Taking Ben to the vet for his annual vaccination has been a challenge for me. This year, I did it without Jesse with us. He and his bride, Andrea are in Adelaide. My niece, Jia Yee went with us.
Today, I made an appointment to go to the vet. Ben has been limping. I could see he was in pain. It broke my heart to see him walking with a limp and lifting up his right front paw.
I took Ben to the clinic. I left home a bit late but there being no heavy traffic, we arrived on time.
I could not find a customer’s parking (there are three.) One car is blocking an empty parking bay. I did not want Ben to walk a long distance, so I found one parking with no reservation nearby. I went into the clinic, no other dogs. Good. The reception offered to put my car number on the dashboard when they found out I did not get a customer’s parking. One nurse offered to help me do that. One her way back to the clinic, I noticed the car left. I took the key back and reparked the car. Ben was with me, of course. He thought were going home. Nope.
I brought him back to the clinic. He was a bit reluctant. Dr Lya met us at the entrance. She was ready to see us. The doctor wanted Ben to wear a clinical cone for the protection of Ben and her. I tried for quite some time. I could not bear to do it. Ben obviously did not like it. The doctor offered to do this with the help of a nurse. She told me I could wait outside. I left the room, leaving Ben inside.
In a brief moment, they put on the cone and tied up his snout with a piece of cloth. He sat motionless as the nurse stroke his body. He looked outside for me with his big eyes. His tail was all the way down. I resisted the urged to go in to comfort him.
Dr Lya checked his leg, his paws, took blood samples for tests (we did not get to do this when Ben took his annual jab in Feb.) She even got a good look at his body, bone structures, heard his heartbeat, all the works. Dr Lya commended Ben for his good behavior.
Dr Lya told me the pain was caused by scratches and infection on his paws. The two paws on the hind legs were ok. The front left paw a bit, the worst is the front right paw. She told me it could be scratched by the hot tar road. She advised me to check the temperature of the road before bringing Ben out for a walk.
It would take about 30 minutes to get the blood test results. I wanted to take Ben away.
When I was waiting to collect the medicine and to make payment, I noticed I did not turn off the lights of my car. I promptly went out to switch them off. Ben followed, of course. Once again, he thought we were going home. We did, after we returned to the clinic to pick up his medicine and pay the fees.
We visited my mother. We then went home.
Dr Lya called later in the evening to tell me Ben’s blood test results. There are a few readings out of the normal range but at Ben’s age, the reading was good. His heartbeat, body, bone structures are all good. I am so happy.
A few lessons.
- Stay calm. I forgot to turn off the lights of my car. Thank God I could still start the car.
- Trust the professionals. Jesse is right. They are trained. They do this for a living. I was in the way.
- Seek help / support. Do not be embarrassed. No matter how big or how small the problem is, tell your friends. They will pray for you. Your Father in heaven will hear the prayers and help you.
Thank you for your prayers. God has been kind to Ben and me today. I have started fasting since yesterday. I am not sure I want to break the fast tonight. I am not in a rush.
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