my husbands' dog

Published on March 12, 2004 By mignuna In Philosophy

my husband has a dog. my husbands’ dog should not exist. i am so certain of this fact that i am prone to pondering the dogs’ possible use as a defense against the evolutionary argument (should i ever wish to mount one)

.

my husbands’ dog is officially of “indeterminate breed”. (that part is not his fault. the dog, that is. not my husband. well, actually, not my husband either, hehe). but i digress. point being, my husbands’ dog seems to be the result of several decades of indiscriminate dog-sex.

of the reproductive habits of all creatures on earth, none astound me with their disastrous and obvious results the way dogs do, yet, it seems to be sadly due to domestication that such glaring biological errors occur.

my husbands’ dog has shorter front legs than back. he is approximately 2.5 times longer than he is tall. this makes him disproportionately heavy and muscular for such a short animal, and as a consequence he suffers osteoarthritis and bone fractures.

my husbands’ dog is allergic to bloody everything. he suffers mood swings, separation anxiety, copious hair loss, and ear infections. he is partly blind, hides behind stuff for hours for no reason, barks at everyone (even my husband), and suffers from “object aggression”. he is also, bizarrely, (although capable of crushing kangaroo leg-bones with one snap of his huge jaw), rather partial to fruits and vegetables of any kind.

my husbands’ dog has, over the course of his (so far) short life, cost us approximately the price of a small new car. (we now share his medical maladies only with those who understand that someone can own a (very battered) volkswagen AND a dog who is in possession of a “consulting orthopedic surgeon” AND be happy about it).

but i am. here i sit. with my husbands’ undeniably troublesome yet so much loved dog snoring rather loudly (and most unattractively) on his (smelly but favourite) pillow under my desk.

and i tell him “i’d get the bus if i had to, boy”

Comments

psychx

on Mar 14, 2004

mignuna I like your writing, but is this really philosophy?

mignuna

on Mar 14, 2004

well psychx, i guess it's not presented that way, so you're technically right. my intended message was that of the spiritual balance one can achieve through disassociating oneself with matter and becoming entangled instead in the "reality" of things.

ok, so my dog article is a (poorly ) romanticised version of the "original argument" of the soul; this being the choice we face between the spiritual/evolved human (seeking advancement) and the physical/entangled human (seeking gratification). but i understand that i can't get that across ... i'm not that good. hehe.

thanks for reading, psychx. you make me think. mig. XX

psychx

on Mar 15, 2004

alright that is good enough for me...

Sherye Hanson

on Mar 15, 2004

As for your dog's skin disease--give him rice and lamb dog food. Otherwise, he sounds like a hopeless case. He must be loved or else one of you feels guilty. I understand--we have a so called pure bred dog with not must to say for him except that he is loved.

mignuna

on Mar 18, 2004

thankyou for your practical advice, sherye. unfortunately he cannot eat lamb. he has offal, etc, but as he cannot tolerate heartworm medication, this means we have to get him tested every 6 months as offal can spread heartworm to dogs. as for him being a hopleless case, indeed he is

. i didn't mention that it was i who found the dog after he was dumped as a 3 month old pup, and he was in a very neglected state with obvious bone and health problems. we knew what we were getting ourselves in for, and i suspect he was dumped for that very reason. but he is unfailingly loyal, very cute (albeit somewhat weird) looking, and endlessly amusing.

and of course loved

imajinit

on Mar 19, 2004

sounds like a hoot!!

mignuna

on Mar 19, 2004

...imajinit, sometimes i think the veterinarian is tempted to ask us why we bother. i am sure even he thinks we are mad. but what price love ?.

mig XX

mignuna

on Oct 25, 2004

ugh !. i have reported this in the forum bug reports and hope to be rid of it soon. i can't delete its comment from forum view, so i'll have to go back and do it from my blog. sorry

mig XX

KarmaGirl

on Oct 27, 2004

I deleted the SPAM for you.

I must have missed this article before. I can relate to you. I am starting to think that modern day dachshunds are on the list of animals that genetics have gone awry. They have shorter front feet than back (which are also wider) and long bodies. Recently I have come to find out that they are highly likely to develop cushings disease, which causes them to have to much cortisone in their system leading to all sorts of health issues, muscle wasting and peeing on the floor for no reason.

Two of my three dachshunds have it. It costs about $600 to diagnose, and over $1,000 a year to treat (about $2,000 the first year). The one that was diagnosed recently we are importing medication from the UK for because it's not available in the states. They also eat "LD" diet, which eases the burden on their liver, which gets taxed from the disease.

So, considering that I have 4 dogs (two with cushings), my yearly dog expense averages around $3,000 for medicine, vaccines, heartworm prevention, food, etc.

Would I give them up? Not for the world. I may need new carpet soon, though!

dharmagrl

on Oct 27, 2004

So, considering that I have 4 dogs (two with cushings), my yearly dog expense averages around $3,000 for medicine, vaccines, heartworm prevention, food, etc.
Would I give them up? Not for the world. I may need new carpet soon, though!

Henry (my dachsund) is going to the vet for the first time tomorrow. I'm going to ask about Cushing's then.....

mignuna

on Oct 31, 2004

oh no, i apologize, karma and dharma. i thought it was the spambot and not actual replies.

I deleted the SPAM for you.

*falls at karma's feet in pathetic, slavering gratitude*

i'm glad you found it 2nd time around. this dog is crossed with something to give him the same problem.

karma, i'm sorry to hear that your babies have cushings. daschunds are such loyal animals, people choose them if they want a pet they can really love. this disease will break a lot of hearts if they can't halt it's progress.

So, considering that I have 4 dogs (two with cushings), my yearly dog expense averages around $3,000 for medicine, vaccines, heartworm prevention, food, etc.. Would I give them up? Not for the world. I may need new carpet soon, though!

i bet people say the same thing to you, as if you're mad and it's 'just a dog'. i'm so glad you can relate to this

Henry (my dachsund) is going to the vet for the first time tomorrow. I'm going to ask about Cushing's then.....

i hope he got a clean bill of health, dharma. give henry a smooch for me !

mig XXX

mignuna

on Oct 31, 2004

... oooh i made a mess of THAT comment, alright hehe

Texas Wahine

on Nov 01, 2004

This is sweet, mig. Poor little doggie.

but what price love ?.

I love that.

loan personal unsecured

on Nov 02, 2004

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