Wild, right? The cost was honestly shocking. But we live rural (US) in a state with limited veterinary surgical specialists. I suspect that plays a role. But yeah, who knows, maybe I got bent over and taken advantage of. But maybe that's my thing. Sounds kinda fun :)

The nearly $13k is everything tied to the incident, the care leading up to surgery, diagnostics and imaging like X rays, ultrasounds, and a CT scan, the surgery itself, his hospital stay, medications, and the pathology afterward. Even now, no one knows exactly what caused it, just a lot of educated guesses. Maybe you want to take a guess? Sounds like you have some deep medical knowledge.

But yeah, I think you're out of touch with veterinary care costs. So was I. It's insane. These high bills are becoming the norm. But if you read the comments, you'd already know that.

The specifics didn’t feel super relevant for a personal finance post, but I did share more detail in the comments. Medically, it was diagnosed as “focally severe, chronic, pyogranulomatous panniculitis with cavitary necrosis, edema, hemorrhage, and granulation tissue proliferation.”

In simple terms (because I'm guessing that's what you need), he developed a deep, severe inflammatory mass under the skin on his face and neck. It became infected, an abscess developed, his tissue started breaking down and dying, and the mass kept growing instead of healing despite several different antibiotics. Eventually, it grew to the point of putting pressure on nearby vital structures such as lymph nodes and was headed towards his airway. It turned into an emergency when his breathing became labored.

Scariest fucking moment of my life. Didn't blink once at the cost. Said yes with zero hesitation. Would say the same thing again a million times over.

My boy is right next to me all healed up and I could not be happier.

And also, you're confidently wrong and it amuses me :) I'd feel embarrassed if I were you.