Put it on my Tab

I love bringing happiness to dogs who have had a tough path. I love bringing joy to people through dogs. I am no salesperson or entrepreneur. Girl Scout cookie time was not what I loved as a child. This story is about the part of rescue no one wants to talk about and most often the reason rescues have to stop rescuing. The bills. The money. The daily grind. This is where the real commitment comes in and takes over…

Dave and I never had children. We work full time. We strived to retire at 45, but Leasha’s life purpose got in the way. You probably read Dave never had dogs in his life before me. Dave is loving, kind, genuine and generous. He stood by my dream to rescue and supported me 100 percent. Fast forward 15 years later.

We made a choice that was bigger than us and it continues to protect little dogs’ lives, which means limits on our freedom. We have bought homes that could be set up for dogs. We have built what seems like hundreds of fences, cleared land, and constructed stairs, decks, and ramps suitable to small senior dogs and disabled dogs. We have bought vehicles that could fit dogs as we grew: mid-sized SUVs to large SUVs to a Walter Wagon mini-bus! We have been in the ER due to the little turkeys who didn’t understand the love of a human. We spent money going back to school to learn veterinary medicine so we could save money in the long run taking care of a high maintenance breed. Do we regret it? Not one single day. Just recently, my sister said something to the effect of, “Don’t you ever get tired of taking care of all those dogs?” Nope. I get tired. I get really tired. Completely exhausted and sad. But tired of the dogs? No. They are life’s gifts and rewards. We want them to have the best life they have ever had.

However, none of them earn a living. They are not productive. Have you ever thought what a dog (or several) can do to your home? Your life’s biggest investment? We wanted to share. We want to share some of the less exciting parts of rescue rarely considered. Let’s start with the big expenses.

The veterinary expenses: We love our vet and staff. They work their tails off. We rarely leave the vets office for less than $300. This would be an average per dog. Most times it’s $1,000 or more. Rarely do we take one dog at a time unless it’s urgent and if it’s urgent, it’s rarely going to be less than $500. See how this cycle works? Every rescue pleads for assistance with the medical bills and for good reason. When each dog arrives, they typically get full panels of bloodwork performed ($100), at least 2 views of radiography ($125), exam ($50), and let’s not forget, we are talking Pekingese! So what else do our usual visits consist of? Dentals ($250), spays/neuters ($250), mass removals ($100), pathology testing ($200) and specialist visits to include ultrasounds and/or various scopes, ($600). Most often the specialist visits are fewer in between-knock on wood! Last month we spent over $4,000 in veterinary care!

In addition, there are medicine and protectants. Two types of medicine: the everyday prescription medicines such as allergy, thyroid, heart, seizure, lung, pain, various eye types, ear types, etc. The second type, “something’s wrong” type, which would be antibiotics, anti-diarrheals, valium, sub-q fluids, etc. We also must keep on hand the protectants. The protectants are the de-wormer pills and liquid, monthly heartworm prevention and flea/tick prevention. How do we buy any of it? In BULK. On the average, over the last six months, we spent about $600 a month on just on these types of products. We try to keep a stock supply of “something’s wrong” meds, antibiotics, probiotics, over-the-counter medications, lactated ringer’s solution, first aid products-gauze, betadine, chlorhexidine, bandages, tape, syringes, needles, e-collars, eye ulcer meds and staining strips, etc. Over the years for my birthdays, Dave has gotten me some necessary equipment such as a stethoscope, otoscope, microscope, slides, centrifuge, etc., which I am grateful! Of course, this doesn’t include meds we don’t have on hand or have compounded locally or receive at the veterinary hospital visits.

Vehicles: Let’s talk about the Walter Wagon. We are still so thrilled we were able to fundraise to buy the wagon we had picked out! You, our loyal supporters helped us purchase a ride big enough for everyone so no one would get left behind when we went visiting! If you own a vehicle, you know the purchase is just the beginning. Insurance for the Walter Wagon is about $1,000 per year, not to mention the annual add-on to property taxes and “bus” tags for it. Filling up the Walter Wagon is about $50-$70. It has six tires, two batteries, and two air conditioning units. Why am I sharing? Because those are the “regular” maintenance items. A trickle charger stays on it so it will start every time we go for a ride and we keep an air compressor so we don’t get stuck with a flat tire. Here’s a math problem, how many Pekingese can fit in a tow truck? Our most recent Walter Wagon bill was $4,095 to fix something called the arms, front and rear breaks, and three tires, and of course tire alignment. We have had the air conditioning parts replaced because let’s face it, no Pekingese is going to ride in any vehicle that’s not at least 30degrees below zero! It can be the middle of summer but we keep a blanket in the Walter Wagon for me and a sweatshirt for Dave.

Now about the castle the Pekingese have taken over…

There’s the general electric, gas, water-the utilities. Oh yes, dogs add to the utilities. Their living is cooler, their laundry is dirtier, and to clean up after them, I want the water hotter for cleaning and for my showers!

