Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Rodeo Time!

The dogs needed to go to the vet this morning for their annual shots. Until we moved to the country, I didn't realize that ordinary people can do their own immunizations on their animals. (I also got educated about homeschooling here in the country. It's all that pioneer spirit!) Now, in IL, this doesn't apply to rabies; that still has to be done by a bona fide professional. But distemper, parvo, etc, can be done by yours truly. You can do it, too; if you have any kind of farm supply near you, they carry the shots. If not, there are many places online that sell them. Then you pick up a roll of skin and put that needle just under it. The pros call it subcutaneous; I call it in the gap between skin and muscle. I'm kinda digressing.
So I rolled out of bed at two early, put the pups in the back of the truck and headed out for old Doc Iverson's. Doc Iverson is quite the guy. He's semi-retired, but still caring for critters. You have to be willing to show up before 8am. You also have to catch him in town; he has hunting property in Montana, and is gone much of the year. And if you catch him in town, be sure to ask about his ram. He got a beautiful Bighorn ram, and now has it, as a three-quarter mount, standing in his living room. I'm digressing again.
He did heartworm testing on all three dogs, and vaccinated our Corgi for distemper, parvo and bordatella. I wouldn't normally mess with that one, but MSP is starting 4H dog obedience classes with him this week. Doc Iverson and I got into a long discussion (we always solve one of the world's problems while I'm there) about the cost of vet medicine. He charged me $105; that included the tests, shots, and heartworm medicine for 6 months for three dogs. Ask your local vet what he would charge. I have never paid more than $200 to Doc Iverson; and that was for all three dogs to get heartworm testing (and medicine) and all their shots, including rabies. He went on for a while about the cost of veterinary clinics. "They used to cost $500,000. Than a million. Now they're THREE million. Why on earth do they need $3M in buildings and equipment to take care of critters? That's insane." I'm digressing again!
When we pulled into the driveway, (The dogs and I; none of my kids was available to come along. Grumbling AND digressing...) I looked toward the barn and noticed something disturbing. I opened the front door, found EP, and said,"Why do you suppose Bill and Bess are wandering through the barn?" "Well, Mom, I guess they needed to take a walk." And so, we headed out for the semi-weekly rodeo. We were able to shut the barn door and trap Bill right away. We fixed the gate they had flattened (Bill REALLY needs to go home...) and got them back in. Bess, however, romped through our very wet yard. We will have cow divots until the big rains in the fall, I expect. It was funny, though, to see her out visiting the chickens. She sniffed noses with a few, probably hoping they'd share some grain. I called over, "Bess, come on," and, silly me, whistled as if for a dog. SHE CAME! She looked over, and bounded right up to me like Henry or Woody would. In fact, she wasn't stopping...and wasn't stopping...I was ready to jump and run as she barreled down on me. About 10 feet away, I am not kidding, her eyes got HUGE, as if she realized, "I'm gonna trample the one who brings me grain," and she swerved. I still got splattered with mud, and it was a good 10 minutes before we had them both safe in their pen, but calm has again settled down on our farm. Everybody seems to be where they're supposed to be...except MSP. She should be out of bed. Better go. I'm digressing again...

3 comments:

Cheryl said...

Wow! My eyes got huge just reading this.

And I think even with the cost of gas we would do better driving up to your place to get veterinary care! (I think the annual check-up, heartworm test & shots visit is about $150--that doesn't include the heartworm and Frontline (flea) meds--a few days ago I picked up a 2-month tide-us-over-until-the-annual-visit refill of heartworm pills and a 3-month supply of Frontline and the total was $62.

Melody said...

You know, Cheryl, you could save even down there...
While it's not "the modern thing," Doc Iverson doesn't recommend heartworm meds between the freeze (when there's 1" of ice on ponds) and your first mosquito bite.
So, c'mon up for that annual visit. The girls can hang out, we can, too, and you'll save mucho bucks!

Kim said...

I think the cost of vet care is just always more in the city. When we adopted 2 dogs from the local city they came with a free check-up. The costs for vaccinations at that vet was double what it is here in our little town. I was also told that they normally charge an office visit if you are there for shots, our local vet doesn't. The approach to treatment seems to be diffferent as well.