Hates seeing Pierre suffer...

 As some of you know, one of my boy dogs, Pierre, has been having some skin/ear issues that have been making him depressed. Like the worried parent's that we are, we have been taking him to the vet constantly in hopes that they figure out what is wrong with him. After three months, two rounds of medications with steroids both times, many dollars later it was time for them to admit they don't know what is wrong with him. They were then ready to admit that he was better off seeing a specialist.
 Yesterday Derek took him to the doggy dermatologist and after two and a half hours of poking and testing they finally found many problems. As relieved as we are that there is something they can do, we are not sure what route we want to take. He has some allergies that have built up over time and caused many infections internally. For this, he welts up on the outside and loses hair because that is the only way the infection can push its way out. We have known there was something wrong with him and now feel really bad that it has gotten this bad. We know that we have tried our best to get him help, but sometimes relying on the local doctor just isn't the best choice (this is just the same for a child too). After having the doctor mess with him for three months, he could have been healed up a long time ago.
 They put him on medications to help heal up so he isn't depressed and miserable. He has to take special ear medication that could cause deafness, and he is on two different pills. This will last about four weeks before we go back for further treatments.
  Now we are faced with a huge decision when he is healed. We have to choose to pay for allergy testing to find the real problem or just treat it the rest of his life with steroids. We have three allergy options that range from different prices. We just know that these options will cause his life span to shorten. As tough as that is to sound, we also want his life to be happy and healthy. This will lead us to believe that as long as he is healthy, the money doesn't matter.
 We will continue to weigh our options until the day arrives that we have to make the decision. Our dogs are our children so this is hard to see when they are suffering. We love all three of our dogs (even when they annoy us unintentionally (we hope it's unintentionally)). They are the greatest gifts that have come into our lives and will be sad when the day comes to part. We love Levi, Pierre, and Chloe.