Pet Emergency

So it was a quiet Sunday night at Villa Wifey. The Oscars were on TV, and the D2 and 2 of their friends were over. I was happily feeding my news junkie habit, scanning the web sites of major and minor news outlets, and then...

The Basset Hound came in from outside, laid down, and started acting strangely. Now, the Basset is a strange creature to begin with, so it really takes something to have her appear even stranger. But, alas, her legs and head started shaking, like she was having a seizure.

Our immediate thoughts turned to poison toads, which abound in Miami. Dogs eat them and then their owners wish they hadn't. Upon Perry (one of D1's friends and a budding journalist) suggestions, I took Molly outside, and stuck a hose in her mouth, to wash away any toad toxins. The dog perked up a bit, but then, a few minutes later, started shaking again.

Now, I figured we'd wait until Monday, but then the chorus came of "But Daddy --what if she's dying???:" The fact that the Ds are 18 and 21 changes nothing in my house --they might as well have been 8 and 11.

Wifey sort of half heartedly volunteered to take the dog to the ER, but, Ha! As if! I knew I was the one.

I drove over to the Pet ER, which luckily was very close to our house. By the time I got there, Molly looked fine, but I figured I might as well get her checked.

I took her inside, and there was a Mom, little girl, and stricken looking boy, about 9. He looked at Molly and asked, sadly "What's wrong with YOUR dog?" I told her she was shaking, and we wanted to make sure she hadn't eaten anything poisonous. He volunteered "Our dog swallowed one of my Mom's pills. He's either going to be fine tomorrow, or he's going to die."

Isn't that true of all of us, I thought.

The vet came out, and I liked him immediately. He looked like a taller and less Semitic version of Zach Efron. He was about 6'3", and Canadian. He examined Molly, and could tell it was no frog or toad. He didn't seem too concerned.

He drew blood, and reported that the lab machine was in need of recalibration, and it would take "aboot" 30 minutes. I love how Canadians say that!

I waited and watched "Animal Planet" about catfish in the Amazon that eat humans who fall into the river. I wished the boy with the pill popping dog was there --he would have found the show extremely cool. I also texted D1, telling her that she and D2 outght to have been in my place, dealing with the young, handsome vet.

Around midnight, Dr. Aboot-Dreamy cam back to the waiting area, and told me all Basset levels were normal. He explained that sometimes seizures just happen, and they're no big deal. They are for humans, since they can strike when we're driving, or swimming. I told him we didn't plan on letting Molly drive, and she wasn't much in the pool...

I came home to the waiting other 2 dogs --the ancient Lab, and the hopping puppy Cavalier. It appeared from their excited sniffing that they were hearing Molly's version of the veterinary adventure.

The whole ordeal only cost about $200. Wifey commented that they were cheaper than our regular vets.

It appears the Basset will live to drool another day...