Charlie has cancer

Charlie

Our family dog, Charlie, is 13 years old. Pat grew up with it since a little girl. Charlie is a very adorable golden retriever. Now, it is getting old and it can’t even get up on its own due hip problem. We have to help it getting up by giving it support on the stomach. Pat took it to visit a vet yesterday and did its annual lab test. The results come back today and reveal that it has cancer. We will see whether the insurance cover for the surgery fee. If not, we will just let it live its remaining days peaceful. It is simply cheaper to buy a new dog than fixing the old one. I guess 13 years of life is long enough for a dog. It does not do much everyday, spent most of time sleeping and gets up only for food and its daily walk. To Charlie, everyday is just the repeat of the previous day. Life of a dog seems so meaningless, all it does is eat, sleep, walk, pee and shit. The function of a pet is to give joy and pleasure to its owner. When owning a pet brings more trouble than pleasure, maybe it is time send it to SPCA to end its suffering.

12 thoughts on “Charlie has cancer”

  1. Horace — you are certainly sooooo mean!!!!

    He has been diagnosed with high calcium level which is highly correlated with cancer.

    He had a cancer lump last Oct, which was successfully removed. He has been living till now ever since.

    He still needs to have another test to find out about the causes and location of ‘cancer.’ I’m confident that he will receive some sort of support from insurance company, plus I’ll be taking care of dad anyway… might as well, I can devote some time in caring for Charlie!

    He is not dead yet! Don’t write an obituary here!!

    I’m writing my final exams for the moment… so don’t wanna argue with you, my dear.

    I don’t understand why on earth that people keep talking about death for dogs, more than strengthening and giving dignity to dogs who can actually live longer than they can be. Gee!!! The fact is that he is not dead — when he is dead, then I appreciate the comment. Get it????

    – from your wife

  2. I absolutely disagree with your view on Charlie’s issue based on only “function” and “$ value.” I don’t think you are an ill-hearted person, but simply viewing the matter far too mechanically. (Which, to say, I don’t think you should be punished for. *akem* Pat 🙂 ) Your argument is the same as saying, an ailing elder does not have a value to live. You cannot judge whether Charlie, or an ailing elder is “happy” or not, even though he may be in pain. Value is subjective!
    Yes, a pet should bring joy to its owner. But at the same time the owner has obligations when s/he picked out the pet and takes it home. And there are always feelings involved! Pat grew up with Charlie and they BOTH have learned a lot from each other, and they are PART of each other!
    There’s a saying among teachers, “the student who is weak at the subject gets the attention, and the student who is strong at the subject is left to thrive on his own.”
    : ) Don’t take it personally : )

  3. Hi Vikie,

    Ailing elder is different, they are human, but pets are just animals, so we can’t treat them the same.

    Yeah, the owner is obligated to feed the pet and don’t abuse it, that is paying the operation cost. But surgery is extra expense that the owner is not obligated. In macroscopic level, spending money in pets is a waste of resources in the society, when there are starving human out there.

  4. 每個人的時間有限﹐把時間給了寵物﹐便會忽略身邊的人了。若家人夠時間﹐朋友可能不夠時間。若朋友夠時間﹐那社會上需要人關心的弱勢社群呢﹖與其時間花在關心寵物身上﹐不如去關心沒有人理的孤兒或老人家吧。

  5. 我同意養寵物自有其樂趣,而作為負責任主人,也應該照顧其一生,不能三分鐘熱度隨便拋棄。

    但對於某些特別沉迷的主人,甚至將寵物當成自己的仔女,我真係難以苟同,總覺得他們心理有點不正常。

  6. 當然主人買了頭寵物﹐就有責任養牠一生﹐但不包括斥巨資幫牠做手術。若果寵物有絕病﹐應該讓牠自然死亡。如果牠活得太辛苦﹐就應該送去人道毀滅。寵物做手術隨時貴過人﹐與其花錢做手術比買隻新還貴﹐完全不乎合經濟原則。

  7. Horace said that he is ‘jealous’ over Charlie…
    He even put Charlie out in the snowy rain for 5 hours one day when I was at work.

    Perhaps one day, I should put his Gundum robots out in the spring rain for 5 hours — see how he feels. Since Horace is very logical, he is learning how to feel for ‘favorite items’.

    ‘Favorite items’ is even one grade lower then ‘favorite pets’, because pets have a LIFE over items. The force of life is from the nature!

    Horace definitely needs to go to confession again… =p

    – from your wife

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