We had a beautiful family evening at the beach.
I used a gift card for takeout. We found a perfect table. I used my trusty red check tablecloth. We ate yummy food. We went for a long walk under a warm evening sky. The light was perfect. The dog ran and caught his ball in the ocean and we all laughed at his antics. We walked back two by two - David and I and Lindsay and Allan. We chatted about important things.
It had been a challenging week and a busy weekend and it was a perfect way to start a fresh new week.
It was, I knew, one of the last family beach walks we'll be having for a while.
We came home, bathed the dog, settled into the family room with ice cream and were content together.
By Monday night the boys had been rear-ended by a texting driver and the dog was clearly in a lot of medical distress.
BOOM.
Without even time to shower after the gym we were dashing to the emergency vet in Vancouver knowing pretty well that things were "not good".
Many of you already know the rest of this story did not go well.... vet hospital admission, emergency surgery, another night in hospital.....
And yet... and yet it went very well. We got great care, Spanner is well on his way back to his usual self and we're pretty sure our pet insurance will cover 80% of the 4.2K bill.
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| The cone of shame? The daisy of dismay? |
I have shaken my head many times this week that I may have become that "dog person" who talks to their pet as if they might answer, who really is emotionally attached to that dopey eyed head tilted look he gives me. I know this is not a disney movie, I know he doesn't "love" me but... I readily signed the papers and swiped my credit card to help him.
And I'll probably do it again.
I guess what I have struggled with is perspective.
And I could argue both sides of this.
In the end, as he sighs deeply at my feet right now, I am grateful more than anything.
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| Spanners Mama and other distant relative sent wishes - SHB = Spanner Hudson Byres |
Not just that he is well but that the people in our life cared for us as we cared for him. If you rolled your eyes at my FB status I totally get that, I really do... but ... if you reached out and showed your concern, brought wine, checked in on the mutt and on how we were doing... I am thankful. Deeply thankful.
In the end, as is always the case, these moments are greater than themselves. This moment was greater than a sick puppy. It was a moment of vulnerability for us and our tribe had our back. We met some amazingly caring vets and veterinary nurses, we learned a thing or two about dog anatomy and pet insurance forms, we worked together to make decisions and care for Spanner and each other and we felt held up by people near and far.
The truck has a dent but the people are fine. The dog has some stitches but he lives to pee again. The other big things that happened at work and in our lives and in the dental surgery and in the Masters went as we hoped they would. And if insurance pays before the credit card comes this will be another one of those Byres Legends we'll tell for years - "remember when Spanner had 500 stones in his bladder.....and everything was fine."
Deat Tribe - we love you!
Dear Spanner - we love you too!
PS: I am not going to worry about this week - whatever it dishes... we got this...right?
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