Last week, while unloading the car, the front door was left open to make it easier to move in and out with arms full of packages. When the lights were turned on, we were shocked beyond belief. It looked as if someone had been murdered! There were puddles of blood in every room!
We called for the dog, but he was nowhere to be found. Of course with the evidence on the floor and the missing pet, minds will quickly deduce that someone had murdered and/or stolen your pet. When calmer thinking prevails, other possibilities come to mind. Perhaps the dog caught a rat and the rat put up one heck of a fight? Perhaps he ran out the door to bury his trophy?
After hours of searching the yard, the fields, and the neighborhood, all but one gave up the search. Finally around 3:00 A.M. the idea that he had run away to die became the only logical conclusion and the search ended. At 6:00 A.M. he showed up at the front door, weak from loss of blood, and lethargic from dehydration.
As the door to the veterinarian’s office was unlocked, we were getting out of our car. They took him right away. The prognosis was bleak. “He has lost a lot of blood,” the vet told us. “If we can get to animals with this sort of infection within four hours, there is usually a fair chance of saving them. I don’t think it’s possible in this case. He’s just too far gone.”
What would you do? This is your buddy, your constant companion. Would you give up? When everything in the world seemed to be collapsing, your dog was the only peace in your world. He was your calm. How can you not try? We couldn’t not try.
“I’ll try some strong antibiotics and some fluids. If he makes it through the day, we may have a chance, but I’m not optimistic,” he told us. By lunch time, he had shown signs of coming back around. By supper, he was lifting his head. By the next morning, he actually wagged his tail!
What if we had given up? We would have never known, never known that doctors can make mistakes. In this case, his experience told him one thing. Our hearts told us another. There will be no pet memorial stone for this pup!