Blessings

Yesterday -- and the day before, for that matter-- were unsettling times.

Two evenings ago, I decided to take J.R. for a long walk, as I had taken him to the vet earlier and wanted him to end the day on a pleasant note.  We walked along at 9:00 PM, and I began to feel thankful for what he brings in my life.  He is a reminder that God gives us what we need to get by.  Mom went down to Charleston, and I decided to take J.R. so she could have the holidays pet-free.  At first, I was apprehensive about having to walk him several times a day while working at PAN and perhaps at DIOGI's in the evenings, along with taking a math class.  However, I've begun to enjoy taking him for walks.  And that late evening, we walked along in silent, snowy Fayetteville.  There was no noise, but I didn't feel alone.  I enjoyed looking at the lights and sights, and the little houses about the town.  I enjoyed hearing the crunch of the snow and feeling the chilly and crisp air in my lungs.  I was absorbed in the moment.  When I took J.R. down to see his old friend (a 12-yr.-old female husky, who gleefully whacks him with her paws because she thinks he's a puppy), I patted my pocket and noticed that my cell phone had fallen out!  I reluctantly walked back, loaded J.R. into the car, and retraced my steps.  In this moment- I sort of had a break-through.  Normally, I would have been panicking (my phone had some precious text-messages and pictures and over 150 contacts that I ironically had considered backing-up online the day before).  However, I just prayed that God's will be done and that he help me through the situation.  I never found my phone.  But I also never got bent out of shape.  In peaceful resignation, I went online and ordered a refurbished phone (great price and much better than my last phone) and moved on in life. God helped me not to sweat the situation.

Well, ater having had the J.R. for several days, I've started to realize that he is able to fill a space that recently has become an emotional void.  Alvaro was my love.  I spent much energy and thought and time loving him, and now that we've moved on, I don't really have an outlet for that love.  Mom and Dad are often gone, and I find myself alone.  Well, what J.R. brings to the table is need. He needs love and care that I need to give.  I feel so good taking him for a walk and lying down with him at night.  It feeds my soul to love him, he's been such a blessing in my life.

So you can probably imagine my concern when the vet told me he had a small cyst.   I noticed several weeks ago that he'd stopped doing his Sit Up (like a Prairie Dog) trick.  I thought he had forgotten and insisted that he do so, until finally-- upon acquiescing to my demands, he quickly sat up and plopped back down.  Then, several days later, I noticed a bump just below his anus.  The vet confirmed that this was a particularly sore area when he squeezed the bump and J.R. gave him an offended chirp.  I decided to take him in to have it removed yesterday, and reluctantly left him as the Vet Tech carried him off.  I knew the anesthesia was a risk, but the bump was tiny, and the surgery would be quick.  So, rather than worry, I turned around and went grocery shopping.  As I returned to the apartment, I noticed that Mom had called.  I called her back, and her voice had that gut-wrenching tone of worry that I dread hearing.  Her voice was shaky as she told me the vet had called her and had asked her to make a quick decision, as JR lay on the operating table:  The cyst was the "tip of the iceberg", apparently, as they had found a large mass around JR's rectum.  As general practitioners, they were very wary about removing the mass in such a complicated area of nerves and soft tissue; if they were to mess up, he could be incontinent for the rest of his life!  The alternative would be to send him to a soft-tissue specialist in Virginia Tech for a special procedure that would cost from $1000 to $2000.  Mom had minutes to decide.  She chose what we all believed was the best decision-- to keep him there and go forward with the procedure.  Her voice shook as she told me nobody was sure how things would turn out.

We did what we could only do and prayed.  Mom posted on Facebook and several of her friends said they'd pray for the little guy.  She called one of her good friends and I told Dad to pray.  We waited.

I worked anxiously in the office from noon till 4 yesterday, and when it was time, I hopped in my car to pick up J.R.  I was so nervous that I had not eaten a thing, though I think I was light-headed because of the stress.  I drove up to the animal hospital and waited in the lobby, trying to mask my concern as well as possible.  The other little animals there offered me consolation:  a 12-year-old wiener dog aptly named, Weenie, had been kicked by an ox and had a large bump on his nose,  but his big, dark eyes looked around the room calmly, as his owner held him like a little baby.  He had big, cute ears and was peaceful.  Another dog -- we'll call him big-boned-- walked in and began to bark at the others.  His owner was proud that the little beagle had gone from 58 to 40 pounds!  There were a lot of chunky animals in that room, and I felt proud of J.R.'s lean condition.  It felt like I had waited forever, when I saw a tall man with a pony-tail carrying out Little Buddy.  I immediately jumped up and grabbed him into my arms.  He looked at me with heavy eyelids, but was happy.  They told me he could walk and he was doing alright!  He'd had a large, serosanguineous sac beneath the cyst which they were able to drain.  It was not a tumor, and they'd never seen anything like it!  If it came up again, they'd know what to do!  I picked up his meds, and carried him out to the car.  I was so flustered, I had lost my keys and looked for 10 minutes until I realized they were in my pocket.

But, would his plumbing work?, as Mom put it. I didn't care, and was resolved to take care of him myself regardless of the outcome.  The thing I thanked God for that moment was that he was alive!  He had made it through and would get better!

That night, after having slept hours, Dad and I asked J.R. if he wanted to go for a walk.  His ears perked up a little, and Dad gently lifted him and carried him down the stairs and to the Methodist Church lot, which is a hot spot for doggies.  He impressed us both by lifting is leg, and piddling.  He walked circles and interestedly sniffed the paw prints and markings of other neighborhood dogs, and then-- to our delight-- he squatted and proved to us that the vets had done their job perfectly! He was OK!

The prayers of everyone had pulled through.  Though, I'll continue to pray that his recovery goes well.  One thing I took away from this experience is how attached we can become to animals, and rightly so.  They bring such an element of life into our lives!  I am grateful for this Little Man, especially that he's taken care of.

That's my Christmas present. Thank you, Lord!

 

My buddy.

And a look at his boo-boo.