No Time to Skimp

There’s no feeling in the world like welcoming a cuddly, playful new member to your family. There’s a very pragmatic side to obtaining a new pet, however. It’s actually a big commitment, in terms of time, obligations, and finances. You carefully considered all of that before you signed the papers, right?

Most of us know of the significant cost involved in getting the baby through his first year: inoculations, neuter surgery, and investing in all his new “things”—a bed, new leash and collar, those long-neglected fence repairs. Although it’s fun to purchase cat trees, toys, and new shampoos for pampering the baby, we’ll heave a sigh of relief when these costs are behind us. They’re generally one-time fees that can be filed and forgotten, unless you have a dog that eats leashes (or fences).

Entering those glorious mid-life years, your pet is in his prime. He needs little more than a regular parasite preventative, a routine shipment of kitty litter, and a bag of food from time to time. It’s part of your monthly budget. Although there are certainly some exceptions, many pets have little need for the doctor during those precious years of peak health.

Then—don’t quit on me now!—things start to take a turn. They always do. Time marches on, and it’s dragging all of us along for the ride. Your four-footed family member is also aging and doing it at a much faster clip than you are. In half a dozen years, you’ll put on a few pounds, make some resolutions, and start buying an expensive new face cream. In the same amount of time, your pet will graduate from “mature” to “ancient”. It’s hard to fully comprehend. I suppose that’s why so many of you are surprised when the topic of age-related illness comes up during his annual appointment—that, and a healthy dose of denial. At 8 or 9 years old, he is still a child to you, right? Continue to think of him that way, but be sure that you don’t let it get in the way of his proper care. Aging is an arduous process, and the odds are very high that your “baby” will be embarking on that journey before you do. He’s going to need more coddling, more medicine, a stricter routine, more frequent visits to his doctor, and more trips to the potty. He’s likely to need a specialized kind of food. And doesn’t he deserve all of that, for always being there, never complaining, waking you every morning with a smile? A great many of my patients are, in a weird sort of way, older than I am. I’m very sensitive to that, so I recommend lots of things they never needed when they were younger. It’s a big job getting a puppy or kitten settled, but it will be a bigger job helping him through his golden years. Before you know it, that baby will be older than you, and that’s when he’ll need the pampering. It’s not the time to skimp.

Dr M.S. Regan