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Post by suziriot on Oct 31, 2011 19:13:50 GMT -5
Brook and I are having a very hard time making a decision. We are supposed to leave Wednesday morning for California, to go to my brother's wedding. Brook's best friend is staying at the house to take care of the dogs. We totally trust him. The problem is that he still has to work, and he may possibly be gone for 10 hours at a time. Brook's dad and the neighbor are coming over during the day to let them out to potty and run around the yard, but we don't trust them to take them on walks. We are really worried about leaving Barley, with his current health issues. Both of his worst episodes were after he had been crated for 4-5 hours, which is usually the absolute longest they have to be home alone. If it is a spinal compression, which we don't know for sure yet, the vet said there is a risk for a disc rupture and he would need immediate emergency surgery. We are really torn between Brook staying home from the trip to keep an eye on Barley, or taking a chance that he will be okay. Brook has not gone home to California with me to see my family in about 6 years. I usually go for Christmas, and Brook can't go with me because he has tons of catering business for holiday parties. I know my family will be very disappointed and maybe even pissed if he doesn't come. I'll have to deal with the usual "they care more about their dogs than people" bullcrap. Which I don't really care about. And I don't care about the fee for changing the plane ticket. I can always use it to fly home another time. But I'm having a hard time weighing the peace of mind of having Brook stay with Barley and the hell I'll get from my family if he doesn't come. So I guess my question is... are we being unreasonably paranoid over Barley? Would you feel okay leaving your dog in this situation?
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Post by maryellen on Oct 31, 2011 19:31:21 GMT -5
can barley stay at the vets and be boarded?
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Post by suziriot on Oct 31, 2011 19:38:43 GMT -5
Our vet doesn't do boarding. We've never boarded before... I do have a recommendation for a good one, but I don't know if a non-vet place will take a dog with current serious medical issues. I could look into that.
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Post by michele5611 on Oct 31, 2011 20:19:10 GMT -5
Suzi you hav e to do what makes you comfortable regardless of what family members say. I know my family thinks I am crazy with regards to Harley but she is my priority and I make no apologies about it. You have to think about peace of mind and will you really enjoy to your trip if you are worrying about Barley. Me personally I would deal with the disappointment of my family and let Brook stay home- that is not to say that Barley would not be well cared for but I would just feel more at ease with my other half watching her.
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Post by maryellen on Oct 31, 2011 20:19:12 GMT -5
i wouldnt board him at a non vet place though with his condition, you really want a vet boarding. are there any 24/7 emergency vets that will board him with a note from your vet? and maybe give you a break on boarding costs?
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Post by maryellen on Oct 31, 2011 20:27:02 GMT -5
oh and i agree with michele 20000%
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Post by fureverywhere on Oct 31, 2011 23:08:24 GMT -5
It's alittle late for me to add my 3 cents but I would agree that there has to be a good vet to do boarding or yes I would put peace of mind over the family...
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Post by adoptapitbull on Nov 1, 2011 7:01:17 GMT -5
I'd rather have a ticked family over a sick dog!
In this case, Jim would be staying home, too. You'll be a nervous wreck the whole time, and you won't be able to enjoy the wedding. If something happens while you're gone, you're going to be running all the way home. At least if Brook is taking care of him, you'll worry a bit less, and you won't get that "OMG something's wrong, what do I do?" call.
If I had a penny for each time his family got pissed that I didn't come out...sheesh.
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Post by RealPitBull on Nov 1, 2011 8:22:56 GMT -5
Suzi you hav e to do what makes you comfortable regardless of what family members say. I know my family thinks I am crazy with regards to Harley but she is my priority and I make no apologies about it. You have to think about peace of mind and will you really enjoy to your trip if you are worrying about Barley. Me personally I would deal with the disappointment of my family and let Brook stay home- that is not to say that Barley would not be well cared for but I would just feel more at ease with my other half watching her. I have to echo this, and agree 100%. If I were you, I'd have Brook stay home. You will both be miserable and worried about Barley the whole time, anyway. You have to do what is right/best for you and your dog. I feel you are totally right to be concerned - it's not paranoia, this is a legitimate worry. My dog comes first. If it was my kid, no one would bat an eye. But I don't have kids, my dog IS my child. It's too bad that people - even family - cannot recognize that the animals in our lives are just as important to us as the people.
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Post by loverocksalot on Nov 1, 2011 8:34:49 GMT -5
If my dog were ill-(Unless I could find someone to be there all day and night at my house) . I would have to cancel the trip.
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Post by lovemybully76 on Nov 1, 2011 9:06:26 GMT -5
If Brook's cool with staying home I would let him. Your family may get mad, but oh well. I'm sure you would be more upset if something happen to Barley while you were both gone than if your family is mad at you for a while. I get a lot of that "I care more about the dogs, blah blah, blah, BS from everyone too.
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Post by suziriot on Nov 1, 2011 9:43:32 GMT -5
Thank you everyone. Barley fell twice again last night, and that decided it for us. Brook will be staying home. He already took the time off work, so he'll be able to spend lots of time with the dogs. I'll feel so much better knowing that Barley is being cared for by his daddy. My dog comes first. If it was my kid, no one would bat an eye. But I don't have kids, my dog IS my child. It's too bad that people - even family - cannot recognize that the animals in our lives are just as important to us as the people. Totally how I feel, Mary! And as I told Brook last night, the stress and emotional fallout of having to deal with my family is SO worth it to make sure Barley is okay. I love my family, but I won't choose making them happy over my dog's health. And I don't care if they understand that or not. Their priorities don't have to be my priorities.
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Post by RealPitBull on Nov 1, 2011 9:56:09 GMT -5
Totally how I feel, Mary! And as I told Brook last night, the stress and emotional fallout of having to deal with my family is SO worth it to make sure Barley is okay. I love my family, but I won't choose making them happy over my dog's health. And I don't care if they understand that or not. Their priorities don't have to be my priorities. This is a really good way of looking at things. It's actually something I've only recently learned, too. NOT pleasing family is very hard at times, but prioritizing and realizing that it would be impossible to please everyone all the time without sacrificing myself, etc was a big/important epiphany. Very freeing, too.
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Post by suziriot on Nov 1, 2011 10:22:24 GMT -5
This is a really good way of looking at things. It's actually something I've only recently learned, too. NOT pleasing family is very hard at times, but prioritizing and realizing that it would be impossible to please everyone all the time without sacrificing myself, etc was a big/important epiphany. Very freeing, too. It's something that I learned very recently as well. An important lesson if you want to be truly happy.
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