Would you spend 108 dollars?

I work in a veterinary clinic, so I see all kinds of owners, from the indifferent to the obsessive, from people who should not own pets, to great pet owners. They all eventually end up at the vet clinic. I put myself, on the pet ownership scale, somewhere on the side of being a good pet owner. But I know I am not the "best" pet owner. I don't brush my dog every day, I don't brush her teeth every week, I don't walk her every day and I definitely don't train her every single day. But I do do all of these things often enough to tip the scale towards: good pet owner.

The other day, we had a pair of dogs in the hospital for GI issues. Both dogs of this one owner were affected, so they were both hospitalized. The owner coincidently was having car issues and his car was unavailable to him, since it was in the shop for repairs. He was left, leaving his two dogs at the veterinary hospital and only being able to check on them by phone. Then to our surprise, in the late afternoon, he showed up at the clinic to visit his dogs. We didn't expect him because he had no car. Come to find out, he had taken a taxi from the North side of Lexington and the fare was 54 dollars to get him there. After his visit, he called another cab for his return home, again, costing him 54 dollars. We were all stunned by the expense, especially since his dogs were still hospitalized and he wasn't able to take them home. He had simply visited by taking a cab. He had spent 108 dollars round trip. It sounded astronomical: at first. When I got home, I told Robert, my husband, about this expense endured by this owner. Immediately, I shocked myself, by looking at my baby girl dog, sitting at my feet, and realizing that I would absolutely spend 108 dollars to visit her at the hospital. This assumes that she was not well and needed me to help her feel better, lying in a vet clinic that was not my second home being as I was employed there. At that moment, 108 dollars seemed like an acceptable amount to be with her. I guess this tips the scale even more to the side of being a "good" pet owner or at least a "crazy" pet owner. Either adjective certainly fits. The adjective you choose depends on which way the scale tips on your pet ownership.