Operations

The battered old Pork Chop
 sits in the sun.

This is another letter concerning my dearly departed pet Pork Chop who was first found wandering down my street.

Getting these things posted is my form of grieving I guess. I only had the old boy for seven or eight months I think, but I connected with him. We had both suffered so much.

9^th November 2013

Dear Cassi,

       

I took Pork Chop back to the vet today just like they told me to and it was a dreaded expense. I arrived early and so walked the old dog in the parking lot until they open. I bled the wound on his face and got blood on my hands but this was little compared to what was to come.

       

They told me his weight was because of a thyroid condition and that he had some issues with his liver that need to be watched. That was all and well but they had to take him for the day to perform the operation. I just hope that when this is over he’ll be a happy dog once again.

       

I came back to the vet at around four thirty and it took them some time to collect my dog. This was all right as I spend my time talking up the receptionist who took something of an interest in me. I should have asked her out, but the daunting cost of vet bills made me think of other things. 

As I waited three young folks came in wanting to see the body of a pet that had passed and was ready for cremation. It was a man and two women that I took to be highs schoolers. The two young women ood and awed over my wounded dog but he did scare them deeply when he shook his head and sprayed blood all over the floor. The two girls gave Pork Chop a few pats and wished him well.

                                          

He did this again when he came home leaving something of a mess.  This rather bothered Pickle who recoiled at the sight of blood, but I’ve seen enough blood in my life so that it never bothers me. After all the old dog has suffered I wish he could have a comfortable life but as we both know it is never so simple.

Greet the challenges as they come, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal

A closeup of the dog's face

Wound

The animal I talk about in this letter is long dead but he died in his sleep. It was

a peaceful death for a much loved animal and I do miss him so.

8th November 2013

Dear Cassi,

I went to the vet today because Pork Chop had a wound on the side of his face. I found it a few days ago as a lump down near his chin and when I put pressure on it the thing burst covering my hand with blood. He’s had bleeding wounds before so I thought very little of this but last night I noted a smell coming from the area.

My first thought was to wash the wound but that did almost nothing. The smell was gone for a few hours but came back before I left for work that night. So this morning when I came home I loaded the dog into the car and was there as the vet opened.

They told me that he had ulcerated tumors around where the pit-bull had mulled him and they had to be removed. This would run me more than a thousand dollars but Pork Chop needed it.

They took a blood sample and told me to come back the next day. That alone ran me two hundred dollars. I have to admit then I wasn’t expecting this but at least I know the poor dog will get what he needs. Ken told me he wouldn’t live this long but well he defied the odds I guess.

It comes to me that people are always telling me my pets are going to die. What’s up with that? Why is everyone so dismal?

Take it as it comes, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal

Sick Old Boy

5^th August 2013

Dear Cassi,

         

If there is one thing I can tell you about old Porkchop the Bear Dog it’s that he is a sickly fellow. Over the weekend, he developed an abscess on his cheek that looked like an irregular tumor. It was a red-purple node of infected flesh about the size of a large grape. A second point of infection protruded from his ear. This second point was yellow and about the thickness of a stalk of hay.

         

I knew that a trip to the vet would run me at least three hundred dollars and that his problem wasn’t life threatening.  I decided to bleed the infection before putting the money into him as, well, I could do better things for my dog with three hundred dollars.

         

A word I picked up from the veterinarian is ‘express’ as in ‘I need to express the wound’ this is a fancy way of saying ‘milk it to get the infection out’. When I expressed the smaller wound it gave off yellow goop and went away but the larger wound was more persistent.

         

There was more blood than infection is this bizarre growth and expressing this was complicated as there were multiple sacs of fluid. When I cleaned the wound with peroxide I could see between four and six small holes where the fluid had come out. Every few hours I drained and cleaned his wound again. The big brown dog seemed to realize this was for his own good as once I even think he went to sleep.

         

The worst of these happenings for me was when the yellow goo hit me in the eye and made me weary of looking after the dog. Thankfully his infection is unlikely to transfer.

Hope he gets better, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal