Tough couple of days

No matter where you live, life can kick you in the shins. We all think "why me?" but the truth is that we all get a share of crumby. Monday I took a dear friend to the airport for his trip to Florida to hopefully get answers and relief from many health problems. His wife & I did a little shopping for groceries and then headed home. They've had way more than their share of problems and watching them deal with theirs has made ours seem small. We worry about both of them. It's not a long trip to Ladyville, a short 2 hrs., but always ends up taking all day.

Yesterday, we took both our pups to the vet to have Rusty neutered and Shannon spade. They're both so beautiful and seem perfect to us, but at 5 1/2 mos. we knew that our little world would soon be disrupted by the SEX thing, so literally had to nip it in the bud. It was hard for me to look at their trusting faces and know that they'd soon be feeling horrible. We were able to pick them up by the end of the day, but both were very woozy. Rusty had a makeshift cone on his head as he continually irritated his incision. We traded the cone for a t-shirt put on from the back end, which did get him thru the night. He still scratched, but couldn't get to the injury. Little Shannon was so thirsty that she drank a little water, which she promptly vomited up. That went on most of the night. She would whimper occasionally, but the pain pills seem to help. Today she's slowly getting a little more strength, but poor Rusty is extremely uncomfortable. He can't walk without his incision irritating, so he sits down hard. Not sure if it's a normal internal thing or if, because they are so young and still quite narrow built, if the stitches are irritating his legs. The vet, who specializes in wildlife, of course, isn't available today except by answering machine.

By the end of the day I was hurting for them them as well as a frustration with the vet over the bill. I was quoted a price for the procedures and told that that would be the cost unless there were complications. When I phoned to check on them I was told that everything went well and I could pick them up at 4:30pm. When I was presented with the bill it was considerably higher, with a charge for every medication including injection fees and dispensing fees. Pooh! Never again. The problem is that there aren't very many real vets in Cayo. The nice little Belizean girl who presented me with the bill, said, when I was upset, that I could "just write a check for the balance." The inference was that, since we're gringo's we undoubtedly have money, so what's the problem. We get that attitude frequently, so try to let it pass, but sometimes it hurts when I've had to struggle to come up with the money myself. Oh well!

I'm spending today reading and watching the pups. They both move to wherever I am and lay by my feet and ask for reassurance that this too shall pass. They and Bailey are definitely the bright spots in our lives. Blessings.