Dulce was not able to breath properly. She was having dry heaves and her breathing was shallow. On an early Sunday morning we took her to our wonderful vet. He took an x-ray and said Dulce didn't look too good and explained why while showing us the picture.
Dr Mike took our Dulce and we weren't sure we'd ever see her again. It was recommended that we not come to see her, that it would get her too excited. Midweek we were informed that things weren't going well with our sweet pup. Again, we braced for the worst.
A few days later we received word that Dulce was OK, but that she should stay a few more days to receive more treatments. We were told to pick her up on Monday.
They opened at 8am and we were there. Too early they said, come back between 4-6. We were back at 4. I told my wife a few days before that picking up Dulce would be one of the happiest days of my life.
When we walked inside the doctor's office, I had a smile on my face. A woman looked at me and I smiled at her. Only she was not smiling, but tearfully sad. She had received news that her dog was dying and there was nothing the doctor could do about it.
I sat next to her and I wanted to hold her. Her husband was too suffering his own pain, but trying to be stoic. As they walked out the door, she was left standing by herself on the sidewalk, while her husband put their beloved pet in the car.
I walked outside to ask her if I could assist her to her car. She put out her arm and I helped her off the sidewalk and to her front seat. What I wanted to do was just hug her and cry with her. I guess that's not the proper thing to do, but that's what I wanted to do.
I left teary eyed nevertheless, back in to see my Dulce for the first time. Well Dulce came out, but she didn't even recognize me. It certainly wasn't like watching those military videos on Youtube where the dog jumps in the owner's arms and they have this big love fest. I think Dulce was probably shell-shocked from being locked up for 9 days.
Anyway, our Dulce is home and my wife and I are very happy. When at first we thought we might be losing Dulce, I became even more dedicated to being a vegan. How sad I was that I might lose this animal that I love so much. And then I thought, how can I draw a line with animals, where some are pets, and others are food?