D
Vautier
11/2001
I have so often
ridiculed and maligned my son’s poor little basset dog as stupid,
stinky, and lazy (all true) until she began peeing everywhere.
When we took the little animal to the vet he discovered a huge—I
mean really, really huge--bladder stone about the size of an egg.
I couldn’t believe it until I actually looked at the x-ray
myself.
I explained to the family that we really had three choices in this matter. We could just let poor little Sparky suffer and die and nobody wanted that at all. Or we could do the $800 operation and get her all fixed up like new. I also thought about suggesting that a 38-caliber bullet only costs 21 cents, but I don’t think the family would like that idea one little bit.
So, $800 later the
little ugly dog was all better and learned once again to pee outside like
she used to. Analysis of the bladder stone revealed the presence of
struvite crystals (whatever the hell that is).
Struvite is composed of magnesium, ammonia, and phosphor compounds,
(commonly referred to as earth substances), and is present in just about
every inexpensive dog food on the market. Struvite does not cause bladder
stones in normal dogs (just abnormal dogs like bassets).
So in order to prevent the recurrence of another bladder stone,
(and another $800 vet bill), Sparky has been on a totally different diet.
I couldn’t believe
the prices of these prescription dog foods.
So I began buying fresh ground turkey and I mixed it with oatmeal and
some other supplementary ingredients.
She loves the new diet and is actually getting fat. I will
have her tested in a few months to see how the diet is working and if she
is developing another bladder stone.
This means that I can soon develop a page on fat bassets.