Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Pedro

A friend's blog said today that confession is good for the soul. Well.
I hurt my dog.
It's been a week and a half since it happened, and I am just now able to write about it.
I didn't mean to. It was 1am last Saturday night. It was time for bed, and he wouldn't jump in to the grass from the deck for his nightly potty (12" off the ground), so I nudged him. Then, the longest 4 seconds of my life insued. He leaned forward. He leaned backward. He scrambled. And then he went over the side, landing on all four feet. But something happened on the way down. Dr. Blair said he thought he must have hit his knee cap, knocking it out of place, which happens relatively frequently in little dogs, and that there is nothing serious to worry about, but that's not what I cared about when my little baby was yelping and whining in the grass. I cried for an hour--I kid you not.
Richard finally said, "He knows you didn't mean to hurt him!"
And I, in my frantic PMS-induced sorrow said, "He doesn't know that! He doesn't have reasoning skills! Now he's probably going to be scared of feet and bite everyone's feet, and we'll have to put him to sleep!"
Poor Richard. He was really trying to make me feel better, but I was inconsolable. Nevermind that Pedro was already hobbling in circles around my feet wagging his tail.
I told a co-worker on Monday what had happened, and they called me "dog-kicker" for two days. It was terrible. And I thought I deserved it.
Long story short, Pedro is recovering nicely, and I may have overreacted just a titch. I just want to set the record straight: I didn't mean to hurt my little puppy! A nudge is a very different thing than a kick. Dr. Blair is on my side. Let me know if you want his phone number to call and hear it from him yourself. I'm NOT a dog-kicker.

Ode to Pedro

I love my Pedro.
I will always treat him right.
I only nudged him.

12 comments:

kristi noser said...

Dog Nudger

You knew I was going to call you that.
You can rest assured that Pedro doesn't blame you. He will be ok.
Maybe a step for him, hmmm?

Carla said...

You are forgiven, Erin. I confess that Timmers fell off the couch....

kristi noser said...

But did you nudge him?

Carla said...

If I did would you call me Baby Nudger? No I did not nudge him. I left him to see to another distraction....

erin said...

That actually does make me feel better...until I realized that Timmers probably didn't limp for a week and a half.

Carla said...

The effects of a drop on the head might not be seen for years to come...I'll keep you posted for any signs of trauma.

Carla said...

Please do not worry your pretty little head anymore about Pedro. You may have nudged him, bit then you RESCUED him. He loves you for that.

Carla said...

not bit...but then you rescued him.

Carla said...

weird....this page is full of pictures of me.

Anonymous said...

Erin...I'm a recovering toad kicker (so I guess I somewhat feel your pain, sorta.) Yes I said toad. Carla and I were camping one time and a small toad planted itself right where I wanted to put our tent. Carla asked me to move it aside. I tried to flip it gently with my toe. I watched in horror as the toad liquified before my very eyes. Wow! I don't think I could have blown on it without it turning in to toad juice. Touchy toad!

kristi noser said...

I think it was perhaps one of those poisonous toads, and you won't see the effects of the poison for years. One of which is that your babies have a tendency to fall off the couch. Watch for this.

Anonymous said...

Gee, Erin...I guess you don't remember how I taught you to swim.