The first vet visit

A woman I called said she would take the brown blob from the side of the road. That was the only type of dog she ever wanted. The discarded, sick, and fore lorn that would be grateful and happy the rest of their lives with her. A vet clinic was in a perfect location on the way to my office. I had been a little teary eyed thinking I would have to let this poor creature go. But there was hope. I dropped her off with the instructions to tell me what was wrong and if the woman changed her mind, I would pay to have the animal humanely euthanized. "What is her name?" the tech asked me. Found in Mississippi and sippin' from a drainage ditch, the name sealed her fate. As anyone knows, once you name them, well, you see Sippi is still around.

The vet returned my call late that day with the news. Sippi had internal and external bugs. I'd seen the fleas mass on her side when I'd used a spare jacket to lift her into my car. She had a terribly swollen wound on the side of her face that the vet was unsure if it would abscess or not. This needed immediate attention. It was definite the dog had puppies in the past and needed to be spayed. She weighed around 37 pounds. And, she had heart worms. A pretty good case the vet said.

The next day, after a bath and $225 worth of treatment, I picked up Sippi on the way to a better life. I thought.