A lot of people, I suspect, won’t understand spending that kind of money on something that it is, after all, “only a dog.” We could, they might point out, get another one just like it instead of wasting money that could be a downpayment on a car. Money that could go toward reducing our mortgage. Money that could be donated to a worthy charity that helps humans.
So, for sure, they wouldn’t understand how a friend of ours once flew his Saint Bernard to Denver for a consultation with a specialist. Or another friend of ours, who estimates he spent $19,000 a few years ago on canine medical bills.
But how do you put a price tag on love? What’s the value of having someone in your life who never will disagree with you about politics, religion or sports?
Someone who will greet you at the door with a wagging tail and run around in circles everytime you walk into the house? Which is something a husband or wife seldom will do, no matter how long you’ve been married. Someone who looks at you with an expression that seems to be saying, “I love you,” but probably just means, “When are you going to feed me?”
Like Ira Glass, I’m under no illusions that the relationship we have with our dog is anything other than a one-way love affair. As he noted, “I was utterly immune to the things that other dog owners love, like the dog greeting them when they come home because he’s so happy to see them. That’s absurd. The dog greets you because he doesn’t know anyone else in New York.”
Still, I don’t regret even one dollar that we spent on our dog’s operation. We can do without a flat-screen television. At least until they come out with one that wags its tail and runs around in circles when we come home from work.
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