Day 735

Losing sight of the goal posts

The vet came today to look at old lady Brady and her untreatable mouth warts. Dusty’s bleeding ear. Mattie’s head shake. Andie’s cancerous tumor on her vulva. The old dogs. Everything is fine with Suzy, Rocky, Brindle, Cookie, Pedro and River.

The vet is a big fellow and swings the door wide open despite 10 dogs waiting for an opportunity. One always slips him and it’s always Dusty. Today was no different so he missed the ear drops and the fast injections from a deft hand and will have to suffer with me and my awkward needling. Only gone 10 minutes he returned with a belly full of maggoty old fish heads he found somewhere and promptly barfed under my desk.

Today has mostly been a day of me dodging gross overwhelming smells. Mexican fabric softener, plastic burning smoke, wood burning smoke, weird bean smells in my tiny fridge, dog barf. The Vick’s tin fits neatly in my pocket and I just wipe my nostrils every hour.

The vet and I talked about Brady’s declining health despite her feisty attitude. Her age (14) and lowered defenses swollen lymph nodes, covered in tumors, loss of sight in one eye, clouds in the other. Likely deaf. We talked of euthanasia, we agreed not today and I cried which made him flip out. The vet not the dog. I don’t stuff tears anymore. It’s a normal human thing, I’ve been with this dog for 14 years, I know it’s time, I’m post menopausal, I don’t wear mascara, I’m sensitive and an easy cry. Deal with it. Just a little. I save the wailing for the morning kitchen floor sit.

Andie will need chemo injectables he said, but we can’t catch her to give her anything and it’s $300 and she’s not my dog. Will have to think on that. Tough decisions. She’s not adoptable, nor movable really. She’s a Sanctuary Dog. And healthy and with a large piece of land, I’d let her stay around. As is, she’s a bit of a Typhoid Mary. She’s a street dog who comes in to eat. The rest of the time she chases bikes and delivery motos and looks for her “dad” and friend the drunk and homeless mentally deranged “Cecilio” who lives in a trash can. And bears a striking resemblance to the muppet.

The fact that I trapped and spayed her is likely as lucky as she and I will both get. This cancer TVT is sexually transmitted to other dogs and prevalent in the street dog community. I think back to Andie’s Jezebel prolific 2 week Heats. It would be a miracle if every stray male on the streets didn’t have it. We tried for an hour to capture her. The vet’s idea was to throw a towel on her head. Comical, but unsuccessful. She’s too smart and no one wants to get poked with the sedation needle. (Not unplanned anyway)

Two of the dogs went to Tucson yesterday and all is well. Several changes of plans, drivers, times, dates, dogs, vehicles. But they’re in the US now and will be quarantined with a foster and then taken to some meet cute events at microbreweries and then settle in to one of those shopping mall viewing boutiques. I have been told they both acted like perfect gentlemen. Happy for Niles and Frasier.

*They’re looking for fosters in the Tucson and Phoenix area to socialize and decompress dogs who are coming over the border or recovering from surgery and amputations. Paws Without Borders in Tucson is a great service and non profit and they cover all costs of foster care to street dogs and injured tough cases, you can reach out to Kim the director via their website or pawswithoutbordersus@gmail.com

With two missing out of the pecking order, it’s interesting to watch who finds a new favorite playmate. Suzy seems to be blossoming and Cookie, believe it or not is coming out of her shell and showing her bizarre dancing ability.

Thanks for reading. See you next time. Let’s hope for more Good Doggo placements.