So this weekend – poor Denver broke a tooth.
OUCH!
We were tugging in line (about to run agility at a dog show!) when he suddenly spit out the tug and started doing weird things with his mouth and toungue. It looked so much like when the puppies lost teeth and were working them out of their mouths that I immediately grabbed his mouth to check. I could see some bleeding and some bit of something white and I thought one of his teeth looked ‘off’. Luckily – our vet also runs agility – so after I ran (yes we ran!) – she looked at him and confirmed. Slab fracture (I think that’s what they call it) and it would have to come out.
It actually turned out to be a tooth he broke 4 years ago. At that time – he was young enough that our vet (different vet) encouraged us to repair the tooth rather than remove it. I think it was mostly the repair that broke – but either way – this time it had to come out.
The surgury went great and Denver was a champ. But when I paid the bill – I noticed the second ouch. Nope – not the price – that was actually better than I expected. It was a little line up at the top of the bill. “Species: Geriactric Canine”.
DOUBLE OUCH!
That seemed a bit harsh to me! It actually kindof hurt to read it! Yes he is 8 years old, and yes that’s getting on up there. I certainly think of him as ‘past his prime’ – but geriactric? 
It’s funny how something as simple as an automatic billing classification can make us physically wince.
?
I don’t think of 8 as geriatric either. To me it’s a dog in his prime–especially our dogs who are fitter and healthier than a lot of the pet dogs the vets see.Most of my dogs have lived into their teens and haven’t really seemed geriatric until they reached 12 or 13–even my Dobes.