7 Day Return Policy

Seven Day Return Policy

When we adopted Galen, our very first dog, I didn't bond with him immediately.   Then he got very very sick and I couldn't even begin to feel anything for him other than my general love of dogs.  I kept wondering if I should have picked out another dog.  What if there was something seriously wrong with this one?
He eventually got well and as anyone who knows us knows--He was MY love.   

When we adopted Sheba, it took me time to get used to her. I used to be the center of Galen's world and then along comes his very own live in playmate. She had some issues due to her early abuse, but I came to love that dog more than anything. 

Goldberg was a different case as when he came to us, it was a temporary situation. We even tried adopting him out.   He was such a hard case to break some of his very bad habits and then his health issues began.   He became my little clown--buddy and was with us until the end-10 years later.

When we adopted the rest Duchess, Athena (and ALL her known issues) Peryn, and when we brought home Lada--never once did I think of returning them.   

Through all the tough beginnings I stuck it out because I could never do that to a dog.  

When we adopted Volos on Monday, we were told that they had a 7 day return policy. That is where we can return him at any point for any reason and get our adoption fee back.    We can return him anytime after, but we do not get the fee back.

For that reason and the fact that he has been limping since we brought him home, we took him to the vet today.

We had them look at the paw and also 2 masses on either side of him.

The results-- one of the masses is possibly a cancerous Mast Cell Tumor.    
And the paw... He has a torn ACL.    

To sum it up, he requires surgery for both issues.   Expensive surgeries.   AND... 1 of those surgeries may uncover if any cancer has spread. 

Considering we just lost Duchess almost 2 months ago to cancer, you can imagine how we must feel.   
Additionally, we just got this dog on Monday and find out that he requires expensive surgeries.  

"Whew! Good thing you found out and can return him and get your money back"
"With all Athena's issues, you can't afford another dog requiring all this expensive work"
"Oh that's easy--get your money back and don't spend anymore on the dog. You've barely had him a week."

When Volos was back getting the xrays and the tumor cells being looked at, we had a discussion.  What would we do depending on the outcome? Fortunately we're on the same page, so no arguing necessary.

This dog... this dog that we've only had with us going on 5 days is the sweetest, most loving dog we've ever had.  He wormed his way into our hearts from moment one.   It doesn't matter if he's going to cause us to go broke for a little while, he's one of ours.   
One caveat is this. If we find that there is cancer and there aren't clean margins--meaning that the cancer has spread--we will be returning him.    I cannot go through this again.  Also keep in mind, I'm saying this now--hours after his appt.  Ask me again in a few weeks..........


Never one to ask for help, I'm considering doing one of those go fund me things to ask for help...Considering.  I don't know how I feel about asking for money.....   We'll cross that bridge when it comes to it I guess.

Mass removal & Biopsy scheduled for Feb 3

Sorry. IT's been awhile. A note from Mommy.

Hey Duchess & Athena fans.


It's been awhile and I apologize for not posting any updates.

I'll get right to it.

Athena had some issues the past 6 months or so with her right ear.  We started noticing that we couldn't rub behind her ear. She kept shaking her head and eventually it started to stink.  
We took her to the vet and they didn't find an infection. Just an overabundance of wax.

We had to start cleaning her ears every other day and putting medicine in the ear.   While it stopped the smell, it didn't stop her from constantly shaking her head.  Her right ear no longer was standing straight up.  

At hear annual visit, we mentioned her ear again.  They didn't see anything and told us to keep  using the ear cream and clean it.   Additionally the vet thought it might be a food allergy.

Thus began a change up with the food that was more of a pain then anything else.  Her ear still bothered her.   

Finally I took her in again and forced the issue. They found her ear infected and we got new cream and antibiotics.  Four days later, poof all gone.  She is no longer shaking her head. We can pet behind her ear and it stands up straight.

We just switched back to their old food because the new food caused digestion issues.Duchess and Athena protested the food change, but ultimately had no choice in the matter.  Now the digestion issues are all done.

The girls are in love with the new neighbor.  About a month and a half ago, the neighbors adopted a new puppy. He's the CUTEST thing ever. The dogs are obsessed with this puppy. It is so cute. I'll try to snap pics the next time they visit him.  

Duchess is becoming a bit more sociable at the dog park. I don't know if it's due her seeing the same dogs all the time or something else.   It's nice to see.


My parents came for a visit and stayed a week. The girls loved them, especially Duchess (surprise!).   I think they were both quite bummed out when they returned home. They also took to my brother when he visited a month prior to that.  


We did a DNA test on the girls. We'd done one on Duchess before, but were curious if it would garner the same results. We were curious to what Athena was.  I'll blog about that next time. It won't be as long in between posts I swear.

Athena is doing fantastic. Aside from weaker back legs than a dog her age would normally have, she's adapted wonderfully. She's very happy and loves her home, neighbors and friends.  She lives for the dog parks, eating and Rocky (her raccoon).