You meet the nicest people in the waiting room of an Emergency Veterinary Clinic. They care about their animals despite the cost. I know this from personal experience after spending quality time there Thanksgiving weekend. We have two dogs, Jasper the Wonder Bionic Dog and Molly the Warrior Princess.
Once upon a time, about 8 years ago, Jasper was hanging out under a car at Lindy’s restaurant looking for lunch. Jasper was rescued by our neighbors, Javan and Cindy. Jasper is like Blanche DuBois; he depends upon the kindness of strangers. Despite being cat people, they saved him from his vagabond life. They took him to the vet for a check-up to have him neutered for adoption.
Due to Molly needing her own dog, we promised to adopt him after a trip.
Jasper is an escape artist. After a period of recuperation, he escaped. While on the roam, he managed to get his leg broken by an unpleasant encounter with a car. After the hit-and-run incident, another nice lady found him hiding under a car.
Coincidentally, she took him to the same vet who had treated him. The vet recognized Jasper. He contacted our neighbors, who rescued him for a second time. Jasper was not covered by Medicaid, so they picked up the cost of repairing his broken leg. When we got back from our trip, Jasper moved down the block to our house, where he has been ever since.
Life on the streets was tough on Jasper. He had several interesting health challenges in the last year. Like me, he suffered hair loss. Multiple trips to a local vet produced a diagnosis of a thyroid condition. The thyroid meds didn’t work. Troubles continued. A visit to the NC State Veterinary clinic resulted in a large out-of-pocket charge and a diagnosis of Cushing’s Disorder. New meds were prescribed, which are slowly restoring his fur. I am considering taking some of Jasper’s pills. But I digress.
Suddenly, last summer, Jasper’s health deteriorated. It turned out he had doggy diabetes. Who knew dogs could get diabetes?
Apparently, Cushing’s disorder can lead to diabetes. He began two daily insulin shots and fancy diabetic dog food, which stabilized his blood sugar. Then abruptly, he began to go blind, bumping into various things. It was a sad time. Ever vigilant, my wife Lani found an animal eye clinic in Cary for a consult. Jasper had cataracts. Dogs can have lens replacements for cataracts just like humans. Do not ask what dual cataract replacement surgery costs. He had the surgeries, which were a great success.
He sees perfectly while on a daily regimen of diabetic dog food, two insulin shots, a Cushing pill, and three types of eye drops.
All this leads to the $400 cup of coffee. I was giving Jasper one of his eye drops. The cap to the tube of eye juice fell off the table and disappeared. Molly was standing excitedly nearby in anticipation of the treat both dogs get when Jasper gets medicated. The cap was gone. Had Molly eaten it?
We looked everywhere. We moved furniture. No luck. Vanished. Dachshunds are notorious eaters. She must have snapped it up and swallowed it when it hit the floor. Rats. The cap was too large for it to pass through her. Time to visit the Emergency Vet for puke induction. I remonstrated vigorously with Molly about eating the cap, but she remained unrepentant.
At the Vet ER, the waiting room filled up. They took her out of turn to try to get the cap out of her before it advanced to a major plugging location. Two puke-inducing rounds of meds were given. No cap. Next was an X-ray. While waiting, a large, actively friendly Labradoodle named Kaboo, wearing the cone of shame collar, sat comfortably on my foot. Kaboo and I bonded. Dogs are no respecters of personal space. I contacted home to ask for yet another final search for the errant cap. Ten minutes later, I got the text. The cap had been in my son’s shoe, where it had been hiding in the toe. Some Olympic quality bounce had put it there. Huzzah!
I gingerly approached the front desk and asked to stop the presses. The cap had been found in a shoe. Relieved, but feeling like a moron, I waited for Saint Molly the Innocent to be brought back out.
I finally discovered there was a Keurig coffee maker for humans in the waiting room. I made a cup of coffee, even adding sugar and cream to ease my financial and sense of doggy hypochondria to get some return on my money, even if it was only a $400 cup of coffee. The Vet tech told me Molly said I could not be her friend anymore. She was kidding. Molly was happy as a proverbial clam to see me.
Discharge Diagnosis: Owner is Stupid. Moral: Always look in the toe of your shoes.