Together for the Life of Our Pets

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Jayme Dukart

“Together, for the life of your pet” is a statement that I have always taken to heart, long before I ever started working for Banfield or before it even became Banfield’s mission statement. I have always strongly believed that when a person decides to bring a pet into their life, they are making a commitment to that living being that they are going to provide for and take care of them, for their life, regardless of what that life brings, be it good or bad. Now, I am not talking about making sure that your dog or cat eats the most expensive bag of food in the pet store or that your dogs goes to doggy day camp every day while you are at work. But I do believe that we owe it to these amazing creatures, that we invited into our family, to give them the opportunity to live healthy, happy and pain-free lives. There may be times that being committed to your pet may come at a huge sacrifice, but I doubt that there is a single person out there, who has sacrificed something for the well-being of their pet, has ever regretted it, myself included.

I have two amazing and adorable dogs, Jules the pit bull mix and Lucas the St. Bernard. Every dog owner out there thinks that their dog is the cutest, most loveable dog alive, and I am no exception as Jules and Lucas give me such unconditional love, affection and devotion, that I would do just about anything to make sure that they are taken care of.

The commitment that I have made to Jules and Lucas, by bringing them home and into my family, has most definitely been tried (4 times to be exact) as I have had to surgically correct both of Jules’ knees and Lucas, at not even two years old, has had two major hip surgeries to correct his hip dysplasia. For these 4 procedures alone, I have paid upwards of $16,000 and that is not including post-operative and annual re-checks and x-rays. Did I have the money for these surgeries saved up? No. But I am strong believer in the saying “when there is a will, there is a way” and I was bound and determined to help my dogs, so I got creative. I picked up a second job waiting tables, I had a garage sale and sold a lot of “stuff” and with some help from some amazing friends and co-workers, we organized some different auctions and fundraisers. In doing all of these things, it greatly helped to alleviate a lot of that initial “sticker shock” of the surgeries and I realized that I could find a way to pay for the opportunity for both of my dogs to have a 2nd chance at a pain-free life.

Ensuring that my dogs were pain free required a lot of money, effort, time and “commitment” on my part and I have received a lot of criticism for it, as many people just can’t comprehend spending all that money, working all those extra hours and making lifestyle changes just for “a dog.” But if I had to go back and do it all again, I would, in a heartbeat, without a single hesitation, as everything that I have sacrificed for my dogs, they have repaid me ten-fold in simply being able to now watch them run, chase and play with each other and without a limp, hobble or whimper! And not to mention being able to take them on hikes, go to the beach and have them be a part of our everyday life without any physical restrictions or unneeded pain.

The last several years has definitely not been easy, in fact, I am still working two jobs to pay off the most recent surgery. But every morning when the alarm clock starts going off, I am awakened by cold noses and wet licks and when I finally roll out of bed, I am greeted by 2 pairs of appreciative brown eyes that day after day, engulf me with their love and gratitude before dashing downstairs in anticipation of their early morning walk and breakfast.  These brief moments alone, make all the sacrifice worth it.



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