Family pays thousands for lizard's care

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., April 8 (UPI) -- A California man says he and his wife spent $5,000 on medical bills for his beloved pet lizard that eventually died due to an enlarged heart.

Leonard Scheid of Fountain Valley said he and his wife Dorothy treated T-Rex, a Savannah Monitor they purchased in 2002, as a full-blown member of the family: the lizard was toilet trained, washed up in the bathroom tub and was even allowed to sleep in bed with its owners, The Orange County (Calif.) Register reported Tuesday.

Scheid said the powerful bond he quickly formed with T-Rex left him with no concern about money when the lizard fell ill in 2003. The family racked up $5,000 in medical costs for three amputation surgeries when the lizard's tail became deformed, several X-rays, an EKG and ultrasound on his heart and other procedures.

"If they need the care, then it is our responsibility," Dorothy Scheid said of the family's pets.

T-Rex died last December and the Scheids have since adopted another Savannah Monitor, a female named Raptor.

"She is more like a pet," Leonard Scheid said. "He was more like a family member."