Two weeks have elapsed, and our adopted shelter dog Logan is settling in nicely. He's getting more accustomed to being around the water, and his coat is morphing from a sandy off-white "shelter color"
to a lush, variegated golden brown.
He's gained subcutaneous fat and muscle on a regimen of high-end dog food and frequent walks and exercise. At 43 pounds, the vet feels that Logan's at his ideal weight: sleek and well defined, an ideal that the other members of the Cassandra Carolina pack can only dream of. Perhaps Logan will drag us off the couch enough to remedy that. More often, we're the ones waking him from his sleep to head outdoors:
He's got plenty of reasons to indulge in restorative sleep. Always inquisitive, his mind is going a mile a minute to figure out every smell along his miles of leash walks, psychoanalyze every visitor to our yard and home, and study the nuances of dishwasher loading, laundry, cooking, and other household activities. Just as humans can't lose weight without sufficient sleep, Logan seems to need sleep to remodel himself into the stronger, more muscular, more assertive being that has been lurking inside him for the two years that he was at the shelter.
While Logan sleeps, I've had time to reflect on all manner of things. Having gone 18 years between dogs, I've noticed that the world of dog care has become a lot more complicated. Follow along below the high-protein free-range-chicken-based all-natural food morsel for the rest of the story...
Dogs are big business these days. Every aspect of their care is a point where profit is extracted from the system. Here are just a few examples:
Nutrition: while you can still find dog food at your local supermarket, the "good stuff", if advertising is to be believed, is found at pet stores that carry specialty brands. When we adopted Logan the shelter required that we feed him a premium food, something that we would have done anyway. They had him on Purina Exclusive Adult Chicken & Rice Formula, offering fiber for digestive health, glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health, antioxidants and Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids for immune system, skin, and coat. It's free of wheat, soy, and fillers.
Sounds pretty good, right? Millions of humans don't get this sort of nutrition. Purina has targeted shelters and veterinarians' offices as gateways to convincing new dog owners that their food products are essential to canine health. If the off-the-shelf Purina offerings aren't good enough for your needs, your vet can select one of Purina's Veterinary Diets for hypoallergenic, kidney function, joint mobility, urinary, dermatologic, or even dental health. You'll need a prescription for these. I'm no fan of mega-agri-business corporations, so I've opted for a specialty brand, Merrick. It's 70% poultry and fish ingredients and 30% fresh produce.
Dental Care: Back in the day, canine dental care was accomplished by letting your dog chew on rope toys, rawhide chews, and special toys like Nylabones. Now, you should feel crushing guilt if you're not brushing your dog's teeth daily with special poultry-based toothpaste. Oh, you could rely on special dental chew sticks that will cost you $20-$30 a month if you're a real slacker. Logan has a "soft mouth" and willingly lets me inspect and scrape his teeth, but I haven't reached the point of brushing his teeth every time I brush mine.
Immunizations and treatments: Mr. Carolina's family lost a dog to distemper many years ago. Nowadays, it's almost unheard of, and veterinarians now offer a dazzling array of other immunization beyond the basics of rabies and distemper-hepatitis-leptospirosis-parvo-parainfluenza. Logan is now also protected against bordatella and Lyme disease. Amazingly, there has been a canine vaccine for Lyme disease for 20 years! Humans? Sorry, you're out of luck.
Heartworm preventatives have also evolved from the "come-on-PLEASE-eat-this-daily-tablet. Come ON!!" format to monthly treatments, and even a six-month-duration Pro-Heart injection. Fleas and ticks are repelled by dermal treatments that reportedly protect against fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, lice, flies, mites. Your deal-with-the-devil to achieve this? Putting some potential neurotoxins on your dog's skin. Don't get me started. Once treated, you will need to avoid washing off the compound when bathing your dog, but fear not... there are now awesome new dog shampoos and cleaning products free of detergents.
Security: Now that you've invested the equivalent of the GDP of a small country in feeding and caring for your dog and filling its home with the latest in toys, gadgets, accessories, and supporting infrastructure, you'll want to protect your investment. Logan came from the shelter equipped with an implanted microchip. This is a great idea for several reasons. First, if your dog escapes, any vet can scan the microchip and access your contact information and get it back to you. Second, if your dog is a purebred or other desirable critter, multiple people may lay claim to him. Your microchip information will confirm you as the rightful "owner" (or as they say at the shelter, "guardian"). There's also a lot to be said for a simple engraved name tag with your address and cell phone number on it.
By now, the shelter or the vet or the pet store will have offered you the option of purchasing pet insurance. This is a booming business with quite a few providers and a Medicare-like confusing world of coverages, deductibles, exclusions, caps, and fine-print. If I didn't know better (and I don't), I'd think that a big part of shelter and vet clinic cash flow came from kickbacks from selling products and services to their captive audience of dog devotees.
Our vet had a deal where you'd get a free 30 days of coverage through their trusted insurance "partner". We took that, but their terms are not that great. If we get pet insurance, it will be through another carrier, or we will just do what dog owners have done for centuries: self insure and make the necessary medical, financial, and ethical decisions when the time comes. Frankly, I'd rather take the money I'd spend on insurance and donate it to the shelter where we got Logan.
Frivolities: Anyone with extra cash to spend can dump plenty of it at the many pet stores and boutiques offering clothing, accessories, grooming supplies, toys, treats, and anything else you can (or can't) imagine. It's fun to see what's new, but it's sobering to consider that dogs used to enjoy playing with sticks, balls, tug toys made from old socks, and other simple things. It's also sobering to contrast the hardscrabble conditions of the animal shelter with the discretionary spending of some dog owners. It's understandable that we elevate our dogs to highly regarded status in our packs, but we needn't outfit them with a jewel-crusted collar to show our esteem.
Nowadays, doggie DNA analysis is another way to blow some money on specious results. Even the test kits note the limitations of the process: one pamphlet we looked at said that, even if your dog is a cross of two pure breeds, the test is only 84% accurate. Here again, if I had the money to spend, I'd much rather give it to the shelter to provide for their other animals. I'll never know what breeds Logan embodies. Maybe you fine folks can look at the picture below and tell me what you think. I'd bet you could be at least 84% accurate.
For thousands of years, dogs have surrendered some of their liberties to share our hearth, protect our homes, families, and livestock, and otherwise involve themselves in our daily lives. What they need from us is food, shelter, love, care, and challenge. We can provide most if not all of that without reliance upon giant corporations. There are many wonderful individuals, small businesses and non-profit organizations who can help make the world safe, fun, and interesting for our canine companions. With their help and friendship and our love and instinct, we have everything we need.