After spending nearly 12 hours in the car, due to being forced to spend the entire day in Olympia for his appointment, Hunter's ultrasound got taken care of today.

First, the good news: The cost for today's appointment was just slightly less than the original amount I was quoted that it would cost ($590). This included the ultrasound itself and the donated meds from the vet center. Also, the costs included some of the donated meds from the vet center. Two weeks of antibiotics he needs, as well as two weeks of an anti-inflammatory medication. Sadly, this is where the good news ends.

The bad news: I discovered that Hunter's left testicle is really bad, and, unfortunately, this led to the discovery that, yes, the neuter IS needed to take care of the issue. This broke my heart to hear, and, almost immediately, I went back to the horrible feeling I felt when the idea of the neuter first came up. It was recommended that I get the neuter scheduled with my regular vet ASAP. I will return to this comment momentarily.

With regards to the meds I was told Hunter needs to be on: Aside from the two weeks of each medication I was given, I discovered that I needed an additional four weeks of the antibiotics, which are a medication called Enrofloxacin, and, unfortunately, this would have to come out of pocket. I was given the name of the site that the vet center recommends to patients to use for meds, a site called Chewy, and I discovered that, for the remaining four weeks of meds he needs, it would cost me $200. Thankfully, I would only need to pay this once, as, after the four weeks, Hunter would not need them anymore. The other med he was put on though, an anti-inflammatory med called Deracoxib, is going to be a long-term medication. This one, thankfully, is only about $50 a month. Still painful, but a bit more manageable. This means, in about two weeks, I'll have to shell out $250 for Hunter's two medications, but, after that, it will only be $50 a month, for the anti-inflammatory alone, if I understood everything correctly. I'll be contacting the vet center in two weeks to make sure I'm understanding things properly before spending the money.

Getting back on track here... After being told to do so, I contacted Banfield, to set up the neuter appointment. It's now been set for the 18th, just a few days from now. Sadly, at this point, I now know for a fact there's no getting around it. It has to be done. I was told though that getting the neuter done will practically guarantee he'll be cured because there was no sign of anything else wrong when the ultrasound was done. As much as I hated hearing the neuter was necessary, I was, at least, comforted by that news.

So yeah, that's the situation as it is right now. The neuter is in a few days, then I just have to deal with keeping up on Hunter's meds. Thankfully, what assistance I've received from friends should cover the cost of the meds for now, so I should be fine, though it does sting that the antibiotics are going to cost so much, even if i inly have to pay that $200 once.

The next update will probably be after the neuter, assuming nothing else goes wrong or changes.