Maxwell Banks II and the Case of the recurring bladder stones

My little schnauzer, Maxwell Banks II is now a senior citizen in dog-land.  He is 13 1/2 years old.  And old age has not been kind to the small grumpy dog.  Old age has kicked his ass up one side of the street and down the other.  He can't hear anything except  really high pitch sounds, he is developing cataracts and can't see shit, he seems to have a case of Old Timer's, and his hips are stiff when he wakes up and has to stretch before hopping out of his bed.

But the worst thing for him?  Bladder stones.

He developed some of these 3 years ago just after his 10th birthday and had to have surgery.  They opened up 2 places, one in his bladder and the other down along his urethra to remove the ones that were stuck there and causing all the pain, discomfort and bleeding.  And I was told at that time that schnauzers are prone to these and that once you get them your chances are HUGE that they will come again.

And 3 years later, here we are again.  My poor pathetic grumpy little schnauzer is at the hospital having surgery for the second time in 2 days to try and remove all the stones and give him a little relief.

Didn't I just have to be here reporting about our young cat Fergus Jackson MacPhee being in the hospital having all his issues?  What gives with all these damn pets having health concerns?  Was my savings account just growing too much?  Was it creating an imbalance somewhere that needed a huge expenditure to even things out?  Come on, already!

This is my little fat dog, Max.

Let's all say a little prayer that Max tolerates the surgery well and that he can live out his remaining years without the pain and nuisance of these damn bladder stones.  And while we are at it, let's also pray that this new vet knows what he is doing.