Vet Update

Katie and I ended up just taking Sadie to the vet. By the time we pay for the shots, blood work, office visit, heartworm pills, etc., it gets pretty expensive. I called a "cheaper" vet to see how much it would be to take her there, but it came within $20, so we stuck with the vet from our church that I really like.

I called the vet and asked if Jo really needed to come, and after we went through her paperwork over the phone, we realized that she didn't need any shots or anything this year. When we got Jo, her first family took her to the vet to get a full check up before bringing her to our house, so we haven't had to take her to the vet at all. I do want to get her weighed, but I can just stop by with her and get her weighed without an appointment (and without getting charged).

I was a bit dismayed to find out that Sadie is now overweight. Last year she was 63 pounds, and when I asked the vet what she should be, he said around 60, so we were okay. However, this year, she weighed in at 73.6. Oops! The problem was that I misread the instructions on the dog food, and I was feeding her the daily serving twice a day. We discovered this a month or so ago (after Mark and I argued over how much to feed her--I pulled out the package to prove my case and found out he was right), and I had cut her back.

The vet said that you are supposed to feed critters one cup for every 20 pounds of their ideal weight. This means that Sadie gets 3 cups a day (what the instructions said, too) and Jo is now getting 1/2 cup (instead of 2/3) each day. Surprisingly, Jo really hasn't seemed to notice.

After the vet, the pup got to go to Dairy-Go-Round and get their doggy sundae special. It is vanilla ice cream with dog treats on top. She loves going there, and since it is right by the vet's, I usually take her there after her annual visit. My mom later pointed out that it was a bit contradictory to take a dog you just found out was overweight (even though the vet said "slightly overweight") to get ice cream. Oh well, she deserved it after going through the trauma of getting blood drawn.

Katie took some pictures for me, but then my memory card got corrupted, and I lost them. She did take a picture with her camera phone of Sadie with her sundae, and I will be sure to post that once she gets that to me.

I am glad that the trip to the vet is only once a year, but next year, I will probably have to take both critters, so the adventure will start all over again!