Of pets and their people

                              In Italy, they make shoelaces out of dogs.
                              This little tidbit is shared by Father-in-law, 89, over breakfast at his house Friday.
                              I do not believe that, I tell him, as I pour my coffee.  Just because you say it with authority doesn't make it so.
                              He shrugs, and closes the newspaper, which I'd mistakenly shared with him.  In it, I'd shared with readers Dog's travails at the animal hospital.
                              What Father-in-law cannot believe is that his son and I took Dog to an emergency room veterinarian and forked over $429.  Another $8 at the drugstore for Pepcid.
                               The antacid was prescribed for Dog, but I consider taking some as I explain to Father-in-law what about this particular dog is so special that she warrants our dipping deep into our checkbook.
                               "Crazy," he sayswhen I tell him Dog is like family. More likeable than some other family members, too.
                               Dog never would be allowed in his kitchen.
                               Dog sleeps with Husband and me.  I cook for her.  I bathe her in the same bathtub in which I used to bathe the kids, being careful the water temperature is just comfortably warm.
                               Father-in-law grimaces at this and goes back to his egg and bacon.  He's wondering where he went wrong with Husband, I'm sure.
                               Born in the United States, but raised in a village in northern Italy, Father-in-law sees dogs as farm apparatus to be stored outdoors.
                               A dog owner in his day would feed and water the dog, but he would not (NOT EVER, unless he'd lost his mind) give it a bubble bath, feed it cookies or haul it off to a doctor's office, he shares.
                              I tell Father-in-law, as I drop a slice of bread into the toaster, I am not the only one who thinks of my dog as a furry kid.  These days, lots of sane people do.
                              And to strengthen my argument, I point out that his granddaughter while living in Italy right out of college, worked for a woman who brought a little French bulldog to her restaurant every day.  It was allowed to sleep under the piano when it tried of greeting guests.  Daughter used to send me photos of that pampered pooch from Rome.
                               No one in modern Italy would suggest making shoelaces out of that animal, I tell Father-in-law, who holds his hand to his ear and pretends, as he often does, not to hear me.
                               I will not share with him the words of readers who emailed or stopped me in the office and on the street to share some costly medical incident involving a beloved pet.  Some were horror stories, some sad, others shared happy endings.
                               Like Anthony of Bristol Township, who paid for multiple cancer surgeries and chemo for the family greyhound, 11.  The results have been positive.  Cancer not spreading.  Five months later, the dog seems well.
                               "I will not say the total cost for everything so far but suffice it to say we have invested many thousands.  I realize many would look at what we have spent and see it as excessive.  Have I reached the expenditure limit?  Looking into the eyes of my wife and dog I would have to say no," Anthony said.
                               Others note that even the sums for basic care are substantial.
                               "I, too, look at our dogs as an extension of our family," wrote Carolyn of Lower Makefield.
                               "We have spent thousands over the years, taking care of them ----- groomer, vet bills, special food when necessary, and medications.  Our dog has terrible allergies, so I have to give him allergy meds starting in September all the way till the frost kills whatever the heck is making him itch like a fiend.  That adds up quickly.  But, thank goodness, we can afford it.  I have had many discussions with the vet about how best to take care of the dogs without going broke ......... I do simple things like making sure vaccinations are scheduled with their annual exams, so we don't get him with extra visits."
                               Bottom line for me?  Families who are considering a pet, really must be conscious of the potential cost associalted with caring for a precious, unpredictable life.
                               Bottom line for Father-in-law?   You don't want to know.  I pretended not to hear him.