Nifty Appliances: The washing machine is rusted, leaks, and has dog hair coated in the filters and drains. Each load of dog laundry gets detergent, bleach, enzyme cleaner, baking soda and fabric softener. We have a second washing machine in the garage, a cheap one but a just-in-case one. The dryer is used to dry human clothing, human bedding and pissy dog towels, dog bedding, dog toys and dog belly bands. Guess what we find in the lint screen of the dryer, EVERY time? What appears to be another Pekingese! We had our last dryer taken apart because it was knocking. Every crevice, every open area, every tucked in area was filled with dog hair. Total fire hazard, but what can we do? The sun doesn’t shine year round in Arkansas. Dogs need a maid!

The Air

Air filters: Yep. We go through a million air filters. We change them every two weeks, coated in hair, dander, leaves, dirt, sand, sometimes poop, you name it. We buy them by the cases. Our last order was $310. Six weeks later, it’ll be time for another order.We have no carpet anymore but we have a decent vacuum that has been through the ringer. Why? We regularly vacuum out the floor vents. We don’t have children throwing stuff down the vents but we do have hair, dirt, dust, sand, leaves, poop, tennis balls, and sometimes someone hits the vent perfectly and pees on it! Or should I say IN it? UGH! Furniture has chew marks, shoes have chew marks, and floors and baseboards have scratch marks. Mostly we laugh at how we can’t have nice things but sometimes replacements are necessary depending on the damage.

Plug ins, lavender. Plugged in each room, evaporating as quickly as you plugged it in, we buy four packs at a time ($30). Air fresher gel ordered in a two-gallon bucket every month, $130. Dumped into inconspicuous bowls in inconspicuous locations around the house. Oh and we have to make sure it’s all non-toxic, which doesn’t lessen the price. The air purifier is one of those machines to help your house not smell like livestock. This has its own filters. How long will it last? How often should we turn it on? How much are the filters? I don’t even know but the purifier was almost $700.

Grooming: So I do all of my own grooming to save money. I bathe 5-10 dogs per week, pulling hair out of the drain and getting soaked myself. The good, most proven shampoos are at least $30 per bottle (+shipping). I can usually get help to purchase those. Shampoo for my own head costs $2 for 16 ounces and lasts for months! But I don’t have skin issues, I don’t roll around in poop or mud or donkey poo. However, I do get ‘shat’ upon a little too frequently! When I’m trying to brush, clip nails, clean ears, empty anal glands, or give haircuts, I often get bitten because someone does not appreciate what I am trying to do. I’m bent over so long my back is screaming and I’m sweating. I’m eating dog hair by the mouthfuls, but I do have good clippers! I have a set of Andis clippers ($150) I bought years ago and I buy blades regularly ($30+shipping, every three months). I am on my second set of clippers-I told you they were good! I don’t have a table and a groomer’s set up. I live in a house, not a shop. We only have room for so much (which is currently packed with dog beds, linens, hand towels, bath towels, leashes, collars, medical supplies, dog medicine, food, cleaning agents, shampoos, snacks, bowls, elevated beds, potty pads, poise pads, belly bands, crates, toys). So I use outdoor furniture and yes, grooming happens outside-another save for the inside of the house! Dog nail trimmers, two types: guillotine and scissor. Those stay sharp for 6 months, $4 for the crappy ones and $25 for the good ones. We also use falcon gloves ($30+shipping) and a space helmet as necessary ($85+shipping) to prevent from being chomped. In addition, we have specific brushes and combs we need, oil for the clippers, and scissors. I buy the scissors at a beauty supply place ($30) because they are the best on dog hair and then in 6 months, I buy another pair and it goes on and on. I cut Dave’s hair with the old ones. No joke! Hey, we are saving money here!

I won’t bore you with the daily supplies. There are too many to list and it is even less exciting reading.

None of what I have shared describes the time or effort of our everyday lives, before and after work Monday-Friday or the weekends. It doesn’t describe the work we put into cleaning, power washing, moping, doing dog laundry, feeding, hand feeding, giving meds or cleaning barf, poop or dog hair out of our vehicles. It doesn’t describe the days we take off work to drive hours to pick someone up, the time we spend flying or sitting in airports to pick someone up. It also doesn’t include the money we have to spend if we stay the night, eat at the airport, or park at the airport. Or the gas or time we take off to go to the vet or to drive to the specialist.

Donors have told us that people don’t realize the time and expenses involved in what we do. They have also told us that people never knew a monthly recurring donation was a “thing.” We didn’t either, but it’s a great thing! The more people that join in will create a greater peace among our massess. It may not be total coverage for emergency flights or a year of food, but the daily activities might be taken care of!

So if you have made it to the end of this monologue of dogs and their lack of ability to find jobs, we hope you will see the value of and share the need for a recurring monthly donation. It can start by clicking here. This is what can truly add up to help us continue to help them. We have never turned down a Pekingese, no matter how sick, mean or disabled. Just know your money goes where our money goes–The dogs that need us the most.