Thursday, May 25, 2006

How Much is that Doggie in the Window - If you have to ask you can't afford it

We dropped into the pet shop tonite. Waiting for our take out Barbecue to be done.

Looked at the dogs. The sign said the cute puppy was called a Pappion. The sign said, $600 OFF. That means this is a marked down dog. FROM WHAT??

So I asked. Regular Price is $1399. For a dog.

The world has gone nuts.

I guess when I got Skipper for nothing I got the bargain of the century.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cousin Gene,

I enjoyed your writing very much and I agree that the dog your are describing is one spendy dog. Your writing inspired me to share this little dog story with you, not to make a point, but just for the sake of sharing.

We are the owners of a spendy dog. Not that we chose a spendy dog, but that our dog became a bit spendy. Gerry and I have a German Shorthaired Pointer, a $600, much loved hunting dog. Jack can run 15-20 miles an hour for miles! He is the most loveable creature and gifted athlete ever. And, can that dog hunt? Yes! Every fall, he and his partner, Kirby (an English Springer-our flusher) assist a group of hunters, led by Gerry, on very successful hunting trips in South Dakota!

Unfortunately, we learned a new lesson about hunting dogs early on. 8 months after we became his owners, JACK broke loose from his "tie out" and went after a rabbit. A car hit him and he was pretty broken.

We took him to the highly acclaimed University of Iowa Veterinary Hospital, highly acclaimed nationwide and highly acclaimed by the Klein family. Those talented folks took our broken JACK and put him back together again, literally fixing him. He is now a happy, "never tied", wonderful, fully recovered dog.

Now, why would anyone spend over $5,000 to heal a dog? What would Mancel say about this? Well, when I was a kid, we had a hunting dog-a Black and Tan Coon Hound. Perhaps you remember him. For several months during DUKE'S life, he lived with a bacterial infection that literally drained him of his energy. Dad took DUKE to Doc Dunn in Ellendale, and Doc Dunn told him he would do what he could, but he was one sick dog. After two months, under Doc Dunn's care and hundreds of bucks, Duke came home to us, full of energy, vigor and vim. Doc cured him of his ailments. We were all very pleased about DUKE'S recovery, but Dad was was the most pleased. He loved animals and his compassion for Duke taught lifelong lessons to his children. In fact, through Dad, we learned a great deal about compassion for all living things. Thank God I had my Dad as a teacher of love and compassion. Had I not, where would Jack be today?

Thanks to lessons learned as a child, our dogs are members of our family and thus, are treated with the same love and care as a member of our family.

One year and $5,000 later, JACK was as good as new. He runs as fast as ever, jumps as high, swims as far and is a HUNTER OF HUNTERS!

Was it worth it? AN ASTOUNDING YES! Would we do it again? ABSOLUTELY!

Hope you enjoyed my little story!

Cousin Dixie