Let’s continue our discussion about fearful dogs from a broader perspective. It’ll be VERY clear next week why I’m revisiting some of these key points. I promise, but for now, let’s talk mistakes.
Sing it with me, kids. I’m a woobie. He’s a woobie. She’s a woobie. Wouldn’t you like to be a woobie too? (Look at me dating myself again, with an obscure 1970s Dr. Pepper reference.)
Suddenly, Tom likes to take Lilly on little outings in his truck. It has no back seat or king cab or anything, and he isn’t keen on stuffing her crate in there with him, so I began my quest for a dog seatbelt harness thing.
Lilly and I sat side-by-side on the new bench. The veterinary hospital just underwent a major facelift, and the new built-in benches are bigger and nicer than the old ones. I kept her to my left to protect her swollen right cheek from this most recent rattlesnake bite. While we chatted with the veterinarian who was kind enough to squeeze us in first thing (and allowed us to avoid a MUCH more expensive trip to the doggie ER), Lilly leaned over and did that thing she does when she is either really happy or really nervous. She nibbled on my head.
Here, at last, the story of Lilly’s recent snakebite. While unraveling what must have transpired before that Thursday morning when Lilly woke up with a swollen cheek, our best guess is that a snake got her sometime Tuesday or Wednesday of that week. The fact that she suffered a bite a couple years ago may explain the delayed, less-severe response this time — almost like the first bite “vaccinated” her to the venom (at least a little).
I had planned a well-crafted update for today, but I lost a chunk of time late this afternoon to several phone calls. I know many of you are worried about Lilly and Tom’s recent medical emergencies. So, just a quick note for now. Both are doing OK. Not great, but OK.
We had ANOTHER big medical scare here at Chez Champion of My Heart today. TOM — Lilly’s dad, my darling husband of 18 years (love o’ my life since 1987) — is very, very ill and in the hospital. It’s pretty bad. I’ll have my hands full with that and Lilly’s recovery for a while.
My piece for WebMD called Your Partner vs. Your Pet went live earlier this week. Since there doesn’t seem to be a place to discuss over there, I’m posting a link here so that we can chat a bit about it. So, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you the story of Gilbert, the dog we gave up.
Oh, yeah. It’s another snakebite. Seriously. I do intend to write a whole thing, but I’m just too upset and tired. Lilly spent the day getting onsite treatment at the veterinary hospital, but she is home now.
The amazing, talented, do-it-yourself-er I married these many years ago spent the first few days this week cracking tile off the walls in the hall bathroom. You know, the one right across from my home office.
