Our Christmas budget (and then some!) has been eaten by a furry friend...our guinea pig, to be exact.
A lump that we've been watching with our vet pretty much exploded on Sunday, requiring a costly trip to the vet on Monday. His discoveries were not good- we are going to have to get her a guinea pig hysterectomy (which we figured, based on what we were watching for under his care) and a biopsy to determine if she has cancer. She's also on antibiotics for the time being. We'll know more on Thurday for Friday what direction this is all going to take.
When we took on the responsibility of having pets, we also said yes to the costs of a reasonable amount of care of them. It is absolutely stunning how much vet bills can add up, especially for little animals who require exotic vets. Our dog has cost us far less than our (late) house rabbits and beloved guinea pigs.
Because of the bill that we already have an estimate on for Thursday, we are going to have to drastically scale back Christmas this year. Luckily, several things are already in place that will assure we are able to get gifts for those we're close to without the out of pocket expense.
Stay tuned as we face our Christmas Budget Emergency! It looks like this article came out just in time for us.
3 comments:
I'm so sorry about your guinea pig's health. I so completely understand. Calvin's care this year has just devastated our budget. But as you said, it's something you take on when you commit to caring for an animal.
I was distressed that my husband asked for nothing more than an X-box for Christmas. That costs way more than I'd planned to spend! But I got lucky. I found a Le Creuset (brand-new!) pot at a thrift store for $11, realized it was really too small for my use, and wound up selling it on Ebay for a whopping $189. That, combined with a friend who works for Microsoft and could get me an X-box at a discount, well, I was able to afford the one thing he wanted after all.
I look forward to hearing how y'all manage things. We're in the same animal-health crisis boat!
Anne Marie, thanks for the thoughts. I'm so sorry about Calvin. :( I'm glad that you were able to find some extra money to get your husband the one thing he wanted! That's so great and encouraging!
Thankfully, neither my husband and I want anything too exciting this year, but I am disappointed because I had a really neat idea for him that will have to wait. However, I look forward to the challenge of having a smaller Christmas- I love challenges. :)
I'll pray for your lil pet. I know how it feels as I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. Max, my baby, is almost 12 (dog) and i recently found a lump on him, thankfully after a vet visit we found out it was just fatty tissue deposit due to his weight gain. Bless ya!
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