It was a costly weekend for me and Spice. Well me really, because Spice wasn't paying for anything.
An after midnight trip on Saturday to the emergency vet in UCD, op, medicine and another follow up visit to my own vet cost me the guts of 700 euro. SEVEN HUNDRED EURO. Dear God in heaven. Most of it is covered by Pet Insurance thankfully so that's a relief.
What can you do when you love your pets? You can't let them die.
That seems to be what more and more people are doing though. "We've gone back to the Eighties" said the vet. "People are throwing their cats and dogs out of moving cars and driving off. And if an animal is sick - forget it."
Advertised
I immediately went home and made a donation to Cats Aid. They and the ISPCA and all the other animal charities (like Blue Cross , PAWS and DogsAid) are picking up the pieces when people can't afford their animals any more - from dogs to horses to cats and smaller animals, they're paying a terrible price for downturn in the economy. These charities desperately need money to keep on saving lives - they often receive no government funding and are totally dependant on goodwill for survival.
And all the Irish charities, like Barnardos need our money like never before. Homeless charities are stretched to breaking point and need funds to keep on helping people and saving lives - St Vincent de Paul , Focus Ireland and Simon Community are just a few but there are many others.
Even a small donation - the price of a couple of drinks - makes a difference.
Please donate this Christmas to whatever charity is closest to your heart. And if you'd like to leave links in the comments to highlight your favourite charity, go ahead.
