The most frustrating week of my life

Kathleen Anderson writes The Sage Connection in The JOLT.

This past week has been one of the most frustrating of my time on this planet. Last Friday, my little 10-pound Shih Tzu, Bambi, started to have trouble walking. Her balance seemed off.

The next day her back legs started to fail. She fell numerous times. So I started calling veterinarians. Last night she tried to move on my (our) bed and fell off, so I made a bed for her on the floor.

I have phoned every veterinarian in Thurston County, including all the emergency vet hospitals. No one can see her before Dec. 15. Her own regular vet can’t see her until the 17^th.

Why?

Others have told me that this is an ongoing problem in our area but no one knows why. Is there a shortage of veterinarians in this area? Our vet requires you to sit in your car until they are done doing whatever needs to be done. If it is a surgery or other time-consuming procedure you can go home until they call. But you cannot enter the clinic – COVID strikes again.

Bambi has stopped eating and I am force-feeding her water with an eyedropper. She stills does her business. She was eating until today, but her balance is now so bad she can’t stand long enough to eat and refuses to do it laying down.

I was pulling my hair out. So, I decided to go onto Facebook to seek help from the "Shih Tzu Addiction" group. So far there have been 54 responses, mostly wanting to know where I live and why no vet would see my dog.

The most helpful response came from a woman who had gone thru something that sounds very similar to Bambi’s problem. She said, “crate her immediately and keep her crated until she sees a vet.” Made sense. If I can’t heal her, maybe I can keep her from causing herself more injury.

Another Facebook group, the Buy Nothing brought about the loan of a small crate to be picked up today.

Dogs are not just animals

I know some people view dogs and cats as animals. Some provide a service to the blind, disabled, police or military.

But to me and thousands, if not millions, our pets are viewed as part of the family. A friend. A support system. A snuggle buddy. Someone who is just as excited to see you when you return from the mailbox as they are when you’ve been gone all day.

And for many seniors and homeless people, they are the last living thing that truly NEEDS you.

We all slow down as we age. Many times, our family members think they should do for us after a lifetime of us taking care of them. But care does not translate into need. We may need their help but who needs us? Who can we still care for? Who can we feed and walk and groom and train? Okay, forget the training part, but the need part is why some people get up in the morning.

I hoped for the best for my sweet Bambi but I could not let her suffer. Today, after a grand mal seizure and three hours of crying in pain,  Bambi crossed over the rainbow bridge.

Wish one of the local vets would have fitted her in before we reached this point.

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia.  Contact her at  kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.