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2001-11-25 This past week has been kind of a wishy washy week, full of emotional ups and downs. Last Saturday, a woman came in with a dog, Asia, that she was boarding over Thanksgiving. Asia was this woman's child, it took her almost thirty minutes to say goodbye. I promised the woman I would take good care of her dog, and I meant to, because, Asia was a very wonderful dog. Sunday, I came in, and walked the German Shepheard as usual. Asia was fine. Monday morning, I walked in to find her cage empty. I shrugged, figuring she had been put out in a stall. Then, I heard the grim news. Asia had been found dead in her cage that morning. It shocked me. Asia wasn't sick at all, she wasn't supposed to be dead. We couldn't get in touch with the owners. We were told not to say anything if the owners called, but to get a doctor instead. All of the doctors left to go on calls, when the phone rings. We pick it up to hear Asia's owners, saying they had forgotten to bring her food, asking if we could feed her. We weren't permitted to say the dog was dead, so we told him it would be no problem, then, he asked if we would give her a rawhide bone, saying he would pay for it if it was any trouble. Ellyn, almost crying told him that it was no problem at all. We got his number and hung up. Every person there was shaken up by the phone call, hurting for the news that the owners were about to hear. Dr. Fuller called them up two hours later, and told them the news. There was a lot of crying on their end, and a lot of questions that we didn't have answers to. Most importantly, "Why?" We sent Asia for a necropsy (animal version of autopsy). The verdict..the change in food had caused her stomach to bloat, killing her. It never occured to me that something so simple could take down a normally healthy dog. Asia's owners told Dr. Fuller how nice I had been while they had been dropping her off, and are now going to give me a picture of her. Although it's kind of weird to be receiving that picture, while no one else there is, the sentiment really means a lot to me. Tuesday came, bringing puppies with Parvo, fatal unless treated early. The owners couldn't afford treatment, so I had to hold a beautiful, sweet puppy, as we took her life. While, sending another home with fluids, knowing that death would most likely overtake him as well. Thanksgiving had me stopping in the middle of Highway 78 to grab a Jack Russel that had been smashed by a car that didn't stop. Four other people stopped to help the poor dog. The dog, wihle alert, was bleeding from his rectum, along with having a broken pelvis, his future uncertain. I gave him to a lady who said she knew where a clinic was. I have still heard nothing from her as to the outcome of the dog. Other than that, my thanksgiving was joyful. At Maile's urging, my Mom and I finally sat down and came up with a name for the kitten. We decided to call him Pheonix, since, like our little kitten, they raise up from the ashes, from death, and start life over again. Friday night, I talked to Leslie, my coworker. She began telling me about her best friend, of twenty years, that had been murdered in 1998. Her friend's maintenence man had been robbing her friends house, when her friend came home. When the man saw her, he strangled her with a pair of panty hose. He left the house with only about a thousand dollars worth of stuff. A thousand dollars for a human life. Leslie then told me that I reminded her so much of her friend, and that she never thought she would say that. I was amazingly touched. I was suppoed to be at work at 8:00 on Saturday..but I ran into a small problem, the car broke down. I called Leslie at work, but Dr. Myers wouldn't let anyone leave to come and get me. So, I called Leslie's husband, who would have come and gotten me..until he found out Leslie had accidentily taken the keys to his car. I finally called my uncle and got to work an hour and a half late. Oh well. Two hours after I had gotten there, Leslie called her husband to find out he had driven down to where the car had broken down, and was fixing it for my mom. He, in no way, had to do that. I would never have asked him, but he did it. The people were going to charge us a thousand dollars to fix it, but Brannon, her husband did it for sixteen dollars. He wouldn't take money from us, but Mom snuck him fifty, all she had. Brannon and Leslie are certainly some of the best friends I could have ever asked for. Saturday, Leslie invited me to go and work horses with her. She is training with a very good trainer, and I was a little nervous about going. I haven't ridden English in almost a year, so I was sure my form would be pathetic. So, I got on, and at first, it felt a little awkward, like I couldn't remember how to ride. After about twenty minutes, I began to remember, and it felt right again, I felt right again. The feeling of riding, of being one with a horse..wow. Then, Brooks, the trainer, begins to give me a little leson, for free. After fourty minutes, Leslie and I just began messing around. Brooks came up to me, telling me that I had a beautiful seat, and very soft hands. It put me up on clouds all day. Brooks then told me, that if I came up with Leslie, that she would put me to work, and get me ready to show..for FREE. After three hours of riding, Leslie and I left. On the way back to her house, we began talking about people, and she mentioned that she was bi. I sat silent in the car for a second, trying to decide if I wanted to tell her about me. I mean, a lot of the people I have told, I don't have to see that often, but this is a girl I see almost everyday. She began to get worried at my silence, and asked me if it was bad she had told me. I quickly told her no, and got up my courage. I told her I was lesbian, and she took it in stride. There was no awkward silence, nothing, just an "Oh, well, if you ever want a girlfriend, I know a great girl. She's beautiful, and sweet...etc." I have no regrets about telling her, I think she took it the best of anyone I have told. We then began to discuss our thoughts on whether or not Dr. C is gay. That was an interesting discussion. We decided that it is a deffinate possibility. Who knows? I see it now, Dr. C in the middle of surgery So, that is my week in review..the short version :) Now, my extremely sore legs and I are going to go into my nice, comfy, bed <-//->
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