Let me set the scene. There’s me, a 70 lb. dog, a hysterically crying 6 year old girl, a grown man who looks bewildered by all he sees, and a nurse tech whose not sure what to do with any of these folks!!
So, how did we get to this point you ask? Well, let me tell you.
Our oldest dog, Morgan, has managed to contract heartworms. We’ve been treating her for the past 4 weeks and things have been going fine. Today the princess and I went into our normal afternoon routine of filling and doling out 3 bowls of food and treats. As is normal the baby, Lucy, attacked the dish like we had forgotten to feed her the last 3 days. Maggie wandered around for a minute or two and then settled down to eat because there was nothing better going on. The strange one was Morgan who went and stood over her bowl and did nothing. Just stood there. Sniffed for a second or two and then stood. The princess went for the treats and tried to hand feed her. No go. My “somethings not right” radar went off and so off to the vet we went. Of course my wonderful husband who normally does ALL vet visits happened to be out of Greensboro at the time so a visit to the vet is not normal territory to me.
We get into the room and everything seems to be going fine. Morgan is lounging on the floor and the princess says my tummy hurts. Why? I ask. Because I’m scared that Morgan is going to die. (Plus she really had to go the bathroom because I had not stopped to let her go before we took off!) Oh dear.
So, we talked about how dogs get sick just like people and it doesn’t mean they are going to die. Then in walks doc.
He sits down on the floor and plays with Morgan and then proceeds to listen to her lungs and stuff. Then he started to talk and this is where it all fell apart. (All this time I’m holding onto Morgan’s leash because she is occasionally getting up and trying to get out the door.)
“Well, I think what is happening here is that the heartworms are DYING…….” That’s about all I really heard because as soon as those words were uttered there was total bedlam from the corner of the room where the princess was having an absolute melt down. I’m standing in the middle of the room holding this dog trying to reach across and reassure her that her dog is NOT dying while this fairly young doctor looks ready to cry and ready to run. He mumbled something about needing some medication and high tailed it out of the room. I talked with the princess and learned that she had heard the word dying and nothing else. She truly thought her dog was dying. Oh dear..again.
I managed to get her calmed down, but by now that need to go to the bathroom was becoming overwhelming. So, here I am, all alone in a very small room with a dog who I really don't want to haul to a bathroom and a small child who needs an escort to the bathroom. So, what do I do? I give the leash to the princess and head out into the clinic to find the bathroom. Then I stop at the desk and ask one of the ladies to watch my child get from one door to the other and go back and send her out to the bathroom. It’s a big deal the first time you send your child to a public restroom without you. I sorta watched her go and I noticed that the desk chick was great and followed her all the way to the bathroom and waited for her. Problem solved.
So, now we are back in the room waiting on the return of the doctor. He finally came back in and low and behold if my child did not turn her back to him and lay her head down on the little seat in the corner. As soon as he was gone she picked herself right back up! Crazy girl. Minutes after this Dad showed up to rescue us and took both dog and child outside while I finished up giving the vet the rest of our life savings.
While I was standing in line waiting to pay here comes the vet again. He felt so bad for making the princess upset and I felt so bad for him because he has no idea how compassionate her little heart it. Actually from the way he was reacting I expect his heart is just as compassionate!
Thank you dear for being in charge of the vet stuff!!
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