We didn’t have multiple parties to attend. We didn’t have to do any stress inducing last minute shopping trips. (Okay, I generally plan well enough that I never have to do gift shopping at the last minute.) We didn’t have any company come over, unless you count my son coming home Christmas Eve for a day or two.
My son and daughter finally managed to get our tree up about a week before Christmas. And my daughter took it back down again by this past Sunday. I even got my Christmas Village taken down already. So, it has to be the shortest time we’ve have ever had our Christmas decorations up.
Beyond that, the only things that have happened in the last month are a couple of our dogs needing urgent trips to the vet.
It started with Xavier getting sick and throwing up just before Christmas. It was serious enough that we ran him to the doctor at the earliest possible moment. We didn’t wait for our preferred doctor to be on duty first. (She only works Friday thru Tuesday, and it was a Thursday.)
And, as usual for a vet visit, the cost was several hundred dollars to do some blood work and give him something to calm his stomach. All that and I don’t think anyone figured out what was wrong beyond possibly a cold. After a few days rest he returned to his normal happy self. Though the vet did have us repeat one of the blood tests because the numbers weren’t good. Thankfully the repeat showed they are fine now.
Then between Christmas and New Year’s, my daughter had to run Ivan to the doctor. More bloodwork. They came home again with no issues but within minutes of them getting home Ivan started bleeding again.
Now, when we call the vet’s office they generally ask us if we are having an emergency or if we can wait on hold for a few minutes. I assume because the front desk staff are doing three things at once most days. And in the nearly twenty years we’ve lived here, that was the first time I told them that no, I could not wait because I was positive it was an emergency.
We were told to get him back to the office as soon as possible. Now my daughter can drive, but at that point she was a bit panicked, and someone had to hold Ivan to keep pressure on where he was bleeding from.
We discussed me getting dressed and holding Ivan while she drove, but I didn’t think that was the best solution. One because my daughter was that upset about Ivan’s condition. Two because of the time it would take me to get dressed. And finally, three, because she has the most knowledge and skills to deal with a pet emergency to begin with. (She is a veterinary nurse after all.)
I told Jerry to drive while my daughter held Ivan.
What apparently happened is that the site they drew blood from started bleeding again. They stopped the bleeding and sent him home, but we had to keep him quiet for a few days.
Now we have three pets currently. Ivan and Xavier are both seniors. Lakota is barely fully grown, and still has some of her puppy exuberance. One would think keeping Lakota, our largest and youngest dog, away from Ivan would be the biggest issue. It was not.
Xavier, by then fully recovered from his bout of sickness, was energetic and playful enough that he was the reason Ivan started bleeding again. We were afraid we’d have to keep them apart for a few days, but Xavier managed to be his less than energetic, senior self while Ivan was recovering.
But the trip to get Xavier’s bloodwork rechecked was an experience.
Per his usual he rode in the backseat all the way to the vet but as soon as we parked he climbed into the front seat. And for whatever reason he never went back into the back seat. He stayed in my lap for the duration of the trip home.
Now he is not a huge dog, but having nearly thirty pounds of mass on my basically non-existent lap was a bit much for the roughly 20-minute drive. But the really annoying part was when he switched his position so he could see out the window better. He was pretty much standing on my stomach and completely blocking my view for the last five minutes or so of the trip home.
He clearly enjoyed it, but I wasn’t comfortable.
How are things so far this year, for you?
Smile. Make the day a brighter day.
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