The Woes of Upbringing a Canine Child

How on earth do parents survive raising a sick child?

The Big Day

The big day has arrived. The vet is coming today for the…surgery. Gypsy, are you ready?

Oh, don’t worry. I’m told it’s a simple surgery. That doesn’t alleviate my fears. Today she gets spayed. Peace at last. No more going into heat.

Not only that. Gypsy appears to have allergies. Her eyes are watery, and her nose is crusted. Sigh: the vet calmly told me that her ImmunoSystems might be compromised.

She will not be a happy dog for a few days (nor will I).

The Next Day

The vet wanted me to follow up with her to let her know how Gypsy was doing, so I sent the following message through her message platform:

Hi Monica, She is more active today. She had her pills this morning. When she wakes up, she whines incessantly. When I can’t watch her, I put the dreaded Elizabethian collar back on her so she doesn’t chew or lick…but she hates it! She woke me up at 2:00a this morning. OMG!

Monica’s reply: Oh no, I am so sorry. Usually, the first 24 hours after surgery are a little rough. Let us know how she does tonight. We can prescribe something for her if she doesn’t settle down.

Day 3 of the ordeal

The time came to report to the vet. My report was much better.

Hi Monica, We both had a wonderful night’s sleep (or I didn’t hear a peep from her). I crashed.

She had her morning medicine. She’s not crying as much (Thank God!). She had her morning medicine and is more active. She’s not having to wear the collar anymore as she gets too anxious with it on.

Conclusion

I think we’re going to make it. At 1:00p, I took her for our daily walk (too hot later). She was so funny. I threw one of her toys, and she ran after it with great zeal. She ran into the house with it, even though I have strict rules about such things usually.

The whining is going to drive me crazy! Pretty soon, she came out of the house, grabbed another toy, and ran into the house. Let’s hope it doesn’t become a habit.

I don’t understand how parents can stand their children when they are sick or have broken limbs, or… I guess they have the patience of Job.

My final words: She is such a baby!