Ever have one of those mornings that start off wrong and get far worse?
I set my clock radio for seven thirty. I’d heard from the vet last night with an “I don’t want to alarm you but…” phone call, informing me that they wanted to see my noble beast first thing in the morning for a urinalysis and some blood work. I’d taken her to Fairview Animal Hospital yesterday after she’d gotten sick… to make sure she wasn’t at risk for some rare raccoon affliction that required a rapid remedy. All seemed fine but after doing a bit of raccoon research, they suggested we run a few tests… starting with collecting dog pee first thing in the morning!
I head outside with the dog and a Tupperware container… not really sure how I was going to go about this task.
Immediately I spotted my summer house guests… Little-One, Buff and the two Buff Juniors… standing on my front lawn. Seems while loading hockey gear into the rental car to head to hockey camp, Buff Jr. closed the trunk with the keys inside!
“Hmmmm… ” I said after I’d asked Little-One “what’s up?” Then replied with “I’m collecting dog pee.”
Quite frankly my story was more interesting than hers… and I don’t communicate very well at that hour without my morning tea.
I went out back to follow my pup about the yard while she looked for the perfect place to squat. I stayed close and she kept looking at me with that “what-the-heck-are-you-doing-I’m-trying-to-pee” look on her face… which is about the funniest face I’ve ever seen on my precious beast. Three times she tried to crouch and all three times she looked up at me exasperated… only to move on to a different spot… trying in vain to shake me.
Finally she couldn’t wait any longer and felt she simply had to put up with my lurking. She crouched, and I quickly shoved the Tupperware container underneath her as she gave me that “I’M TRYING TO PEE HERE!?!” look. I was near killing myself laughing… but quickly had what I needed.
We both celebrated with a small dance in the backyard.
I went back up front, car keys in one hand, pee in the other… to head to the vet.
Little-One and Buff were phoning CAA for a SlimJim.
We dropped the sample at the vets and gave a bit of blood (she literally… me when I paid $382 to add to the $82 from the day before). I was told I’d hear from them later in the day. I cursed the rascally rodent raccoon and headed home, on the way dropping into Tim Horton’s to get myself a cup of tea and a donut for my brave pup.
On arrival, car alarms were blasting, a tow truck was present, neighbours were in their driveways and the CAA guy was reading the owner’s manual of the rented Hyundai. Seems that when they SlimJimmed their way into the car, the car went into “alarm mode” thinking someone was breaking in… and the trunk release refused to work. Now the keys were STILL locked in the trunk… and the alarm was going nuts!
Buff Jr. was nowhere to be seen.
I headed for breakfast with Mom and Dad.
As breakfast was finishing, I received a phone call letting me know there were a few issues with the dog’s blood work. It was recommended we begin treatment for leptospirosis, a bacterial infection passed from raccoons that if not treated early, has a 75% fatality rate in dogs.
The alarms were blaring in my head the second she got sick yesterday morning, blaring in my head when I set it for 7:30 this morning to collect her pee before my tea and still blaring in my head when I got home from the vet… albeit for a different (and far more comical) reason!
The morning is over… the dog is snoring… the trunk is unlocked.
Enterprise arrived to the rescue with the master key.
If only fixing my dog was so easy.
I’m on high alert for the next few days… waiting for the alarms to stop.
Vaccinating your dog against Leptospirosis is $90. For more information, call your veterinary clinic.