That'll be how much???

I took Amos to the vet a couple weeks ago and, while she was poking and prodding him, the vet oh-so casually mentioned that Amos needs dental work. Specifically, she said, "Amos has stage two dental disease. I'll work up an estimate for you." She then proceeded to hand me a baseline estimate of $310. $310?!?!? I can't think of the last time I spent that much money on MYSELF, much less on a cat! Oh, no wait, I can: it was in January, when I cut a check for over a thousand dollars when Edgar allegedly got hit by a car while we were on Christmas vacation and wound up with a broken jaw. But I'm not bitter or anything.