![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/indias-xray-225x300.jpg\")
As I sat in an exam room at my dog\u2019s vet, staring at little India\u2019s X-ray, I kept thinking about the expression, \u201cIt\u2019s what\u2019s on the inside that counts.\u201d<\/p>\nAs I sat in an exam room at my dog\u2019s vet, staring at little India\u2019s X-ray, I kept thinking about the expression, \u201cIt\u2019s what\u2019s on the inside that counts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young DVM pointed to the blossoming but unrecognizable shadow on the digital image. Based on the absence of edges and the unstructured shape, she guessed that India had eaten something that wasn\u2019t sharp. Most likely a piece of fabric.<\/p>\n
The vet and her assistant took my eighteen pound fur baby to the inner recesses of the clinic to make her vomit. The \u201cguts \u201c of the place was off-limits to dog moms like me.<\/p>\n
India had been suffering from some sort of intestinal distress for almost two months now. She had made the dreaded car ride to the nearby vet\u2019s office, trembling in the passenger seat, twice already over this period.<\/p>\n
I was keen on figuring out the problem by going from most likely causes and least expensive possibilities to investigate to throwing my credit card at the situation.<\/p>\n
We tested for, and ruled out, parasites. I added probiotics and prebiotics to her meals, explored fresh food services and recipes I could make myself. Just when she seemed to be getting better, my canine companion decorated our home with watery poop and mucous coated vomit. Wait. I saw this movie just the previous week.<\/p>\n
Being more expensive than double my monthly condo HOA, I tried these remedies before resigning myself to a round of bloodwork and x-rays.<\/p>\n
I was worried about her health but was tired of getting on my knees and cleaning my area rugs, dousing her favorite spots with Nature\u2019s Miracle.<\/p>\n
Dr. Long re-entered the room holding a small stainless steel bowl. She was followed by her tech who had India in tow by her leash. My pup retained her natural curiosity but was slow-moving and groggy,<\/p>\n
I came to understand India\u2019s fatigue better after the doc explained what had to be brought up.<\/p>\n
The bowl contained a dirty, old, whitish gym sock which India must have found, having been tossed short of my hamper, on my closet floor.<\/p>\n
Okay, I considered she has chewed socks before. She has chewed crotches out of my panties, prompting me to start a new holiday tradition in my family. I would wrap a four-pack of my favorite brand of hi-cuts in festive paper and ribbon and sign a card, \u201cFrom India. To replace the ones I nibbled this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
But I couldn\u2019t believe she ate a sock \u2013 WHOLE.<\/p>\n
My dog is my closest family, the only living being I see every day. We accept each other unconditionally.<\/p>\n
I could swear she started depositing her yellow, loose poops in my master bath because she sensed it was easier for me to clean than the carpet by the bay window in the living room, and I never admonished her for making \u201cmesses.\u201d I didn\u2019t want to come down on her for what she couldn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n
I hope I will be more diligent in the future about getting dirty socks into the hamper, but I thought about extending myself and those I love, everybody really, the grace of being who they are, where they are.<\/p>\n
I thought of the gift of empathy, whether exchanged between a parent and a child, close friends, between people and their pets, or between perfect strangers.<\/p>\n
There is nothing like feeling seen. Not that everything can be fixed or made right, but knowing that your challenges can be witnessed, that your pain or anxiety can be acknowledged, can fundamentally change your experience.<\/p>\n
I have a great appreciation for empathy, whether given to me or extended. It\u2019s a kind of privilege to have India follow me around our home at three in the morning, watching me fiddle with the thermostat when I can\u2019t sleep or believing she knows how hard I try to tend to her when she can\u2019t tell me what\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n
Being with a loved one who is sick a great reminder. All we can give someone is our presence. The impulse to be fully present runs deep.<\/p>\n
When someone or an event helps you see what\u2019s on the inside \u2014 it\u2019s no small thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As I sat in an exam room at my dog\u2019s vet, staring at little India\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[632],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weekly-blog","grateful-dozen-musings-imaginings"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n