Banjo through any number of scrapes and I rest easier just knowing that she is at the other end of the phone in an emergency. 

Banjo, (foreground) and Noodle, (background) slumbering on their porch.

Two years ago, my little dog, Noodle, was attacked by a vicious Rottweiler in the back yard of our house.  We were minding our business, out for our evening walk, and this dog came out of nowhere and somehow mistook Noodle for a nice dinner sandwich.  It was one of the scariest days of my life. I thought that, not only would Noodle be gone, but that I would be attacked as well, and the two of us would be left to die alone in the field.

     By a miracle I was able to get away, but I thought that Noodle was dead.  There was blood everywhere.  However, I sensed a faint heartbeat when I got him into the house.  One phone call and five minutes later, I was at Krista's old stone house.  Joe was carrying Noodle in and she had turned the upstairs bathroom into a sterile emergency room.  

Thank-Goodness Noodle is still with us! Amazingly not too much worse for wear.  We were lucky that day.

     Another lucky day occurred last February when we got a call from Krista someone had dropped off a small white poodle and she thought we might want to adopt it. It turns out that the people had even offered to pay for euthanasia if it could not find a good home.  

     I wasn't looking for another dog.  The way we care for Noodle is the way some families might care for n entire squadron of five year olds-just dressing him in his daily sweater sets is a job-so I wasn't looking for another dog.

     But as is Krista's way, she was pretty insistent that we wanted this dog.  I agreed to come in and meet him the next day.  I wasn't excited. I figured there had to be a lot wrong with him if his previous family would just drop him off, unwanted.

Me and Banjo at JVC.

Banjo, in his first few days at JVC, Looking scruffy and scared.

 

When I met him, I knew I was right.  There was a lot wrong with him.  He had ear infections, urinary tract infections, matted fur, runny eyes, chronic diarrhea, and was positive for heartworm.  He was the scrawniest, most pathetic poodle I have ever seen; with a face that just cried out with is misery.  Please, please, please, won't somebody love me!?

     I knew if I just picked him up for one second I would be a goner. So I resisted for a full five minutes. Just staring at him from across the room. Could I commit to this pathetic little bundle of matted fur? To make him even more pathetic, he has a strange albino-ish coloring with pink circles around his eyes and a pink nose. He looks as if he is perpetually crying.

     I knew I had a little bit of an out by telling the folks at the clinic that we would leave the decision to keep this dog up to Noodle, the spoiled (and healthy and beautiful) poodle at home. 

Well, the two bonded like twin brothers who had been separated at birth and were reunited on the Oprah show.  From the second they laid eyes on each other, they have been inseparable, two peas in a pod, always shoulder to shoulder in their perch in the window.

Carroll, Linda's Husband, with their two peas, Noodle (left) and Banjo (right).

 

     This dog, who came with the cumbersome name of Jean Luc has been renamed Banjo and has learned to live with a family who loves him and spoils him, something that all dogs should hope to have. He still has some health problems, most recently a series of very worrisome seizures.  He has allergies, oddball rashes, ear infections, and I think he will always be pretty high maintenance.  But to me-and to my husband, Carroll, he is one of the most beautiful dogs in the world.   We are so glad that we were able to rescue him from the clinic in Jarrettsville. 

     Thanks, Krista.

Banjo, on the couch, (where he usually is), in plaid, (like he usually is), with his bone.