Jack of Harts

Some of you may know that I recently acquired a new puppy. Well, she’s eleven years old, so puppy may be a bit of an exaggeration. And she was 19 pounds when we got her, so…maybe a bit big as well. My uncle died though, and she needed a home, so she found one with my mom. And since I live next door, she got me in the package deal.

Well, it’s been a few months, and the insanity of winter is melting away, and it was time for her to go in for a claw cutting, some hair trimming, and stuff like that. The basics you need to do for something that is on the Poodle-mix side of the dog spectrum. We asked my cousin where she went to the vet and walked in to find out what they knew about her. Turns out most of her vaccinations went poof in March, so she needs those before anybody will cut her hair. Those aren’t cheap. Two hundred bucks kind of “not cheap.”

But, what are you going to do? So we found a time to get her vaccinated before the hair cutting appointment, and then I went to sleep because I work overnights. And my Mom ended up driving her out to the pet hospital.

Now, the last time this girl was in a car, she screamed. She hadn’t seen her person in days, and while she knew us and liked us, we weren’t her people. And we were dognapping her from her home. From the one place she knew her person would have to come back to. And she screamed and fought and pleaded with us as we took her away.

It’s been months since then, and she noticed when I took her crate out into the car. And then Mom grabbed the leash that her person always used to take her on walks with. And she walked out happily with my mom, walked up to the car, and asked for help to get up into the crate. And then she quietly rode all the way to the pet hospital. There she said hello to all the people and dogs she could, had a good time meeting new people, and got a new wellness exam. She’s 16 pounds now. Lost three pounds under our care. The vet wants her to lose another pound if possible, but that’s a good improvement right there. So she got her shots, said hello to everybody as she left, and then led Mom right back to the car so she could ride back…home.

Tomorrow she gets to go back for a haircut and claw trimming. And I’m hopeful that she will have another good ride in the back of the car while doing so. And then she can come back home again.