Surgery

When we finally reached our destination after hours of travelling, we were at a different vet. There were several other dogs and people walking around in strange clothing.

Mum took me in to a room where another vet was waiting. He took a big folder from mum and sat down to read it, speaking to mum as he did so.

Then he came over to me and, after saying hello and petting me, he gently examined my hips. They both took me out in to a garden and mum walked me up and down before taking me back in to the room. They talked more, then mum knelt beside me, cuddling and kissing me. She was crying as she stood up and quickly left the room.

I was frantic, howling and trying to follow her. Why had she left me, was she ever coming back?

The vet took me through to a room with lots of big cages. Two nurses came forward, one took my lead and the other one went in to one of the cages. They made me go in there, even though I fought not to. One of them stayed with me for a while, but I just wanted to curl up in the corner and cry.

They left me for a while, but then I was given an injection and taken to another room. Two people lifted me on to a table and held me down gently. I couldn't fight them because I was so sleepy and was finding it hard to move. There was a funny noise and I felt slight pressure on my right hip. All my fur was shaved off from the middle of my back and all the way down my leg.

Then I was put in a big metal thing and given a bath. It was frightening, I hated water, but there was nothing I could do. When it was over I was shivering, but then warm air blew on to me and soon I was OK again.

I was taken back to the cage and all I wanted to do was sleep. There was a funny light above me and I felt warm and cosy.

For the rest of that day I stayed there. People came in and made a fuss of me. One put a tray of food down, but I didn't want to eat. Eventually it got dark and everything was quiet, except for other dogs crying from time to time. A nurse stayed with us and checked on us through that night.

In the morning, instead of breakfast, I had an injection. It made me feel strange and very sleepy again. I remember being lifted on to a table, then nothing!

When I woke up I was back in the cage on a comfy bed and I had a blanket over me. There was a needle in my leg and a drip attached to the bars of the cage. The vet came to see me, but I didn't care, I still felt strange.

It was dark when I woke up again and mum was in the cage with me! My head was in her lap and she was talking to me gently. She was with me for a long time and when she got up to go I tried to get up to go with her. She laid me down again and put the blanket back over me.

She spoke to me and I understood the words, 'tomorrow' 'come for you' and 'home'. I was too tired to try and follow her again, so I just had to lie there and watch her leave. I started to cry, but then I was given another injection and I must have fallen asleep.

Soon it was morning again. They put some food down but I didn't want it. A little while later the vet came to see me. He examined my hip then removed the needle from my leg. When I stood up my hip felt different, it ached a bit, and there were some strange metal things on my skin. But there was no great pain any more!

Suddenly I sensed mum was near by. All the time I had been there I knew she wasn't far away, for some reason I just knew. Now I felt she was really close. I sat up by the door of the cage, waiting, expecting her to walk in any minute. Then she did!

It was such a relief to see her and I couldn't wait to get out to her. She opened the door and I flung myself at her, but she wouldn't let me jump around. Instead she made me lie down while she cuddled me.

Then my lead was put on and we left. The nurses lifted me in to the back of the car on to my big bed again and with mum there beside me, we started the long journey home. We stopped after a while and mum hand fed me some soft food and gave me more water, then she put a warm fluffy coat on me. It wasn't long before I fell asleep again.

This time when I woke up, we were outside our house. It was getting dark, but I could see dad standing by the car. He lifted me out and carried me down the steps. I was allowed to go in to the back garden to relieve myself then walked back to the front door and we went inside.

It felt so good to be home.