Thursday, March 29, 2012

"My Dog Died"

I'm just simply going to give you a rundown of something that happened to me yesterday.  Maybe you've been in the same situation before but handled it differently, and if you did I applaud you for that, but I chose a different route.  A route that landed me feeling pretty crummy.  Read on, and you'll find out why, but you must do one thing...As you read this post, please don't judge me for my actions. 

It all started almost two years ago when we brought home this little lady (that's her name, Lady).

Shortly after we brought her home, we took her to a local vets office that advertised a cheaper rate than most other vet offices in town.  They seemed nice enough at the time.  They checked her in, weighed her (I'm sure she hated that part, what lady doesn't?!?!) and finally took her back to the exam room to get a good look at her (thermometer up her butt and all!).

The initial results of the tests they ran shocked us.  We had just gotten Lady from my cousin in Arkansas, and the vet gave us the bad news a few days later; Lady had heart worms.  The vet then proceeded to tell us that if we didn't take immediate action, our Lady wouldn't live much longer.  At one point, the vet suggested some sort of surgery, and that alone was going to be over $1,000!   Now, Luke and I hadn't been married long, we had just moved into the house we bought, and we already had another dog besides lady.  We simply could not afford to give Lady the surgery that she "needed."  We left the office that day sad thinking that any day Lady would pass on to pee on the greenest grass in the world (AKA: die!).  Little did we know that within a few weeks, that vets office would begin calling us and bugging us about setting up a surgery time for Lady.  They knew as we left the vets office that day that we weren't going to be able to let Lady have surgery, so why they kept calling I'll never know, but they did.  They called weekly for months.  Every time they would call I would just decline the call, and go on with the day.  

For a few months I hadn't heard from the vets office.  I had convinced myself that they finally got the hint that we weren't bringing her in for a surgery, and they decided to quit badgering us about it.  Well, that wasn't the case.  Last month they started calling every few days, and one day I just got tired of it.  I didn't want to decline their call anymore, and I didn't want to tell them that we had moved Lady to another vet and get a million questions about why we made that decision, so I did something about it.  

One day, at the end of last week, the vets office called.  I knew it was them because I added their number to my contacts list as "Vets office-don't answer!"  I picked up the phone and said, "hello?"  The lady on the other end of the phone introduced herself and told me who she worked for.  She then proceeded to go on about how long it had been since we had last brought lady in for a visit and how important it was that we bring her in as soon as possible for further evaluation.  It was at that moment a (what seemed brilliant at the time) idea popped in my head.  I followed her lengthy statements with this, "ohh...yeah...I...uh...I forgot to call and tell you.."  "You forgot to tell us what? she said.  "I forgot to tell you that Lady passed away."  *cue awkward silence*  After about thirty seconds of no one talking (literally, it was that long!), she spoke up and said, "oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.  When did it happen?"  "Uh..when did it happen?" I said.  "Yes, when did Lady pass away?"  "She..uh..passed away a few months ago.  We've just been really busy with school and church that I totally forgot to call and tell you."  The lady sadly said, "It's okay, I'm sorry for your loss" and hung up (she didn't even say bye!)  

That day I felt proud.  I knew that I wouldn't be hearing from them again, and that made me all warm and fuzzy inside--never mind the fact that I lied and told them my dog died even though she was still alive and was actually barking in the back yard as I was telling her of my dogs death on the phone!

All was well (and I hadn't heard from the vets office again!) until yesterday!  I went to check the mail, and here's what I found.


Yeah, talk about feeling horrible!  I felt so bad that I had to confess what I had done to my church family last night after we had bible study!  Maybe I could have handled it differently, but I can't just call them back and say, "oh, by the way my dog has been resurrected and is now alive but we're still not going to take her to your vets office because you charge ridiculous amounts for something that really isn't necessary!"  

So, I ask you.  What would you have done? 

10 comments:

  1. Their sympathy doesn't seem very realistic to me. It's not as if they cared for her for years and knew her well. In the future if someone calls you incessantly, you can flat out say, Stop calling me or I will report you for harassment. Then hang up. I really don't think you need to feel ashamed or guilty over this.

    Love,
    Janie

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  2. Oh. my. gosh. Pretty hilarious. You ask what I would have done? I would have told them we found another vet and request that they stop calling. But you're story is way more awesome and gives you a funny blog post out of it!
    Oh and are you still making your blog private? If so, count me in.

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  3. Probably exactly what you did! lol I'm sorry I shouldn't be laughing I should be scolding you for lieing but that is hilarious!

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  4. When telemarketers call for me or my family I tell them that we died. And I NEVER get a stinking card!!! Sigh...

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  5. Ohhh that's awkward. Try not to feel TOO bad about it - even though they signed the card, I doubt they remembered Lady from that one visit. So, it's not like they're all sad because they knew/miss Lady, you know what I mean?

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  6. Hahahaha aww alicia, it's honestly kind of funny in a way! I would have done the same, or answered and said, "this isn't alicia, she must have changed her number" don't feel bad. Whats done is done, and now the vet won't be bugging you anymore. My blog was private for like 2 weeks, but I came back! I just got really busy. I'll email you when I can get to a computer, which will be tomorrow!:)

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  7. You are my kind of "Lady." lol This is exactly what I would have done ;)

    P.S. Once I had an Avon Rep in my phone as "Avon woman don't answer."

    I LOVE this post :0)

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  8. Hahaha! That is brilliant actually!! I used to do that to telemarketers asking for my parents...which is probably worse saying your parent has died instead of your dog! ;) Sorry I've been away so long as well. Life has been busy but wonderful. God is doing so much over here but I remember you and Luke in my prayers often!

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  9. Yes!! You need to update again:)
    I'm sorry your mood has been as bad as mine. It's so not fun. I'm a little alarmed that you haven't had a period since january! Girl you need to call your doctor! That doesnt sound too good. Unless you already know the reason why, of course.
    How are things going for you?? I think about you a lot, and still pray God sends you a miracle:)
    What do you want to send me?? You dont have to do that!! :) whats your email adress again?? Mines hmichellexo@yahoo.com
    Hope you have a fantastic week!
    <3

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  10. I would have done the same thing!

    And yes, I'm really behind on reading posts.

    :)

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