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Jun. 21st, 2002 09:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bobkittyTwo entries today, since part of my tale is something that easily upset pet owners may want to skip. There's not a huge amount of descriptive icky stuff, but better safe than sorry.
Took our youngest to the vet yesterday, for his follow-up deworming. He's terrible about getting worms- the vet says it's a Hound Dawg thing, so every 4 months or so we take him in for "cleaning." He's also started chewing on the end of his tail, and I wanted them to look at that. They were checking him in, joking as always about how skinny he is (he does look really pathetic), with me commenting on how I feel like the World's Worst Parent and them telling me no way, 'cause at least Ellis wasn't in for a blood transfusion like three other pups they had in the back. I conceded their point. ;)
As I was telling them about Ellis' tail, the door was suddenly thrown open, and a woman, probably in her 40s, came in with a blanket-wrapped bundle. She was crying hysterically, saying her dog had been hit by a car and please please please make her come back, make her dog come back.
Eeep.
The woman's mother followed her in a bit later, and sat next to me. I had a direct line-of-sight into the hallway to the treatment area, and after a minute or two one of the vet techs came out. She's been there for at least the seven years I've been taking my boys to this vet, so we know each other really well. I caught her eye, and she shook her head just a little. About five minutes after that, the woman came back out, still holding the blanket-wrapped bundle, still crying, now repeating over and over and over "She's dead, my dog is dead," and left with her mom.
Something interesting happened in that moment. I was there with Ellis, and there was another woman with a white poodle named Cleo (she had come in just after the crying woman, so she didn't know what was happening in the back). Just after the crying woman left with her mom, both Ellis and Cleo (who had primarily been interested in Everything But Mama) suddenly bolted for us, doing that "puppy burrowing" thing- that insistent rubbing "pet me, pet me, pet me, pet me" behavior where it seems like they're trying to crawl *inside* your body. The other woman and I just kinda smiled at one another, and held our babies just a little bit closer than normal. :(
The vet tech that brought me back to the exam room is relatively new, and he was obviously shaken up by what had just happened. I told him the story of when our oldest got hit by a car (don't even get me *started* on that story- my roommate had loosened his collar, and he slipped out of it while I was walking him.. I still can't bear to even mention that bitch) and I brought him in. The vet immediately reached into the car, grabbed 'Bus by the scruff of the neck and the butt, yanked him out of the car and made him stand up. Cognitively I knew exactly why he was doing it- in fact, I'd anticipated him acting just that way. But- as I said to the vet tech- in that moment, I had never hated anyone as much as I hated the vet. If my friend hadn't been with me, I probably would've beaten the crap out of the poor doc. The tech and I talked about why they do the "we're just going to bring your pet in the back here for a moment" thing (to spare the owner from seeing things like what I did), and how sometimes people don't understand why they have to be a little rough. I gave him verbal pats on the back for handling the earlier situation, and sent him from the room a good bit happier than when he came in. :)
I don't know the name of the pup who died yesterday, but I'd like to raise a toast to her. Safe passage to the Rainbow Bridge, baby girl.
Took our youngest to the vet yesterday, for his follow-up deworming. He's terrible about getting worms- the vet says it's a Hound Dawg thing, so every 4 months or so we take him in for "cleaning." He's also started chewing on the end of his tail, and I wanted them to look at that. They were checking him in, joking as always about how skinny he is (he does look really pathetic), with me commenting on how I feel like the World's Worst Parent and them telling me no way, 'cause at least Ellis wasn't in for a blood transfusion like three other pups they had in the back. I conceded their point. ;)
As I was telling them about Ellis' tail, the door was suddenly thrown open, and a woman, probably in her 40s, came in with a blanket-wrapped bundle. She was crying hysterically, saying her dog had been hit by a car and please please please make her come back, make her dog come back.
Eeep.
The woman's mother followed her in a bit later, and sat next to me. I had a direct line-of-sight into the hallway to the treatment area, and after a minute or two one of the vet techs came out. She's been there for at least the seven years I've been taking my boys to this vet, so we know each other really well. I caught her eye, and she shook her head just a little. About five minutes after that, the woman came back out, still holding the blanket-wrapped bundle, still crying, now repeating over and over and over "She's dead, my dog is dead," and left with her mom.
Something interesting happened in that moment. I was there with Ellis, and there was another woman with a white poodle named Cleo (she had come in just after the crying woman, so she didn't know what was happening in the back). Just after the crying woman left with her mom, both Ellis and Cleo (who had primarily been interested in Everything But Mama) suddenly bolted for us, doing that "puppy burrowing" thing- that insistent rubbing "pet me, pet me, pet me, pet me" behavior where it seems like they're trying to crawl *inside* your body. The other woman and I just kinda smiled at one another, and held our babies just a little bit closer than normal. :(
The vet tech that brought me back to the exam room is relatively new, and he was obviously shaken up by what had just happened. I told him the story of when our oldest got hit by a car (don't even get me *started* on that story- my roommate had loosened his collar, and he slipped out of it while I was walking him.. I still can't bear to even mention that bitch) and I brought him in. The vet immediately reached into the car, grabbed 'Bus by the scruff of the neck and the butt, yanked him out of the car and made him stand up. Cognitively I knew exactly why he was doing it- in fact, I'd anticipated him acting just that way. But- as I said to the vet tech- in that moment, I had never hated anyone as much as I hated the vet. If my friend hadn't been with me, I probably would've beaten the crap out of the poor doc. The tech and I talked about why they do the "we're just going to bring your pet in the back here for a moment" thing (to spare the owner from seeing things like what I did), and how sometimes people don't understand why they have to be a little rough. I gave him verbal pats on the back for handling the earlier situation, and sent him from the room a good bit happier than when he came in. :)
I don't know the name of the pup who died yesterday, but I'd like to raise a toast to her. Safe passage to the Rainbow Bridge, baby girl.
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Date: 2002-06-21 08:14 am (UTC)I have had several threads on the SDMB about my pup getting hit by a truck last October. Jake was not yet 6 months old. The guy that hit him said he hit him right at the end of our driveway. (he was swerving to avoid him and ending up hitting him right in the driveway--so he says) Anyway I am currently being sued for $650($500 for his deductable and an additional $150 for his aggravation) What a heartless bastard.
The trip to the animal hospital took 30 minutes and was the longest half hour of my life. I sat in the back seat with Jake wrapped in a blanket barely breathing and his whole tongue, mouth were solid white. He was made a weak hacky, gurgling cough and was semi conscious. I took his pulse and it was very weak and thready. I knew he was in big trouble. Would you believe the guy that hit him tried to stop us from leaving with him until I wrote him a check? I wanted to run the bastard over.
Jake was in shock and had like no blood pressure. It turned out he had a concussion, cardiac contusions,a couple of broken toes and several places of road rash but now is just fine. Maybe a lot smaller than he should be though. It cost us $700 to save his life and was worth every penny.
I still can't see how a 25 pound dog can inflict several thousand dollars worth of damage to a pickup truck and until the judge says otherwise, I don't intend to pay heartless bastard a cent.
Sorry to get off on a tangent, the whole situation just infuriates me. It is made worse by the fact that the man never did ask if Jake survived. He told me "I don't care if he is alive or dead as long as I get my money".