A few weeks ago, I made an appointment for Piper to get spayed. We’d already had Mabel spayed several months ago but had waited for Piper because it seemed like too much trouble to do it at the same time.
Yesterday morning was the day of the surgery. P had to be at his job site earlier than usual because they were pouring concrete and so I had to get Caroline to school and have Piper at the vet by 8:00 a.m. The tricky part was getting Piper out of the yard and into the car without Mabel because they are always a package deal. And so it essentially felt like I was running a goat rodeo in my backyard at 7:35 a.m.
But I managed to get Piper loaded up and she was delighted to be in the car. In fact, she didn’t seem sad at all that Mabel couldn’t join us. It was all happy times until we arrived at the vet and she began to feel something was amiss. Which is appropriate because I’d feel the same if someone took me to get a hysterectomy without mentally preparing me.
She immediately knew she’d been duped into believing she had a better day ahead than what turned out to be her reality. But, listen, she’d be more upset if she found herself knocked up by some mutt who’d leave her to raise a bunch of puppies all by herself.
Meanwhile, I came home to a despondent Mabel. She spent the rest of the day being lost without her sister and spent most of it using sleep as a coping mechanism.
And, later, I discovered she’d written several haikus in her poetry notebook.
I was left at home
they took my sister away
gloom, sadness, despair
Where did Sister go?
Car ride to nowhere today
Am I going next?
Now I’m stuck with Scout
Old man sleeps and poops only
Where is my Piper?
Sister went away
Like Barry Manilow sings
Can’t smile without you
And then our sweet vet texted this picture of Piper saying, “Not what she had planned for the day.”
I believe this look says, “Is this because I ate six chocolate chip cookies off the countertop?”