High Maintenance

We bestow our love upon them
without stint, and they reciprocate
with trust and the greatest affection
one species can hold another in.
We who are legion, the childless
the empty-nesters, the loners
and the disaffected who find
peace and belonging denied by
social contact awaiting them in
the pure unalloyed love of a pet
companion through the days of
our lives. Our hearts are wrenched
at the thought of losing them for
they are our family, and no extended
need is greater than ours to have
them beside us. When professional
care is needed to supplement our
own for them we seek medical
help and become supplicants to 
the hospitals that cater to our needs
and theirs. Pet companionship saves
us emotionally so we do not hesitate
to deplete our savings to make them
hale again. Seen outside a bank a
rare item indeed: a Bentley coupe
with specialized license plate
identifying the owner: "Dr.Vet"