Her name was Bailey.
A 13-year-old Jack Russell.
But according to her owner Sarah…
Bailey was never “old.”
She still chased tennis balls.
Still followed Sarah around the house.
Still jumped onto the bed every night.
Until slowly…
Those little moments disappeared.
First, Sarah noticed Bailey’s eyes looked cloudy in sunlight.
Then Bailey started missing her tennis ball.
Then she stopped jumping onto the couch.
Then one night…
Sarah watched Bailey freeze at the top of the stairs.
The same stairs she had walked down thousands of times.
That’s when Sarah became worried.
But she was told:
“It’s normal aging. Monitor it.”
So she did.
And like any loving dog owner, she tried everything.
Expensive vision chews.
Carrots.
Blueberries.
Eye drops from Amazon.
Nothing changed.
Eventually, she was told the only option left was cataract surgery.
The estimate?
Over $5,000.
That’s when I started asking myself a question:
Why are we waiting until surgery feels like the only answer?