52 Week Savings Challenge: Week 19

If you read my last blog entry you know that I had two life bombs hit me and was worried about a possible third. Well, I will not leave you in suspense any longer…it hit!

I have no two-legged children so I am used to just taking care of myself; however, I do have a four-legged son named Jack. He is a miniature Schnauzer and my whole world. My friends think I am crazy because I treat Jack as if he is human. I do not even use the “D” word (dog) in my house, but if you have a “fur baby” you know what I am talking about.

Jack is five years old and completely healthy and perfect.  But over the past few weeks I noticed that his ears were bothering him more than usual (Schnauzers are known to have sensitive skin and ears) because he kept rubbing them against the carpet and constantly scratching them. Over the next couple of days his ears developed a horrific odor, so I began washing his ears everyday rather than the normal twice a week. One morning I woke up and Jack’s ear was so swollen and red that it almost looked as if there was some sort of growth forming on his ear. I immediately called his vet to schedule an appointment for that day.

So my poor baby Jack and I are sitting waiting for the vet to come in. I can tell he feels miserable plus the fact that he despises the vet and starts to shake uncontrollably. I tried to calm him down but had no success. His vet finally arrived, who by the way is amazing, and gave him a good thorough exam. Jack kept eyeing at me with this look that said, “Mommy, please help me!” which was so pitiful, but he was a brave boy through his shots and ear examination.

After all of that, we discovered that Jack has a severe ear infection with two different types of bacteria. His vet goes on to tell me that he will be on four different medications and that his ear problems may never fully go away. He may have them the rest of his life in fact. With all of that bad news, she proceeded to hand me a $300 bill and says, “We will see y’all in a couple of weeks.” All I can think of, with my mouth dragging the floor in shock, is “what is that going to cost me?”

So, of course $300 was very unexpected and not in my budget at all, but I am so thankful that Jack has what he needs to get better and would pay it again for him in a heartbeat. Because of this, I am having to readjust my budget and not to thrilled at what my finances are looking like. My boss likes to say to me, “Positivity, Tawny! Positivity!” in an almost sing song like voice with an incredibly enormous grin on her face. It’s true, I can be a little pessimistic at times and need to be more positive, but here is my view on the “it could always be worse”-type mantra. Everyone at some point has challenges in life. Yes, there could always be more or worse challenges, but it does not make the challenges you already have any easier!

Total savings: $190

By: Tawny Ormes
      Marketing Projects Coordinator
      and TBT Webmaster

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