My daughter wanted to get a Guinea Pig. She told me that if we got one Guinea pig, we had to get two Guinea pigs.
I compromised.
We got a dog.
I grew up with golden retrievers my whole life. When I was a kid, my parents had golden retrievers. When I joined the Navy, I got a golden retriever. I even took her to Guam. While in Guam we got another Golden retriever. One lived to be about 14 and the other one lived until about 13 years old.
I tried to get other dogs when my kids were little. My boys were 5 and 7 and I had a newborn baby.
I just couldn’t keep up, so I gave up. I gave up the dogs. It broke my heart. But I gave them to good homes.
November 2025. My daughter and I decided that we were going to get a dog. I looked up online to see about getting a golden retriever and they were all about $2000 to $3000 apiece.
I am a single mom now and on my income that wasn’t about to happen.
So I opted to look into the Humane Society to adopt a dog, to rescue a dog, to give a dog a home.
$395 out the door. Fixed chipped. Dewormed. What a great deal.
This was on the Love Train in my local community Humane Society. What a great organization. They bring in 20 to 30 puppies every week. You get to go in and see all the puppies and pick out which one you want. There are pictures of them online telling you how old they are and a guess of what their breeds are.
They had a cute little puppy named Davros. A 7-week-old, possibly a black lab mix, 7 pounds, cute as a button.
So, on a chilly day November, we went to the Humane Society and we picked him up. We had already thought of the name Murphy. He was so tiny and so sweet and so soft. We brought him home and we gave him a bath, and he was the cutest little thing ever.
Since we got such a good deal on him, I figured I would pay to do the DNA testing to figure out what kind of dog he was. I don’t remember exactly how much it was, but it was maybe 80 bucks. Turns out he is 50% Blue Heeler, 15% Black lab, a few other little mixes in there, and 1% Chihuahua.
Fast forward to January 2026. Murphy jumped up to get a toy. When he landed his foot slipped on the hardwood floor and he yelped. Now I had had dogs before and I have seen them get injured. No big deal. He’s a puppy. He’s going to be fine. Murphy was not fine.
We took Murphy to the vet and they took X rays. I thought in my head, “His leg’s going to be broken and he’s going to have to have a cast on his leg. How are we going to keep him calm? How are we pay for this?”
The look on the veterinarian’s face when she came back into the room made my heart skip a beat. Murphy didn’t break his leg. Murphys tendon that held his kneecap to his shinbone had snapped off.
He needed surgery. Not just a cast.
So off we went to Michigan State University Veterinarian School. I just have to say, that place, was amazing. The people there we’re so kind and compassionate.
Murphy had to get hardware put in his knee to hold the tendon on. Mind you it’s January. There’s snow on the ground. He was slipping all over the place. Trying to jump through the snow. Every time he went outside, he wanted to play in the snow and jump around. It was not fun keeping him on a lead.
So, then we had to go back in after a few weeks and have the hardware taken out. He had to get shaved and wear the cone of shame again.
At his follow up appointment everything looked great, cone of shame was gone, his hair was starting to grow back he was doing great. Little puppy was on the mend.
Total Bill, we’re just going to say close to $6000. So much for my good deal on a little puppy.
The day after I brought him home, after his post op visit and all is good. Murphy started to try a vomit. Not like a normal dogs heaving throws up his food kind of vomit. Murphy was convulsing and screaming and flopping on the ground. I knew something was not right.
Off to the vet again. X rays were taken. Which isn’t cheap. Murphy not only had one bowel obstruction, but he had two bowel obstructions. The vet that I had taken him to did not sound reassuring that he could get this out in a simple surgery. He said it would probably cost about $3000. That local vet told me several times while we were there that he had only done this maybe once or twice and he just wasn’t confident this would be a simple surgery.
Another trip to the Michigan State University veterinary school. I walked in the door, and I just looked at the receptionist and said “My puppy needs help”. They didn’t hesitate; they had someone take him back right away to examine him. They said he had to have surgery again. By this time, they all knew who he was. So, he had to stay the night there. He had to get shaved again. They were able to get out what was causing the obstruction and I was able to pick him up the next day.
Total Bill, about $4000.
Two days after I brought him home. I saw him chewing on something. I saw a glimmer. And then I saw some black string. So I walked over and I grabbed the black string and I pulled. It was a pretty long string. But it wasn’t string, it was thread. At the end of the thread in his mouth was a sewing needle.
I got the sewing needle, he was fine, he didn’t even need to go to the vet. But now every time he acts a little different, I get a little nervous.
Murphy is an amazing dog. He is a very expensive amazing dog. Murphy is by far the the cheapest most expensive dog I have ever owned. I’m going to keep him I am not going to give him up. I will take care of him forever and always.
Murphy is now a whopping 10 months old. Murphy is now insured with Lemonade pet insurance; I got the works.
