We love our pets

I wanted to tell you all about our pets. After all we only have so much time with our pets while they are on the face of the earth. Clint and I have been reminded of this fact because about a month ago our dog, Reiner, came down with Hermangiosarcoma. It is blood vessel cancer. He collapse in the hall way a few days after we got back from CA. and had to have emergency surgery to remove his spleen that had a mass on it. So he's a spleenless dog now! Since we love him so very much, we also decided to try to extend his time with us by having his cancer treated with Chemotherapy. (GASP) I'm sure most of you just did, but chemo with animals isn't this horrible aweful thing that many of us think of when we think of a person who is getting chemo. Instead, they give animals just enough chemo to suppress the cancer for a few months. It wouldn't be kind to animals to load them with chemo, making them feel horrible, but not be able to communicate with them that this is "for their own good."
The reason I am writing this post is because I want you all to have a desire to help your pets. Not just because Clint will need your business later when he goes into practice, but because we take animals into our homes and they are our responsibility. Many of us love them so much that they are like children to us. Reiner is very much our "child." Clint bought him and gave him to me the same night he proposed to me. He had my engagement ring on a red ribbon around his neck. The first three years of Reiner's life, he didn't leave my side. I went EVERYWHERE with him. So this dog means an aweful lot to me. :)
I also included a picture of my cats. As of right now, O.C. the orange and white cat is the only one who hasn't had to visit the vet. Wes, our black cat, has diabetes. We just discovered this about two weeks after taking Reiner to the vet.
Anyways, I want to share my adorable animals with you because I love them very much. Although I havne't had the cats for near as long as I have had Reiner, they are still members of my household and family. I also wanted to show you that even though Reiner is doing chemo, as you can see he looks very healthy. He also has all his hair. Chemo with animals doesn't make their hair fall out, it just keeps it from growing. Wes on the other hand looses his hair from licking it off. This is the origin of him getting diabetes. We gave him a steroid to help his allergies, and he ended up being one of the unlucky cats that was affected by the slight side affect of getting diabetes.
I also wanted to tell you that even though our pets have cost us an arm and a leg, our decision to help them was made easily. After we found out what was wrong with Reiner, Clint called me up and said, he's going in for surgery, come down and visit him before he goes in. We didn't have the horrible conversation of, "he has blah blah, and here are our options or we can put him down." Emotionally knowing that we were going to do what ever we needed to do to fix our dog was so much easier. We are so happy to help our pets and although it is costing us money, it isn't costing as much as I thought and I/we are dealing with their illnesses with a little ease of mind because we know we are doing what we can. So I hope after reading this blog, some one received the comfort they may have needed. :)