Stage Five Clinger

I look at Veenie now a little differently than I did a month ago. While yes, she is now a mutt valued at over $6,000, but that's not what I see when I look at her. I feel pure joy when I look at her smiling face. I feel downright giddy when I see her leaping through the grass in the back yard. I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest when she goes and plays with Gee. 

For two weeks while Veenie was required to be crated while she healed, I went home every day on my lunch break. I work 25 minutes from home so I'd get home, let her out of her cage, kiss her head for 10 minutes and head back to work. It was the best 10 minutes ever. 

My friend Larissa went through something similar with her dog, Bix. Larissa told me that Veenie would be a different dog after all this. She said that after Bix had his surgery (to remove an acorn) he was so much more affectionate and never left her side. She is convinced that Bix KNEW what she had done for him.

Veenie already clings to my side, but what changed wasn't with her, but with me. I cling to her side. I think my clinginess is a mix of both being panicked that she'll eat something she shouldn't and gratefulness that I even have that panic in the first place. When I got that call from the vet immediately after her surgery, I didn't know if I was going to get to bring her home. 

The thought of losing Veenie made me sick. I know this is crazy, but when I hung up the phone with the vet, I sat there and cried on CB's shoulder as if I'd already lost her. I know the Vet was just doing his job, but he was so negative that my mind darted to the worst case scenario. 

Every phone call I received from there on out was positive.

"She's alert and awake and seems to be in good spirits..."

"She had an excellent night with no problems..."

"She kept down each meal we've given her..."

"If she continues to do this well, we can talk about potentially sending her home..."

"Come get Veenie, she can go home..." 

According to the vet, this will be a problem for the rest of her life. She basically can't eat a single thing she shouldn't, because her GI tract was just so destroyed from that toothpick that only certain food is able get through. So basically, I'm now a stage 5 Veenie clinger. I don't ever want to let her go. I don't ever want to stop kissing her wet nose. I don't ever want to let her out of my sights. I love that dog so damn much it's crazy. 

Some people may not understand this, but Veenie is my family. She is my baby. She means everything to me. I of course understand that I will lose her one day, but that day has not come yet. Until then, I'm going to love on that little darling girl every spare second I have.