Watch Your Teeth If You Have an Energetic Lab!

Today, I wrote to my DIL:  "Toby really is a good dog.  He is so polite and patient!!!!  :-0   He doesn’t ask for anything.  Except to go outside for potty a couple of times when I waited a bit long.  He doesn’t ask for his meals and doesn’t gulp them like Hershey and Guinness did.  He gobbles it right down, but he doesn’t inhale his food.  Ha"

Her reply:  "That is good! You deserve a nice, polite and patient dog that doesn't knock your teeth out :D"

I checked to see what I had blogged about my tooth.  Nothing!  I was too busy.  I was packing to move from Canada to Texas in August of 2012!   Here is the story which MUST be blogged --

We had arrived at Petsmart.  Guinness was over the moon with happiness (as always).  When I opened the back of my SUV, he leaped out before I could grab his leash.  I bent over to pick up the end of his leash off the ground, and he bounced into my face!  OUCH!   It hurt, but I had no way, or time, to look at my mouth.  We completed our shopping, which always was a circus with Guinness.  He would pull me into the store where he would greet the entire store with loud barks of cheer!  He was SURE everyone loved him and wanted to bow at his paws!  We would spend our first minutes traversing the aisles at a quick clip, up and down, up and down, until he was more under control.  Then we would do our shopping and leave.  My teeth looked fine in the car mirror.  I couldn't wait to get home to see what he had done to me.  It appeared to have been pushed back some.  I called the dentist to have it checked.  He informed me the tooth was cracked horizontally in the center.  It would need a crown.  I called Guinness my $18,000 dog at a minimum!
$ 1,500 - purchase
$12,000 - 2 crutiate ligament surgeries @$6000 each with recovery, therapy, special equipment
$ 4,000 - crown
$ 1,200 - end of life tests and care
$18,700 + much more in food, vet bills, kenneling, training, etc.