March 13, 2005
8:29 p.m.

One thing I will never get used to is watching a dog die. If I ever do get used to it, it's time to find another career. I sat with a dog for twenty minutes on Thursday, watching him slowly fade away. We couldn't get in touch with the owners to ask for euthanasia, so I had to watch as he struggled for breath. That dog fought tooth and nail to live. We tried for almost a week to counteract whatever poison he had ingested. We had to watch as he went through seizures. Keep going, his owners told us, try and save him. The plea came too late. Perhaps if they had brought him in when the first symptoms appeared, instead of waiting for two days. There was nothing to do but watch. For twenty minutes I stroked him and talked to him, wishing I could end his pain. For twenty minutes he hung on, trying to live. At least I know he didn't die alone.

My spring break is coming to and end, and it is with a great deal of reluctance that I get ready to go back to school. I don't want to sit through over an hour of class with a lady who actually makes my IQ drop. I am counting down the days and minutes until this joke of a class is over. I can't wait.

I am in love with a dog at the clinic. I really don't need any more dogs, or animals of any species for that matter, but I am really having to fight not to take him home. He jumped out of a second floor window and broke both of his front legs. His owner couldn't afford to pay for any treatment, so she signed him over to us. He has become extremely attached to me. He will scream and cry when I walk out of the room, and won't do it for anyone else. He actually snapped at one possible owner we had. I have tried to explain to him that he can't bite potential owners, but he just ignores me. He is just the cutest little guy in the world. See:


Now, I just have to find a home for him before I end up with a fifth dog.

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