Don't judge me man...

Humphrey the wonder Basset Hound is now 11 years old in dog years. We got him when he was 8 weeks old. He has been with us for all 7 apartments we've lived in and he was there pre kids.
In the past month, he appears to have gone slightly down hill. He woke up one morning and couldn't put any weight at all on his right front paw.

He also lost all of his energy and his get up and go. He wanted to sleep all day and never even gets up to greet me at the door when I come home.
His bladder isn't what it was and so he pees all over the floor.

When we sit on the couch, rather than lay next to us, he wants to be a lap dog and lay on us. (This is something he never did before and can often be found draped over Mike looking far more like a Harbor Seal than a Basset Hound.) Mike asked me if I thought he knew he was "on his way out" and that's why he was so snuggly.

I'm not a stupid blind dog mother. I know he's a step closer to Rainbow Bridge  then he was even 6 months ago. Do I think death is on his doorstep? No. I do not.
I think he's an older dog who finally has accepted that he's an older dog.

We leave for Disney World tomorrow. Usually when we go, we can put Humph in the kennel (to the tune of $400 for a week!) but this trip I knew that wasn't an option. He can't walk, let alone run around with other dogs.

Once again, I called on my mother and sister who SWORE that the last time they watched Humph was the last time they would watch Humph. (Thank the heaven's they are sweet on the hound)

My mother and sister first met our Basset Hound Humphrey on Halloween of 1999 when he was a mere 8 weeks old.
He has been as much their dog as mine for the past 11 years.
He loves them, and they love him.

I'm not sure if they thought I was being dramatic or embellishing the facts because my mother told me that often the best thing for an achy joint was exercise and they were going to attempt to take him to the run.
I informed her that I didn't think he could do it as he couldn't even go around the block. Heck, he can't even go down the stairs and to the tree outside without having to lay down and rest.

My sister came over on Thursday to help me with the kids and she attempted to take him around the block. She discovered what I already knew. Even around the block is far too much for him these days.

My mother asked me if I was going to take him to the vet. No. No I wasn't. A friend recommend Bufferin for the joint (Which I'd bet all that I have is Arthritis) and so that's what I'd been giving him.

Do I feel like a bad dog mom not going to the vet? You bet I do but it's completely unaffordable right now.
Between the blood work and the XRays and the meds we are looking at at least $500. That's $500 that I don't have.

So my mother called me today to tell me that SHE was going to take Humph to the vet. (God bless that woman) and get him taken care of.

Does the fact that I leave tomorrow for a cruise with my family but can't afford to take the dog to the vet make me cringe? Yup. It sure does.

We booked this cruise a year and a half ago when we were offered it free if we purchased extra Vacation Club Points with Disney World.

Currently, I'm far more stressed out than a woman going on a cruise should be.
Why?
Because we are broke.
The ship goes to Nassau in the Bahamas. We aren't even getting off the ship that day because we can't afford any of the excursions.

Everyone wants to know if I'm going to hit the spa hard when on the ship. No, I'm not. Why? Because we don't have a spare $150 for a massage package.

The day in Nassau will be spent not creeping around the beautiful pastel colored buildings or shopping for diamonds or gambling in the Atlantis Casino but rather on the ship, with the kids in the kids club and Mike and I hanging in the room or at the coffee bar.

Truth be told, the cost of renting the snorkel equipment on Disney's island is causing us to choke a little bit as well.
It's $30 for each adult and $15 for each kid for mask, flippers and fins.
Do I feel pathetic not being able to afford to do cruise things while on a cruise?
You betcha I do.

I'm working VERY hard at trying to not feel sorry for myself.

We are broke in the truest sense of the word and are scraping to make this trip happen and it wouldn't be happening at all if we hadn't booked it a year and a half ago.

But if you don't know that, you don't know that and what you see is a daughter leaving her aging hound dog in the care of her mother and sister allowing them to pay the vet bill while we jaunt off on a cruise.

It looks pathetic I know and it makes me blush.

So now you have all the facts. Don't judge me too harshly okay?