The Price of Unconditional Love

For reasons which will soon become clear, I call him "Romeo". According to the veterinarian's notes, he's a "Labrador-X", which I take to mean he's of dubious heritage, but mostly Lab. He showed up about a month ago having followed his nose to my brother's Rottweiler bitch, Marley, who was emitting "come hither" pheromones in abundance.

You could count his ribs ribs through his blue-black fur; his back slumped like an old plow horse; his eyes were clouded with mucous. While perky around Marley, he had a depressed hang-dog look otherwise. Sucker that I am, I took pity on him and invited him to dinner. I've been his "best friend forever" ever since.

Romeo came with no collar, no tags, and scanning by the vet found no ID chip. I posted his picture with the two local veterinarians and with Animal Control offices of both the city and the county. I even posted a "Found Dog" sign on the highway. No luck, despite indications that he had been domesticated: he's house-trained, he's affectionate, he obeys commands to sit and stay. He also insists that he's not a junkyard dog but an inside dog, i.e., he rushes an open door, he can negotiate stairs, he prefers people food over dog food, and he knows what a bed is for. So far he hasn't chewed up my shoes nor emptied the garbage can onto the kitchen floor.

               All in all, he's a wonderful pet. The thing is,
               I don't really need a pet. The space in my RV
               home is a very limited 290 sq ft. A 55 lb best
               friend under foot is cumbersome at best.

Still, I was concerned about his health so I took him to the vet, thinking I could find him a home later. He received an overall evaluation, a canine wellness panel, a parasite exam, and three vaccines. That, plus pills for the hookworms discovered, came to $238.50. The next day I was informed that the test for heart-worms was positive. OMG! I had heard treatment for heart-worms was expensive. It is: $592.80! Grand total: $831.30. Ouch!

So, I have my chemotherapy and Romeo has his treatment for heart-worms and hookworms. Our "meds" sit side by side on the table. Don't even ask why I'm doing this. Maybe it's guilt: how could I accept cost-free Medicare treatment for my "pc" and deny him relief from the not-his-fault parasites in his body? And maybe, just maybe it's those soft velvety ears and the pleading looks from those big brown eyes imploring me to return his unconditional love by buying back his good health.

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