The hardest part of owning a dog wasn’t the vet bills or the mess..
It was reaching for the dewormer
And the guilt and suffering that came after
Once a month every month I’d watch Miso my sensitive Shih Tzu lose himself..first to parasites
Then to the harsh chemicals in his dewormer
The lethargy, the whimpering, not being able to keep anything down for the next two days
And the worst part? Recovery seemed to take a little bit longer each time we used the chemicals..
But every time I swore it was the last — I'd find another worm and reach for that bottle again.
I felt trapped.
I finally broke down at his vet appointment and just told her everything.
The cycle. The guilt. How he seemed weaker after every round.
"If you want to stop reaching for that dewormer — you have to start before you see anything wrong. Because by the time you're seeing it, the gut has already lost the fight it was supposed to win."
I didn't say anything.
She kept going.