I got 99 problems, and a bitch IS one.

But the bitch has problems that are probably worse than mine. The bitch I refer to is my greyhound, and she's having a rough time of it. She's already gone through the surgery that made her a "tri-pawed", but she's nowhere near healed up yet.

This past Sunday AM the wife and I woke up to find that some of the flesh around the dog's sutures was, well, missing. So there was a slightly-smaller-than-dime-sized hole that seemed to provide a porthole to her insides.

I am a person who gets light-headed pretty easily. A couple years ago, I slammed the front door on my finger, staggered back inside, barfed twice and passed out.

BUT, I decided that barfing and/or fainting were not viable options at that point. My wife HAD to go to church for a number of reasons, so I took the dog to the Emergency Animal Hospital by my lonesome. And I did great - I guess necessity is a mother...

They managed to get her bandaged up, so she was much easier on the eyes, and in somewhat less distress. Poor little pony* is in quite a bit of pain, though - lots of nervous moments the rest of the day, with her panting like crazy while her gums go white, neither of which is a really good sign. She woke up "crying" a few times last night, and it's a pitiful sound.

She had a vet appointment this AM, and the vet was surprised at the down-turn and her condition. So they're flushing/sterilizing the wound, and they're keeping her for observation. And that's all we know at this point - they may have to add some staples, try to bandage her again, blah, blah. So we'll see if the dog sleeps at home or at the veterinary clinic tonight.

At least my wife gets some respite from the dog-sitting. She (the wife) is still taking this whole situation on the chin, and hard. So I feel pretty bad for both my girls, but there's not much I can do. Bleah. I've been able to maintain a pretty decent attitude about it, mostly because I have to - otherwise I'm worried my wife might go completely hysterical, which won't exactly help the dog, either. So I get to be the calm one.

Of course, what would really keep me calm is pretty much the one thing that is currently verbotten, so I guess I'm S.O.L.. S.O.B..

* on the Simpsons, Homer goes to the dog track, and there's a sign over the entrance that says, "Think of them as little horses" - it's an easy comparison to make, and I often refer to the dog as "my little pony". someday I hope to take her out for Halloween with a big heart sticker on her butt and a horse-like mane...