We had a sweet encounter with a curious kid at the beach this last weekend. She was probably about 8 or 9 years old. She came over and asked if she could pet Maddie. She asked about Maddie having three legs, and I so appreciated how she asked the question -- she didn't ask what was wrong with Maddie, what happened to her, or whether she was sick. Instead she asked whether Maddie was born like that. It was such a positive way to be curious. After she returned to her family, her mom asked whether she wanted to share what she learned, and we heard the kid share all we told her. 

Just a quick rant about the cost of the medications and the markup at some providers.

Maddie takes deracoxib each day and will be for the foreseeable future. So far we have just got it from the oncologist at the time of Maddie's appointments.  I fully expected and anticipated that this might be a bit more expensive than some other sources, but the convenience of getting it right away and being able to pick it up seemed worth a bit. However, since Maddie is taking this indefinitely I decided it was worth a few minutes to price out other sources. I am shocked by the difference in cost.

A 30 day supply from the oncologist costs about $180. Getting it from my regular vet's online pharmacy is about $85. That's not a typo -- it costs twice as much to get it from the oncologist's onsite pharmacy! Some of this may be due to brand differences, but doesn't account for all of it.

So the moral of the story is: if your pet is going to be taking a medication regularly for a while, it is probably worth checking the pricing at a few places and not just taking it from them blindly. Also it will be shipped to my house, so even more convenient than picking it up.

Rant over.

Exactly! I also don't necessarily trust the cheapest source for that very reason. Not only is fraud a known issue, I've heard very mixed reports about how different online places handle the drugs themselves. But I trust the pharmacy tied to my vet practice. We actually found a price a bit cheaper somewhere else, but it was only a difference of $5 so decided it was worth it to feel confident in the sourcing.

Maddie is doing well! For the last few days, we have been having fun playing hide and seek with a high reward treat stuck in a toy. The hound in her has quite the nose and we are kicking ourselves for not doing more nose work with her earlier. She gets laser-focused and it is so amazing to watch her sprint around the house, up and down the stairs, following the strength of the scent. She will stop, put her nose in the air, take a couple hops, sniff again, turn back the other way, sniff again, and then head the correct way. It is just so cool to watch.