Denise and her owner

I don’t know what’s been up with me this week. But for some reason I have been super emotional. I am crying at every sappy TV commercial, I tear up every time I hear cute stories or watch lame movies that normally are way to cheesy to affect me.  I don’t exactly know what’s to blame for my heightened emotional state but I think it’s a combo of things.  I think part of is that last week was fathers day and even still I miss my dad a bunch. Lately at the wild life center we have had all these seals. I have been learning how to handle and feed them.  Its stuff that I wish I could run home and tell him all about, because I know these are those things he would be so proud of me doing. I also think that since I have recently started dating again and it’s always a tough thing to have to talk about how my dad died and the whole family dynamic, again and again and again. I know that the week started out hard with my rider incident that I spoke of in my last post. But I also think that one of the bigger things is that I have taken a new job. And I am just starting my last week and my soon to be old job. It’s hard to decide to make a change even if you know that it’s for the best and the best thing you can do for yourself. It’s tough to walk away from the comfort of familiar.  I have spent two and a half years working with these people, getting to know them closely, and becoming a part of such a kick ass team. I’m seriously going to miss that more then any one could imagine.  In some ways the loss of these co-workers is so similar to the same kind of feelings that I have felt with loosing my father. So I think that causes things keep coming back to the dad stuff and this whole combo that has me always on the brink of tears.

Anyways tonight I want to tell you about another case that happened where I left work in tears because of.  And weather it was cause I am super emotional or, just cause something about this guys story hit me really hard I have no clue. You can decide for yourself.  Tonight I want to tell you about Denise. I had answered a call this morning from a guy who asked to bring his cat in because it has an eye issues. He seemed kind of slow. I mean like maybe he has some mental issues just because he kept repeating himself and saying the same things more then necessary. He was concerned that he wouldn’t find a ride in to the clinic but I assured him that he could always cancel the appointment if he couldn’t.  He made an appointment and that was it. Later on in the day he didn’t show up for the appointment that I had made and I figured that he wasn’t able to find a ride and forgot to call us. It worked out cause we had a bunch of catch up to do so it was nice to have that little bit of a break.  In the afternoon it got super busy and I didn’t have time to think about it again. Towards the end of the day we started to see one grumpy cat after another.  And we were all running around like crazy, because every simple appointment seemed to become complex. I went up front to check in one of the waiting appointments, and as I walked this guy and his cat into the exam room, it turned out to be the same guy who no-showed earlier.

Denise is a 15-20 year old indoor outdoor cat who was only about four and a half pounds. I’m sure that this guy loved the heck out of her, and as he started to give me the history that was obvious. Although he maybe lacked some knowledge in proper cat behavior, He was doing his very very best. His cat looked skinny and slightly unthrifty like she had stopped taking care of herself like most cats do normally.  Her eye was definitely infected looking. He said up front that money was a concern because he only had 120 bucks. It was obvious that this cat had a hyperthyroid condition and needed to have some lab work pulled to diagnose it, so that she can get treated. We also needed to start her on some antibiotic eye drops to help with the infection.  As I was going over the estimate with him, I knew he wouldn’t be able to afford it all. He was already crying because we had just told him his cat was very sick and dying.  See why I was so affected by this guy was because he told me that his mother had just died two months ago, and his father passed away a while ago, and he had no brothers and sister. This cat was all he had left and we just told him that she was sick and dying.  It was so hard to see him this torn up and in so many aspects I under stand exactly what he is feeling.  He wouldn’t let me take her to the back and draw her blood; he had to pet her like 100 times first until I finally got to take her out.  He must have said like fifty times that she was his whole world and to treat her kindly.  I kept reassuring him that we would be super nice to her and take good care of her.  The whole time she was away from him he asked about her and watched the door and nervously paced the lobby. It was exactly what you would expect from any worried mother of a child undergoing a medical procedure at the doctor. It was sweet, and like I said before you could see how much she was loved, that was never a question… Denise was an almost perfect patient. She peed all over me as I was doing her blood draw but it’s understandable because she is a cat who is scared so you have to forgive them.  After I was done he asked a million more questions about what the treatments are and how much they cost and like I said before was a little slow to process the info.

People like to argue the power of pets and ownership. They like to think that they are just objects with little or no value. Something that comes and goes with ease. Denise was this guy’s whole world. She is all he has left in the world that matters to him, and that bond is better then probably half the relationship I know.  Its times like this that I really hate the way the universe operates. I mean cut this guy a break already; you leave him with nobody and then make his cat, his only companion left, to be sick and maybe dying… That’s so unfair of you.   I feel for him because I know that he is going to have a hard time being able to treat her for hyperthyroidism if that is what she has. Its going to be a tough road but I know that he wants to do everything he can for her because of how much he loves her.  I have a lot on my plate right now… But Denise and her owner have sparked an idea in me about another volunteer opportunity I should look into doing. I have a lot of skills in things like cat pilling and others like stuff, I wonder if there is a service out there where I can maybe stop by people, like this guy, who have no one else and help him give her meds.  I’m not saying I’m going to jump out and do it right now, but I’m keeping it in the back of my mind for the future. So anyways tonight I am hoping that her bloodwork comes back with something very simple, so that we don’t have to make this poor guy feel any more worry then we already have about cute and much loved Denise.