poor jack

i was going to write up the last spring break chapter about the beach and the drive home, or maybe complain bitterly about the new ref for the under14 league that yelled at me yesterday on top of his ridiculous claims that the first shot off of a rebound goal counts as an assist. what the.... ?

but i can't even get started because my dad and my brother and i just took jack to the emergency vet clinic because he had a big gash on his chest, and i'm so worried about him that i can't even rant on a know-it-all ref. jack came in acting hurt, and then i heard my mom and dad yelling and telling us all to call the vet. the dog had a huge slice on his chest, all the way around his front leg that was about twelve inches long. his skin and some flesh was hanging off of his body and flapping against his leg. nick and i held him down while my dad called the vet, and i held his hurt leg and his collar in the same hand so he couldn't rip it open any further. the cut was incredibly clean and straight. i thought he'd been hit by some very sharp protruding edge of a car.

then the neighbors came over and said that jack got in a fight with their pit bull over the other dog's food. the first thing i thought was, "wow. pit bulls are really impressive animals."

then i thought about how jack is afraid of his own shadow and rarely approaches other dogs, even small ones, and about how he has a huge dish full of food at home and, stupid as he can be, the incredible unlikelihood that he would pick a fight with a pit bull over food. then i thought again about how surprisingly clean the cut was... this was a slice, not a tear, and there were no teeth marks on him. even then, all i thought was, "this is so weird..."

it wasn't until my dad said something in the car that i thought maybe the neighbors, who throw stuff at our dog when he's in our yard, maybe hurt him themselves, especially since none of us heard dog fight sounds.

but anyway, we took him to the vet, and the two ladies there were very nice and patient with the three worried family members that kept acting like they knew the best way to do things. i tried not to give them advice and be an annoying concerned dog owner... but they had my doggie! i couldn't help it.

i'm sure they were right and that they know lots more about dogs than me and that he'll be fine, but leaving him in a cage with no sedative and no pain killer and letting him freak out because he knew we were leaving and making me let go of his leg so that his skin just hung off of him... all that made me worried. and now i can't stop thinking about my poor dog, all alone and freaked out in that cage in that cold room with his skin all off of him and blood all in his fur. poor jack! but you would be proud of me, i didn't get upset or demand better or anything, i let the vets do their thing and told myself to be quiet.

but i just can't re-cap or rant right now. my poor jacky! i'll be lucky if i can finish studying for the test i have at 9am tomorrow, for which i need to drive back at six. so, sorry for the bummer post. i'll be back to normal later, when i know that my dog is okay. until then... :(