Monday, January 16, 2012

Of Vacations and Veterinarians

What a difference a day makes. Saturday morning, I woke to the sound of waves and watched the sun rise over the Gulf of Mexico. Sunday, it was twelve below zero as the snowplow roared down the road. I'm ready to go back to Sanibel!

It was a very relaxing week. There were walks on the beach and bike rides, but mostly I ate, drank, slept, and read. I finished Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow for book club and Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster. I'm at the halfway mark in Every Last One by Anna Quindlen, read the first few letters in Clarissa by Samuel Richardson, and made a significant dent in the pile of New Yorker magazines.

Everything was perfect until I received a call from the kennel just before we boarded the plane to come home. Zelda injured her paw/pad and they were taking her to the vet. By the time we landed in New York, I had a message from the vet. Thankfully there were no broken bones, but since greyhounds have very delicate legs, there was no extra skin to stitch the laceration together. Her wound was cleaned and covered, antibiotics and pain meds were prescribed, and a plastic boot was fashioned from an IV bag to keep the bandages dry in the snow. Zelda is hobbling around on three legs and we're slated for return vet visits two or three times a week for the next couple of months. We have an appointment later today and I'm anxious to speak with the vet in person. Once Zelda start to heal, I'm hoping they'll show me how to change the dressing. I love our vet, but would rather not visit three times a week all winter. It may be a few more days before regular blogging resumes.

Poor Zelda...

31 comments:

  1. Glad your vacation went well and you got some quality reading done. Sorry about Zelda's foot. Hope it heals quickly and she can be 4-footed again.

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  2. Poor sweet Zelda!

    Sanibel is a great idea - I'm planning a trip there too!

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  3. Glad you had a wonderful relaxing trip, but I can imagine reality set in rather quickly once you got home.

    Poor Zelda:(

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  4. Oh, no fun! But Zelda is so beautiful!

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  5. Saturday morning here in Podunk, considerably more north than Sanibel, it was 31 degrees but did warm up to a balmy 50 or so. Hope Zelda recovers quickly.

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  6. So sorry about Zelda. I hope she's comfortable and not in too much pain. She looks like a sweetheart.

    I can understand how returning home to 12 below might be a bit of a rude awakening! Though I must say, we got just barely an inch of snow a couple days ago and I really would like to see some more. I love winter!
    Speaking of, your header photo is gorgeous! Did you create the effect somehow or is that really fog lifting off the lake? So enchanting.

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  7. Zelda looks quite comfy on the couch there, so my best wishes for a speedy recovery and recuperation on your part. Hope you won't get too stressed out over this. And, what a night watching the Golden Globes and Downton Abbey back to back. Good to have someone to tweet with. :)

    Arti

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  8. Sanibel is heaven isn't it? I don't envy you that drastic change of weather. And poor little Zelda. That look on her face says it all. I wouldn't want to go back and forth to the vet either, not with the weather you guys have.

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  9. Glad you had such a relaxing (and productive!) vacation. Hope Zelda heals quickly.

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  10. Poor little Zelda!!! Hope her leg bets better soon and without so many trips to the vet for you!!

    Your vacation sounds wonderful and then of course reality has to hit you when you land back in the winter wonderland!

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  11. Sanibel sounds delightful.

    And tell Zelda to get well soon!

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  12. Sounds like you had a wonderful reading vacation. So much read! Hope Zelda's on the mend.

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  13. Kay - I'm glad Zelda's injury happened when we were on the way home - never could have relaxed knowing she'd been hurt.

    Rhapsodyinbooks - If you want any Sanibel tips, let me know. My in-laws have a place there and we've been visiting for 20 years.

    Diane - Nothing like 12 below to get you back to reality!

    Audrey - Zelda is such a good dog. Unfortunately she had a very tough day today :-(

    Kaye - It was a little chilly Saturday morning in Sanibel, too, but I was reminded very quickly just how relative chilly is.

    Everybookandcranny - Zelda is having a tough time, but will hopefully turn the corner soon. The header photo is all natural - photoshop is beyond me. A combination of sunlight and fog lifting off the lake was so beautiful that Sunday morning, I just had to get out there with my camera. The photo still doesn't begin to capture the beauty of the moment.

