b'Wehadmisgivingsaboutthe cost of the bladder surgery or the pre-ultrasound, because it required a light liminary lung scan. Jasper, if he sur-dose of sedation, which we knew from vived the surgery, would also have tothe past always resulted in a few days be kept in intensive care for five days,of disorientation.But we were swayed and, as the vet noted, the chances forby the possibility that it would reveal success were not good.the nature of his malady and allow us Onthebrightside,however,heto plan appropriately. notedthatJasperwasinrelativelyOur philosophy on pets has always goodphysicalshape,whichwouldbeen to keep them content, and not help him weather the ordeal. And hetormentthemwithpainfulmedical went on to say, when reminded thatproceduresjusttosatisfyourown Jasper was 11 years old, Age is not acuriosity.IfJasperdidhavealiver disease.tumor at this stage of his life, we had It is difficult not to apply a humandecided,wewouldnotprovidehim standard of medical care to a belovedwith any treatment other than to keep pet. We think nothing of seeking outhim comfortable and pain free.the latest life preserving technology forMeanwhile,hisappetitecontin- theelderlyhumansamongus.And,ued to deteriorate, and he had increas- scientific research has given the poweringtroublegettingupfromlying to prolong life, meaningful or not, todown.Oncewethoughthehada veterinarians as well. Some pet ownersseizure. He had even lost some weight. will spend a fortune and in so doingThedayfortheultrasoundexam torment an animal, just to make it livearrived,anddespiteourlingering a bit longer, past its natural lifespan.doubts we decided to go ahead with it. We are not among those.Laterthatmorningthedreaded How many folks can afford astro-phone call came in from the vet. Jasper nomicalvetbills?We,likesomanyhad a mass on his liver involving his others,dearlyloveourpetsandingall bladder, there were spots on his every other way treat them as mem-spleen,hisurinarybladderwallwas bers of the family; we constantly mustirregularinthicknessandhehad remind ourselves that the decisions webladder stones. make about their medical care must beWhen we went to pick Jasper up based on what is best for them and notto bring him home, he was stuporous, for us. Under no circumstances will wecertainlynotwhatwehadexpected allow them to suffer.when we were told he would be given Fortunately, Jaspers primary carejust light sedation.But worse even veterinarianunderstoodourpositionwas the news we got when his doctor andsupportedourdecisionwithmet with us.He told us that Jasper respecttohistreatment.Wewouldshouldhavesurgerytoremovethe leavehimaloneandmakehimmassandtoremovethebladder comfortable and happy for the balancestones. The stones were life threaten- ofhisdays.Histoothscalingwasing as they could block the flow of his cancelled because the anesthesia wouldurine, a situation constituting a med- burden his liver. For the same reason,ical emergency. Also, he suspected that allfuturevaccineboostershotswereJasper might have some lung involve- shelved.ment and recommended an additional And so the death watch began. HisCT scan, under general anesthesia, to every twitch became a matter of graverule it out. concern. We watched closely as he uri-We were given a written estimate nated to make sure there was no block-for the cost of the surgery, which start- age of the flow. His condition weigheded at $4,000 and did not include the heavily on our hearts. gContinued www.TheNewBarker.com THE NEW BARKER 55'