Deer damage
 

I got up at a very reasonable hour around 7:30 or so. No idea why I was up that early as we have nothing planned for the day. Maybe, my brain is turning over a new leaf and finding some better habits, yeah right. As I was up anyway, I quickly dressed after opening all the blinds to let the daylight in.  

Sandy was giving me “the look” which interpreted from dog, means, “Hurry up. I gotta go”. And so, I harnessed the dogs. We stepped outside to another brisk morning, and I was glad of the jacket I had put on. 

Outside, we wandered around following our usual route which always starts with a trip to the dumpster and then we go from there. Today was extra successful as both dogs pooped within 10 feet of each other making it simple for me as the clean-up crew, to do my job. We walked 8/10 of a mile for that first walk. 

Yesterday, when I was making a fuss of Sandy, I noticed that she has a growth on her belly. It is not that big but this morning, I called my Veterinary Hospital and made an appointment for 4:15 this afternoon so they can take a look. I have been going to that same Veterinary Clinic for over 47 years when I first moved to the Hill Country and have seen a lot of changes. One of my long time veterinarians, Dr Donop, has recently retired and they have several new ones as the clinic has expanded considerably so no telling who we will end up with this time. 

The last couple of times I had to leave the dogs for surgery, the dogs did not make it and I got that dreaded phone call that starts off, “I am sorry to tell you….” One died from a Rattlesnake bite that he got in my back yard and the other was for major abdominal surgery. Hopefully, this time is nothing like that. It is always a worry when I take our little friends to have surgery. 

I worked on the blog and brought it up to date and looked around for something else to get up to. Having to leave here by 3:00 pm, my day is a bit restricted. 

I found other things to do to pass the time and promptly at 3:00 pm, we all piled into the Jeep for the drive into Oak Hill. Our Jeep rides are very interesting as both dogs insist on sitting on my lap wherever we go. Mikey is the smart one and grabs his spot immediately I get in the car. Sandy likes to explore and starts off in the passenger seat before deciding that she wants to get on my lap as well. She promptly pushes her fat little body and wiggles to make Mikey move over just enough for her to sit. 

Luckily, it does not affect my driving and I make sure I can do that without the dogs running interference.  

We made the trip in good time, and I checked us in at the desk and then we sat and waited for almost 30 minutes before it was our turn. Since my long time Vet, Dr Donop has retired. I had no idea which one of the three new ones I was going to get. As it turns out, it was Dr Sarah Kneupper who introduced herself and was very friendly. 

She took a look at the growth on Sandy’s stomach and ran a few tests before declaring it non-malignant and advised that we do not do anything and wait and see how it develops. I thanked her and paid our bill, and we got the hell out of Dodge and headed home back to Henly. 

You would have thought that with all of the excitement of the car rides and the Vets that the dogs would be tired out but no, as soon as we got out of the car, they wanted to go walking. We wandered around the park and only managed to cover a mile for the day. Still better than nothing and at least I know that the growth is not as bad as it first seemed. 

The rest of the day was spent in the usual way with food and then television and we were in bed by 10;00 PM. 

Written March 28. 2024, read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com