Bruno had an emergency last night. A piece of a treat lodged in his throat and he woke us up, choking on it. It turns out 1:00 a.m. is an excellent time to have an emergency in today’s Covid-19 staffing world. University of Florida has an after-hours emergency outpost where we live and their signs warn you to expect six hour wait times. We, however, were seen right away. It also turns out that 3:00 a.m. is an excellent time to be traveling Highway 75 heading to the “big hospital” in Gainesville with a sedated, catheterized pup; not much traffic at all. These are the bright sides of the experience. I will tell you right away that there is a happy ending. The doctor just called and they resolved Bruno’s obstruction via endoscopy; no surgical intervention required. Still, that was one heck of an expensive treat.
My sister and brother-in-law just brought their wee pup, Panini, home from having hip revision surgery. They had to drive back and forth to Tampa, where the specialist was located, three times in three days. You don’t even want to know the cost of that whole experience. Both Bruno and Panini are senior dogs, both rescues. Hopefully, their remaining lives will be measured in years, but there is no guarantee of that. Anyway, length of life won’t ever show you a “return” on the act of pumping thousands of dollars into a pet, let alone a senior pet. It’s not the right equation. My sister said she found the answer about what to do in Panini’s eyes. She looked and saw a pup who was alive and lively, a pup that had more to give and wanted the chance to give it. Bruno is getting old and his hard past life is catching up with him. But, when we looked into his eyes at 1:00 a.m., he said “help me” and so we did. End of analysis. The commitment to love in those moments, with those questions, are the wings of a butterfly flapping and changing the world. That is what I believe.
Day 30
findingjubilee 