Is It Just Me?
Join Wimberley humorist Susan Rigby as she attempts to navigate “the small stuff.”
It’s hard to believe, but it is already time for Arlo’s annual vet visit. I often want to apologize to the staff before I go in. It’s not that Arlo is a problem dog – unless you try to put something in his mouth – but the combination of me and Arlo is a challenge.
Even though I brush my dogs every day, when we arrived at the vet’s office, Arlo shed hair like a frightened porcupine. As we sat waiting for the vet, Arlo’s hair went flying and landed mostly on me.
I’m sure an emergency message went out to the vet team that there was a hair whirlwind in room three.
When the vet tech battled her way in to weigh Arlo, she was instantly covered in white hair. If she had weighed him again at the end of the visit, I’m sure he would have been a few ounces lighter – and I would have been a few ounces heavier.
Besides his annual immunizations, I was concerned about a leg he held up at times.
On an earlier visit, the vet had said to watch him and observe when he did it. I hadn’t seen a pattern, but as I was trimming the hair around his nails, I felt a lump above his foot. I was happy to have found the reason for his stance and I hoped it wasn’t serious.
I mentioned the lump to the vet tech and showed her where it was. She didn’t respond. Maybe she wasn’t allowed to, like the nurse aides in the doctor’s office.
When the vet came in, I pointed out the lump I felt was the problem. She felt around and quietly said, “That is a normal part of his anatomy. See there is one on his other foot.” I seriously never noticed, and thankfully, the vet did not make fun of me, but probably had a laugh over lunch. It seemed that a better prognosis was possible arthritis.
I decided not to even ask how I could keep him from shedding.
