A friend of mine asked me the other day if I could list the five things which brought me the most pleasure. He had his list at the ready, but for me, only one thing came to mind … mornings at Crissy Field with my dog Agatha Pocket. So precious these memories are to me that for years my moniker here and at my social media and Zoom accounts has been a picture of Aggie running through the waves.
These trips to Crissy were before Aggie had ACL surgery. A few days a week, we would head out first thing in the morning, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge with commuter traffic to Crissy in San Francisco. The fog would just be lifting as huge colorful container ships passed under the bridge heading out to the Pacific. When we arrived the beach would be nearly empty. Mostly dog walkers herding their packs. Aggie would run off leash for a good hour, splashing in and out of the surf, fetching sticks, engaging in joyous games of chase.
It was always a blissful way to start the day. watching the sailboats scoot by, feeling the wind on my cheeks, walking close to the shoreline to pick up sticks to toss in the water. Stopping off at the dog washing station to rinse Aggie off before heading back to Sausalito and the computer.
I didn’t realize how much I missed it until the other day when I realized it was forever gone.
We stopped going after the ACL surgery, primarily because there is always a good chance with a torn ACL that the dog will tear the other one. Not only did I not want to put her through another surgery but there was also the cost to consider: well over $10K.
Aggie hasn’t run off leash since then. Instead, we go on several leashed walks a day.
We were back at the vet again yesterday morning, the second time in a week. Aggie began scooting her butt along the floor on Tuesday. She was desperately trying to reach the itch and was licking anything she had laid down on. Really distraught. Some $450 later (an exam, two injections, a take home spray, some probiotics), she is calmer today. Already healing.
This visit came fast on the heels of a trip to the vet on Friday to see if she had a foxtail up her nose (she didn’t) which involved them sedating her and ended up costing $350.
Since the new year, Aggie has been at the vet four times: once was $600, another was $400. So in total, I’ve spent around $1800 in slightly less than four months.
Vet bills typically range from $50-$250. Undoubtedly, I’m paying higher rates because of where I live and the fact that our vet recently moved into a beautiful and posh new office space and has to recoup some of the expense.
USA Today reports:
Veterinarians are reporting a marked increase over the past several years – especially since the pandemic – in the cost of running a practice, which inevitably gets passed along to clients.
Aggie is now 12 and healthy so far so hopefully she has a few more years but I am starting to wonder about how realistic it is to rescue a new dog once she passes. In just this four month period — taking into account her vet bills, medications, supplements, dog food, some dog walker fees — I’m close to the high end of a Synchrony study which estimates the average annual cost of owning a dog at $1,270 to $2,803. (Annual estimates for a 15-year lifespan range between $20k and $55K.)
It is next to impossible, however, to consider what life would be like without a dog. I’ve had Roscoe and Willie, Gussie and Bo, Stella and Macaroni.
Another friend was over for dinner the other night. Her dog Roxie is 14 and only has one kidney. We remembered the old days, when our dogs were young and we would meet in the evenings in the Sausalito Dog Park, talking away as they played while the sun set silently behind us and the shadows winked and widened. Imagine having those days back again.
What I wouldn’t give for just one more morning at Crissy Field, watching as Aggie sprints far down the beach in front of me as my feet sift through the sand and the day stretches before us, wondrous with promise and opportunity.
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