I took Lexington to the vet today for her annual checkup and all of her shots to be hit with the usual, "she needs her teeth cleaned", bla bla bla , and then out of nowhere, "oh wow, she's going to need surgery from an orthopedic specialist on her knees because she may one day get arthritis." Ok here's how I feel about all of this. I love my dogs as though they are my own children. I'll do quite a lot for them that many pet owners laugh at (buy them lifejackets and diapers), but this is where I draw the line. I understand vets have families to provide for and need to make a living just like doctors, lawyers, etc., but this is what I call absurd. Seriously. I don't even want to know how much that surgery would cost considering that the vet would have to refer us to someone in Birmingham. I can't justify this. Surgery isn't something you treat lightly. In fact, Im not a big fan of surgery or medicine in general. I guess this comes from growing up with both parents in medicine and I've been taught to use extreme caution with these things. I'm the type of person who doesn't take Tylenol at the drop of a hat. Unless Im getting into migraine territory, I tough it out. I'm the same way with my dogs. When a vet suggests things like teeth cleaning every 6 months and things like this surgery, I have to say no. The problem is, I feel so guilty. I think vets capitalize on this. Nobody wants to be a bad pet owner. "No, I don't want to let my dog have surgery to prevent her from possibly having arthritis." How mean and unsympathetic does that sound?? I'm sure I'm not the only one who has faced this. I remember when our dog, Anna, was getting older, another vet recommended a geriatric profile workup to be done. Basically, $400 worth of blood tests for them to tell us, yes, she's getting old and her health may start degenerating. REALLY!?!??

In other news, I had quite a good time in Party City today picking up so oh so tacky Bachellorette party items. Some of the stuff they had was absolutely hilarious. For example, a "Hot meter." I guess you take this around with you to the bar and go up to guys and pretend to measure how "hot" they are. "ooooooooh sir, you have a hot reading of 9.3, you must buy us shots!" Don't worry, Abby, I didn't go overboard with this stuff, but lets just say that there will be no doubts about who the bachellorette is!!!