Pets, Vets, & Threats

Today was round 2 at the vet with the cat we actually like.

We have 2 cats and 2 dogs. (You can read all about them in part 3 of my “Pets” series.) In a nutshell, I like one of the dogs and one of the cats. The others I could do without.

Speaking of, does anyone want a cat? She’s a very pretty calico. Quite majestic. I’d be glad to giver her to you.

Back to the injured feline.

Last Sunday, Wiley came home limping. (His full name is Bob Wiley. Named after Bill Murray’s character in What About Bob?) The next day he would not use his front leg at all. I took him to the vet last week. The doctor thought he might be getting an abscess. He gave him an anti-biotic and a pain shot.

After a week of anti-biotic, the limping did not stop. He used the leg a little the first day following his visit to the veterinarian. Then he was right back to walking on 3 legs by the second day.

We went for a follow-up visit today. This time they took an x-ray of his leg and paw. No fractures. But apparently he sprained his wrist. I had no idea a cat could sprain their wrist. Apparently they can.

So now we have a month of steroids to give him along with the antibiotics. This should be fun. It’s a good thing I like him. If it were the other cat…

I’ve been walking the dogs almost every day for several weeks. By “walking the dogs” I mean that I wrestle them around the neighborhood for 3 laps. I keep thinking it will get easier. It does not.

It all starts with the lead up to the walk. Every night the dogs sit or lay by the couch. Every time I stand up, they immediately jump up and run to meet me. Tails wagging. Eyes pleading, “let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”

It’s even worse when I change clothes. I have a pair of track pants that I wear on our walks when the weather is cool. If I put on those pants, the dogs go nuts. Jumping. Panting. Darting too and fro.

When it is finally time to go, the excitement really kicks in. I grab my iPod. They jump and pant and dart to and fro. I get my keys. They jump and pant and dart to and fro.

Let me take a moment to expound a little on the word “jump.” Harvey does not jump. He is little more than 2 feet tall, but weighs about 60 lbs. He’s a beast of a dog. More on that later.

Stitch is the jumper. He is the same height as Harvey, but weighs less than half as much. And he can jump. When he springs up in excitement, he looks me in the eyes. As in, his eyes are at my eye level.

Finally I get the leashes and attach them to the dogs’ collars. This is no easy task. It usually entails my ear buds being ripped out at least once. Always involves yelling and threatening.

Then it’s out the door. Which means a swift, violent, shoulder separating jerk to my arm as the dogs try to sprint to the street while I close the door.

The violent jerks continue for at least the first lap. To any passerby or neighbor who happens to be outside, I am the violent jerk. I spend most of the first lap yelling and cursing at the dogs (mostly Harvey) and jerking on their leashes to get them to slow down, or come along when they stop.

Harvey, as you can tell, is the biggest problem on our walks. There are nights when I am truly amazed that his neck is not broken. If he sees a cat, he sprints. If he sees a dog, he sprints. If he sees a blade of grass move, he sprints. Each sprint ends the same. The retractable leash reaches its limit. It catches and pulls his collar. My arm is ripped from its preferred position, connected to my shoulder. And his body flies into the air and spins 180°. I yank his leash and he tries to dart away again. Finally, he gives up.

After 2-3 walks I realized that 9-10 PM is the best time to start our walks. If we go out any earlier, we run the risk of running into neighbors walking their dogs. My shoulders can’t take it.

So if you are near Edgemont in Florence between 9 and 11 PM and you hear some one screaming and cursing (and saying Harvey a lot) please don’t call the police. It really is in the neighborhoods best interest that we are out that late.

I promise to stay out of the bushes and away from the windows.