Foreshadowing

Our Skye, apparently, was kicked by one of the horses about 3-4 wks. ago. At the time, the side of her head swelled up, and the Vet said, she'd lost a tooth. *sighs*  But time went by, and the swelling lessened, until there was just a little bump on the side of her head- barely noticeable. 

Fast forward to just 5 days ago... I turned to Bruce and said, "SOMEthing is different about Skye's bump! I can't put my finger on it... but something has changed." Bruce thought I was crazy- until the next day- when the bump was DEFINITELY bigger! and it had moved. Bruce and I thought it was probably an abscess, and we planned to call the Vet.

AND then- (life is never dull at our house) we woke the next morning, to find that the cat had sprayed blood on the garage door. I went in to tell Bruce, and he said, "Mere- Skye has another lump."  This one sprang up overnight.... and it was on her side. 

We got the cat in immediately, and he's on a special diet, and should be fine. But we had to wait 2 days for an appt. for Skye- all the while terrified she had some sort of bizarre cancer. The wait seemed interminable.

When I brought Skye into the Vet's office, I walked in on a woman crying... It didn't take long before I realized that she had brought her dog in to be put down. He was old, and couldn't move his hindquarters at all, and to make matters worse, he was a big, ole, beautiful black lab. I tried to be inconspicuous.... and melt into the background. I wanted to be respectful of her grief- but she turned to Skye, and hugged her and said, 'Stay young, Sweetheart." As they rushed to get me and Skye into a room, we had to walk past the lady... and on impulse, I just reached out, and put my arms around her. She said that they'd had 3 Labs. One died at 13... another was lost in an accident, and now this one was 12. And she said, 'I know that's old for a Lab. I know this is right, but it SUCKS." And then, we were ushered into our room. 

 After hearing that Skye was going to be just fine- She DID have an abscess, and the lump on her side was a common reaction to a rattlesnake venom vaccine she had gotten 3 1/2 wks earlier. I took Skye to the car, and the woman and her husband were just standing by their truck, crying. And I thought how I had just gotten such good news. And that they had just gotten such bad news.... and how I'd dodged the bullet this time, but I know, there will come a day for me, too.... when I can't see to drive home because of the tears.

 Hold your fur children a bit closer today, and send a prayer or thought to all those who have loved and lost and grieve.  Unfortunately, it is a universal condition, from which none of us escape.

For as the saying goes- One day, everyone of us will die. But on all the other days, we will live. Cherish those days.