OK, NTIF was this weekend, so I'm tired. It was fun - I have new yarn! And Herself sold 3 pairs of earrings! And I might be able to move Himself's kilt hose (he'll never wear them, and told me it was OK to rehome them.) Moving on...
Re: Comment from Anonymous on my entry on my worthless health insurance. "I wold keep that insurance like Gollum wanted to keep the ring." You DO know how that ended up for Gollum, right?
Look. YOU might be able to afford to *waste* $709.00 per month on a crappy product. *I* cannot. *I* cannot afford to throw $6,000/year away on something that does NOTHING. Do the math:
$500/month premium. $25/visit, that DOES NOT INCLUDE x-rays, lab work, MRIs, etc. ($40 for approved specialists/$60 for NON-approved.)
Let's see how this works out, shall we?
Let's posit 1 doctor's visit per year - because you are healthy. Doc orders a bunch of lab work. So. Using my numbers above, you are out $6,000 for insurance premiums, $25 for the visit, and.....let's see. X-rays are $231 on my plan, let's assume lab work will be.....less than (because I am trying to be positive, here.) $115 for the lab work. That adds up to $6,140.00 for *1* visit.
What about self/cash pay? Well, my doc charges $85/visit - which INCLUDES lab work. I think it includes x-rays, as well, but for argument's sake, let's say it doesn't. The Ortho charges $100/visit for self/cash pay. Let's look at THOSE numbers, shall we???
2 Doc visits = $185. X-rays - you know what? I googled, and x-rays cost on average, $260 - $460 for CASH pay. Let's average those numbers, which gives us $360 for the x-rays (and I was charged - WITH insurance, $231.)
So. Had I gone in under self-pay, I'd be out $545. That's IT. I would have SAVED $5,595. But some anonymous person thinks I should keep this crappy insurance.......why? Because YOU have insurance that costs you $709/month? Why should I cause financial hardship for me and mine just because you do? That...makes no sense at all.
Oh, and prescriptions? You can get free discount cards that will help offset cost of prescriptions. I don't take any prescriptions. I WON'T take any - most of them have more side effects than I am comfortable with, and I can find herbal remedies that a) cost less and b) have little to no side effects. So.......:shrug: NO, I won't keep this waste of money. You do you. If you like spending that much money ($8,508/year, if you do the math), then more power to you. I do suggest, gently, that you run the numbers, though. Unless you have a life-threatening condition (which, actually, we ALL do - we are all terminal. Death WILL happen to everyone at some point.)...in which case, well, do what you gotta do.
On to FUN stuff: Wolfhounds, and the life with one. :lol: We're on #3, now, so I have a *little* bit of experience.
For your first one, I'd HIGHLY suggest going rescue, and getting one at least 1 year old. 2 years is better - the brain fairy doesn't visit before 18 months for girls, and 2 years (IF you are lucky!) for boys. Puppies are...a LOT of work. Bree was 6 months old when we got her; Duncan is now almost 8 months. (I need to register him...wonder if the AKC will accept his full name "Dammit Duncan!" ? :rofl:)
The chewing stage started at about 5.5 months with him (Bree was.......well, not as bad. The worst was my Bible - she took it outside and shredded it. Guess she thought she needed to INJEST the Word. :lol:) So far, we've lost a few shoes, a TON of dishtowels (I really need to buckle down at the loom. Really.), 3 skeins of yarn, charging cables, a portable DVD reader (it's still usable, but it has some new.....markings), some belts, a My Pillow, and - just yesterday! - the husband's hand-knit, hand-felted, Balmoral hat. :sigh: The main problem is that with Wolfies, if they can SEE it, it's theirs. Or so they think.
And when they are tall enough to see over the table before they have a brain, well........
Don't get me wrong - they are FANTASTIC companions. They are NOT "dogs" - they are honestly more like people that just happen to be in dog-form. Even at this young age, you can see him *thinking*....he just doesn't have the brain-power yet to realize what is a bad idea. (Hey, SOMETHING had to give. You grow THIS fast in such a short time, something has to be put on the back burner. The brain lost out over massive size. If you can deal with that, then stop waiting and grab a Wolfie!)
So far, we've not had a Wolfie try to go over our 4' fence. They are sight hounds, not jumpers. (Don't take them off-leash anywhere. You.....might get them back, eventually, if you have enough cheese. Cheese is like their kryptonite. Buy stock. Or goats, to make your own. Cheese has it's own line-item in my budget.....) They are VERY independent. Don't expect them to play fetch - they will do it once, maybe, then stop, look at you, sit, and VERY clearly tell you "What. You want the damn stick, YOU shouldn't have thrown it away. YOU go get it." They are not good watch dogs - they are, generally, standoffish to strangers, but they won't *guard* stuff. They'll guard *people*. THEIR people.
Duncan is, so far, the most...shy Wolfie we've had. He doesn't bark at strangers, he just pulls back and watches them. He will warm up, if you don't force it, but he won't go out of his way to check people out. Most Wolfies will stand there and boredly allow strangers to pet them, IF Mom and/or Dad says it's OK. If cheese appears, well.....they are your best friend. :lol:
I hope I didn't scare you - seriously, I love this breed to death. Because of the size, the usual puppy antics are magnified, and you have to keep reminding yourself that yes, he IS still a baby. They don't *need* a lot of space (no, really!) . They are professional-grade nappers - most of the day is spent speed-bumping around the house, with spurts of the "zoomies". (I did a post a LONG time ago, outlining Bree's typical day. It consisted of a bunch of photos of her sleeping in various spots in the house, following the sun beams. They don't really outgrow that....)(Nov 11, 2010, if you want to journal-dive. Seriously, it's just Bree sleeping around the house.)
Food-wise......they don't eat a lot. Honestly. He's getting...maybe 4 cups/day of puppy chow (but I need to switch him over to adult food soon. I think there's a little too much protein in the puppy chow......we'll see.) Bree got.....2.5 cups, maybe? We have 5 dogs, and go thru 1 bag (40 pounds) of puppy and....3 bags (40/50 pounds each) of regular dog food/month. Vet care is a little more, because of the size/weight, but - so far! - they've all been healthy.
But. Life-span is about 8 years. TOO short, but there ya go. I wouldn't miss it for the world.....but it is a short time. :sigh: I think it 's worth it, though.
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