I was at an after business event today sponsored by a local funeral parlor. I mentioned once before that I have provided a number of memorial videos for funeral parlors around town. While there, I tried to remember a specific service that stood out above the rest. Oddly, what came to my mind was a service that didn’t happen. It was for my son’s teenaged Shih-tzu, Mini.

The poor thing was suffering in her later years and when I took it to the vet (my son was out of town, serving in the military), I was informed that she had developed kidney stones and surgery would be required. The quoted cost, to me, was astronomical and given her age, an unacceptable expense. I made the difficult decision to have the doctor put her down and take her out of her misery.

Call it cowardly, but I couldn’t remain to watch it happen. I said my goodbyes and got in my car to drive home. I let my wife know what happened and as the emotions got the better of me, I pulled to the side of the road and started framing in my mind how I was going to tell my son the news.

Suddenly, the phone rang. It was the vet. “You can come and pick up your dog now.”

I was aghast. And speechless. Finally I stammered, “No. I don’t want to do that. Don’t you take care of disposal?”

“You don’t understand. After you left I figured there was nothing to lose so I tried to massage the stones loose. It worked. She’s a little groggy but she’ll be fine.”

I made a U-turn to head back to the vet’s office. There, I was presented with a sore and sleepy dog who greeted me with a wag of a tail and a half hearted attempt to get up. I was also presented with a bill for $2,000.00. Well, shih-tzu. What was I supposed to do now? Tell him to put the stones back in? I paid it and put Mini in the car. If you thought I was emotional before, you should have seen me 2 grand later.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio of Mount Dora specialize in the preservation of family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit www.homevideostudio.com/mtd.