A Limp

Bella was asleep beside my bed. It was 5 a.m. Bella shifted position and bumped into the cane I briefly used for my limp two weeks ago. The cane was propped up against the wall. The cane fell and struck the I-Phone external charging unit, which dragged the I-Phone off the night table. Everything landed on the floor with a huge clatter. I awoke screaming and stared through the predawn darkness to where the noise had come from. All was a silent now, except for the thumping of Bella's tail on the floor. Bella highly-approved opening Fibber McGee's closet.

About a week ago, Bella gradually started limping too, favoring her right front foot. My limp was transient, but her limp lingered. Pain didn't mean she pulled back from her nightly jaunts to the Safeway parking lot, however. Indeed, she tried to go even faster, and hit the pavement even harder. I wasn't able to find the source of her pain, though, and the relaxation provided my trip out of town last weekend didn't seem to help. I tried on Wednesday and Thursday to visit Broadway Vet's Dr. Ibrahim, but apparently he's been ill and his office was closed (I worry about the humble Egyptian ex-pat). So, off to try a new vet.

Gabriel recommended Midtown Animal Hospital, so we went there today. Bella barked to show she highly-approved the waiting room assembly of many diverse dogs (and a cat too). Bella weighed in at 54 pounds - more than I expected. Temperature measurement didn't bother her, but she did get anxious when we we were separated for a heartworm blood test. The vet was unable to find the source of the trouble, so we are going to try an anti-inflammatory drug called Rimadyl (like aspirin, for dogs). Since Bella hadn't been on heartworm medication before, we are going to try that too.

Since Bella had been a good dog, and since we were only three blocks away, I took her to visit her favorite place, the Safeway parking lot. It's a completely-different place in the daytime! On the way back, we passed through dumpster areas beside the railroad that I'm ordinarily too wary to visit at night, and we watched an addled young man give an oration towards the underside of the light rail bridge.

And so, now we'll wait and see if Bella's pain subsides....