    Arti - We had a very difficult time at the vet with Zelda today... sure hope things turn around for her soon. Had to take a break from the Golden Globes to watch Downton Abbey, but really enjoyed your tweets last night!

    Sandy - Sanibel is heaven on earth! We've been visiting for 20 years now and I never get tired of it. We're having a tough time with Zelda today... really hope things turn around soon.

    DS - Vacation was wonderful but seems a lifetime ago already... having a difficult time with poor Zelda now:-(

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  14. Sam - Zelda had a hard day today. We're hoping for a better tomorrow.

    Staci - More complications with Zelda today, calling for reassessment of treatment plan. We'll see how it goes.

    Softdrink - It was, and I'll forward your well wishes to Zelda :-)

    Margot - It was an ideal vacation week. We're hoping Zelda turns the corner tomorrow.

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  15. I'm sorry to hear you & Zelda had a rough first day back - hopefully you'll have better news tomorrow.

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  16. Oh - I am so sorry for sweet Zelda, and I know that these visits to the vet were not a part of your original schedule. I am glad that it was nothing too serious though.

    I took my husband to Sanibel for his 40th birthday and we have vowed to return (although that was 12 years ago!) We both love seashells and there is no better beach to collect them.

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  17. Poor Zelda! I hope she has a speedy recovery.

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  18. what a contrast between Sanibel and the snow back home! I always think these trips to warmer climes make the winter a little more bearable.

    Sorry to hear about Zelda - I hope she is doing better soon!

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  19. Oh no!! I hope Zelda is okay. We are thinking about putting the "Otter" pup in a kennel so we can take our summer vacation but I am against it. She's small and I worry about her getting eaten up by other dogs. Except, she can be a pill when she wants to be so she'd probably hold her own but I still worry. Plus, she was a shelter dog and I worry that she'll think she is going back to the pound. Silly?

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  20. Lisa May - Today was a better day, so we're hopeful.

    Molly - She had a good night, so we're hoping Zelda continues to improve. There are no better beaches for shelling than Sanibel/Captiva!

    Vasilly - Zelda thanks you! :-)

    Booksnyc - Even though winter hasn't been too bad so far, it's always nice to get a break. Just a couple more months to go, I hope.

    Ti - Not silly at all! I worried so much about putting Zelda in a kennel, but we just didn't have any other options. I don't know what we'll do now...

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  21. Sun, warmth and the Gulf of Mexico, sounds lovely! Sorry about Zelda and I hope she heals quickly.

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  22. Gavin - I'm afraid this is going to be a long road for Zelda. She seems to be in better spirits today though.

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  23. Oh no!!!!! :(((( I hope Zelda heals quickly. But it looks like you got some good reading done.

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  24. Beth F - Definitely a good reading week, but I'm afraid Zelda has a long road to recovery ahead.

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  25. Sounds like a wonderful vacation, but poor Zelda. I hope her paw heals quickly.

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  26. Poor Zelda! I hope she's doing better and that paw is healing up.

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  27. Oh poor baby!! Hope Zelda is getting to feeling better soon. Glad you had a wonderful trip--is this an annual trip to Sanibel?

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  28. Carol - Thanks. Zelda is slowly improving.

    Darlene - Zelda is such a drama queen that they were unable to change dressings 3x a week as planned. For now it's open and she's wearing an Elizabethan collar to keep her from chewing the wound. Not ideal, but we're working with it.

    Trish - My in-laws have a place in Sanibel, so we've been there quite a bit over the last 20 years. Sometimes we stay there, but this time we rented a condo. Can't get enough of that island!

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  29. Oh, poor Zelda. I hope she's on the mend and that her paw heal quickly. It's always such a worry when our pets are sick or injured...

    I'm very envious of your trips to Sanibel. We had planned to go a couple of years ago for Christmas, but a blizzard ruined our plans. I hope we get there someday, but we won't plan for a mid-winter trip since our weather is so unpredictable. That said, I'm going to Hawaii the first week in March. Fingers crossed for cooperative weather!

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  30. Les - Zelda is healing, but slowly. Yesterday she very gingerly tried to put some weigh on her paw - definite progress! I remember your Sanibel/blizzard woes .. what a shame. My in-laws have a place there and we've been visiting for 20 years. It's a little piece of heaven on earth. Keeping my fingers crossed for your Hawaii trip. I'd love see it one day.

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