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Pet Place: Bonnie Bella finds a permanent home

By Robin Shroyer/Contributor

Happy new year!

In spite of the tumultuous times of 2008, it has been a beautiful year here on the Central Coast. Of course, your net value may be halved and your fragile plants may have been frozen to death, but you are here, the daylight is longer and spring is on the way.

Beautiful Bonnie Bella (the dog we featured in my last column) spent Christmas and New Year’s in an incredible new home.

The very first caller (the Busch Family) came and met her on the Saturday before Christmas and took her home. We haven’t seen her since!

We do know she loves her new playmate, a 2-year-old rottweiler. We also understand she has 3 acres on which to run, not to mention she sleeps in the bed. We think her new name is Dizzy or Lizzy or Lucky.

Though many of us are struggling to make ends meet and to adjust to a whole new economy, there are also many of us who see the value in the things that really matter.

The number of calls we received in response to the Bonnie Bella column attests to the fact that the important things in our world cannot be found at a department store or in a fancy car or in a huge, expensive home.

Times like these enable us to assess what we really care about. They also help us to evaluate our limitations. Sometimes, a potentially healthy pet is worth forgoing a vacation. Sometimes, the poor prognosis and the substantial veterinary costs are unrealistic, recognizable and the time is right to say goodbye.

We are all here with a purpose and a road to happiness. It may be saying goodbye to a wonderful, yet suffering friend. It may be welcoming a healthy and needy new friend. It might also be somewhere in the middle. Welcome to 2009!

Veterinarian Robin Shroyer is the co-owner of Nipomo Dog & Cat Hospital, 525 Sandydale Drive. Contact the hospital at 929-2855 or visit the Web site at nipomodogandcathospital.com.