Zoe comes home tonight… again

For the second Friday in a row, we’re going to be reunited with an exhausted, injured Zoe.  The only difference this time is that she’ll look up at us with one eye instead of two.

I visited Zoe in the animal hospital last night (Tufts V.E.T.S. in Walpole), and it was just heartbreaking.  She was still groggy and her left eye was gone.  And all I could do is sit there and pet her and try to hold myself together.

I can’t help but feel guilty.  I can’t help but go through the what-if’s.  What if we kept that collar a little tighter?  What if we came home from our weekend away a little earlier?  Could I have done anything after her return to save her eye?

I do know this:  Zoe will get over losing her eye before I do.  I’ve heard from people with dogs who have lost an eye and they all say the same thing… the dog always returns to the exact same dog it was before.  They recover and cope and move on.  But I don’t know how long it’s going to take for me to do the same.  I do know that I’ve got to do it quickly, or else I risk making things worse.

I’m a big fan of the Dog Whisperer… and one thing Cesar Milan always says is “dogs live in the moment.”  Zoe will live in the moment too.  If  we don’t do the same, we’ll be the reason she changes her behavior.

Tonight, I’ll once again scoop Zoe up from the arms of someone I’ve never met.  And once again, she’ll come home groggy and disoriented.  And once again, we’ll set off down this unpredictable road of recovery.  Hopefully, this is the last time.

Advertisement