I had the occasion to visit a Veterinarian's practice this weekend. Kaitlyn stepped on something while we were out for our morning constitutional. The poor girl squatted to pee when her paw encountered something. Something that really bothered her. She began to hop on three legs, stop, lick her back paw vigorously, get up, take a step, hop a few times, stop, lick and repeat. I checked her paw, numerous times. I felt in between her to toes. I checked the pads, I could see nothing, I could feel nothing. Her behavior persisted. I had to call The Mister to come pick her up - she only weighs 25 pounds, but having one dog on a leash, and another in my arms just doesn't seem to work.
I went back to the scene of the incident. I didn't see any ground bees (yellow jackets) or ants. I didn't see any bugs. I brushed my hand through the area and didn't get poked by anything.
Kaitlyn continued to fret about her foot. Examining it under lights we could see no reason, nor feel anything that might cause her to have such discomfort. She paced from one end of the motorhome to the other, sometimes putting weight on the foot, sometimes hopping. She was panting and wanted to chew and lick her paw. I held a towel with ice chips on it, then soaked her foot in cold, icy water. Nothing was easing her anxious behavior and obvious discomfort.
We called the closest vet, and emergency service in Flat Rock, NC, about 35 miles from us. Off we went. About half way there Kaitlyn finally settled down. She stopped her pacing, licking and panting. Of course.... isn't it good news that whatever it was, perhaps a sting, had resolved itself and was no longer causing discomfort. We continued on to the vet planning to assess her behavior upon our arrival, and hopefully, let them know we didn't need their services.
When we pulled into the parking lot I noticed a young woman sitting in the back of an SUV with a sweet, hound dog's head in her lap. The dog had that skeletal look of a very old, faithful pup. She never lifted her head, nor made any other move. While we walked around the parking lot, checking Kaitlyn's gait and watching her behavior, brief glances at the SUV began to fill in the story.
The woman was soon accompanied by a Veterinarian. She came and sat with the woman and her hound dog. They talked a bit. The Vet pet the old gal, and placed a tourniquet on her leg. We turned the corner. I found it hard to hold my emotions in check. Too many times I had been in that situation. Each story was a bit different; a story of a dog with its own tale to tell. Each time I felt such depth of sadness, while still realizing what a gift I was giving to let my best friend go peacefully.
When we returned to our car the woman remained in the back of her SUV. Hunched over her dog, cradling and stroking its head, tears running down her face and falling on the pup. My heart was with her. My heart knows that pain. It is so hard. It hurts. But soon I hope the happy memories she has of her hound will help push away the sadness.
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