A few weeks ago, my wife and I spent some time at our lake house. Even though I planned to return to Houston after a few days, we decided to bring our dog, Brutus. I should clarify, Brutus belonged to my daughter Rachel and now lives with us.

Brutus is not an intelligent dog and tends to get into trouble a lot. He is now 13 years old and has slowed down a bit but still finds his share of problems. We try to keep Brutus on a leash when he is outside. One day last week, Brutus got away from us for about 15 minutes. We searched but to no avail. Eventually, he turned up at the house.

Upon his reappearance, it was clear Brutus was not feeling well. As the day went on, we determined he ate something inappropriate and was now constipated. This episode was clearly not a top moment in dog ownership. After another day or so of watching him suffer, my wife suggested we need to take Brutus to the vet in Houston.

My wife was staying at the lakehouse to visit with her college friend, so managing the trip to the vet was up to me. After speaking to the vet, we decided Brutus’ situation was a bit of an emergency.

I drove 2.5 hours back to Houston with a constipated dog. Just another broadening experience during my retirement years.

I arrived at the vet and had to wait 1.5 hours to see the doctor. Brutus had never been to this particular vet office before but somehow knew what he was facing. I spent this waiting time trying to consol a stressed-out and very ill dog.

Finally, the doctor showed me Brutus’ x-ray. I never thought I would be looking at an image of the inside of this dog. The doctor told me Brutus had a big problem and needed a $600 procedure. My default thinking on pets is not to spend a bunch of money on them. While growing up, our family dogs received rabies shots, and that is about it. After reporting the prognosis, the doctor stood there waiting for my reply. After waiting through an uncomfortable pause, I asked the vet what would happen if I did not choose the procedure. I was told, without this procedure, Brutus would die a slow painful death.

Since this was Rachel’s dog, I invoked one of my favorite thought processes. What Would Rachel Do (WWRD)? Rachel would have sold her car to help Brutus. In deference to my loving and compassionate daughter, I agreed to fund this procedure.

It turns out Brutus had consumed several fish bones that clogged his intestines. The vet was surprised the bones made it so far through his digestive system; he told me most dogs would have died.

Brutus did great with the procedure and has fully recovered. One of my favorite things about dogs is their ability to compartmentalize events and quickly move on. I am confident Brutus has no idea about the recent dramatic event.

For a moment, I held Brutus’ life in my hands. Part of me did not want to spend $600 on an annoying dog I did not particularly like. After thinking about Rachel’s perspective, I realized I was missing something. Brutus is a pain, but he does bring a measure of joy to my life. Rachel told me many times I need to be more compassionate and caring. I felt this advice pour over me like a wave. I feel great about my decision, and I know Rachel would be proud!

Make the most of this day!