Spay Day

March 10, 2015

Things were strange at the house this morning. At 7:15, much earlier than usual, Mom fetched Lucy’s leash and said in that artificially cheery sing-song that Elbie and JoLee have grown to mistrust, “Come along, Little Lucy! We’re going to the vet!” Jo looked at Elbie, and Elbie looked right back at Jo, and then they both looked at Dad, who sighed and reached for the puppy biscuits.

At lunchtime, Mom and Dad came back home, but without Lucy. Jo looked for her, but Elbie was beside himself with joy. He danced and he pranced, and his little stump of a tail wiggled like crazy. He danced a jig, all the while singing, “She’s gone! She’s gone! Yippee!!!!” Mom was laughing, and asked Dad, “Do you think he’ll be sorry when I bring Lucy home tonight?”

That night, Mom brought Lucy home. Lucy smelled funky, and she didn’t seem quite right. She didn’t strike like a snake at Elbie’s legs; she didn’t try to chase JoLee down and rip the Blue Alligator from his mouth. She also had a strange shaved patch - two of them, actually. One went all the way around her front leg, and a really big one covered her entire tummy; and the interesting smell is coming from the one on her tummy!

Elbie was angry. Very angry. Terrier Angry. But then he realized that Lucy wasn’t taunting him or chasing him down. In fact, she hardly spoke to him. She reached out and touched his nose with hers, but that was about it. Her tail wagged limply, but she looked tired. Mom got a glass of water and a book, and we all sat on the front porch in the late afternoon sunshine. Lucy slept and slept; Elbie and I watched for Strangers and Rogue Squirrels.

On the walk that night, Mom was talking conversationally with us. “You know, JoLee, you were much worse as a puppy than Lucy is now,” she said. She got that faraway look in her eye, remembering back to when she had first brought JoLee home. “You used to give Tim no end of trouble. You know, now that I think about it, when you came to live with us Tim had the same look on his face as Elbie does when Lucy’s around.” She smiled. “You and Tim ended up getting along, didn’t you?”

Jo shrugged. “I don’t know - Tim didn’t want me to play with him, so I didn’t care much about him one way or the other.”

Elbie looked shocked. “Really?” The look on his face changed to worry. “You really didn’t care about him at all?”

JoLee shrugged again. “Nope.”

You could see the calculating look on Elbie’s face. He didn’t want to be unloved. “I’d better figure out a way I can get along with Lucy, then!” he declared.