I’ve been putting off taking Dottie to the vet for her yearly exam because it is always so expensive.  I knew she had to go because she has to get her vaccines.  But, I’ve had “call the vet” on my to-do list for about two months.

Over the weekend Dottie started shaking her head, signaling a possible ear infection.  She is a beagle/basset hound with long floppy adorable ears.  But, those adorable ears are very prone to infections.  So I knew it was time to stop putting off taking her to the vet.

So Tuesday afternoon we went to the vet.  As soon as we walked in Dottie started her barking/howling.  If you’ve ever heard a hound dog sounding howl- that is what Dottie sounds like.  And she did that for 10 minutes straight while we waited.  At one point there was a man checking out with his dog and between howls I heard the receptionist tell him his total was $191.  And I thought to myself, “Oh that poor man.  My total won’t be that much.”

Well, it turned out that Dottie did have an ear infection.  She also had to get two vaccines as well as her “senior” exam, which seemed an awful lot like her exam used to be when she was younger.  Then she had to have blood work to test for heart-worms.  Oh- and that’s not all.  Dottie had a large lump on her side, so that had to be tested as well.  The vet removed some fluid to test it to find out if it was just fatty cells or could possibly be cancer or pre-cancerous cells.

So, imagine my check out experience.  The receptionist went through all of those things plus a prescription for the ear infection and medication for Dottie’s allergies (yes, my dog has allergies).  And my total- $195 and some change.  It turned out that I had also pre-paid for a future stool sample- for my convenience- so that I could drop off at any time.  That was refunded, bring my total down by about $17.

We did get a phone call later that evening to let us know that Dottie does not have cancer, just a large spot of fatty cells on her side.  So, that was certainly a relief.

Even with all of the poking and sticking and so on, I actually think Dottie enjoyed her break from Hailey even if it was because she had to go to the vet.  So, she had a little break that cost me almost $200.  And when you add on the price of gas…

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