It's 10:30 pm and I have had a 2 1/2 hour nap. Whoops! (hehe) The last 24 hours have been a bit stressful for this old lady and when you combine that with a complete lack of sleep anyway, you get a nap before you go to bed!
When I got home last night, I put my purse down ... on top of my dog. I have no idea what she was doing under my chair at my desk at home, but there she was. She yelped, but moved on. However, when Max tried to take her outside about 10:00, she was moving really slowly. Leica normally runs to the back door, leaping and leaping as she waits for one of us to get there. Not so much last night. When she came back in, she stood at the couch, didn't even want to attempt to jump up. I picked her up and she whined and yelped. What? I thought maybe a broken leg or something ... but, as I manipulated her limbs, that was fine. Then, I touched her back - there was pain.
While I was sitting at my desk last night, praying about what to do with her, I felt like God was telling me to lay hands on this little thing. It was a weird thing. It hadn't occurred to me at all to pray for healing for her. I figure that what will happen, will happen with my animals and I'll deal with it ... whatever is. But, there is no reason not to listen and obey, even when it sounds wild. So, I began praying for her and felt peace. She was in God's hands and all I needed to do was take care of her.
Since she was still walking, albeit a little slowly, I was determined not to spend money at the emergency room (yikes!) and get her to the vet first thing this morning. I slept on the couch with her all night and took her to our vet this morning. He's a nice guy and was trying to be pragmatic with me about the possible outcome. She was obviously in pain, he did a quick exam and told me that we could be looking at a ruptured disk in her back, or degenerative disk disease, anything ... these are very common in a dachshund with that long back.
I left her with him and went to work, knowing he would call me when he had an idea what was going on. I waited and waited and waited. We finally went to lunch. My cell phone rang. It was Dr. Tierney. No disk rupture, no degeneration in the spinal column. In fact, her back looks like the back of a 2 year old dog (she's at least 9). There was a wound and she needed to recover from it. I cried from relief. It was just confirmation for me that God had heard my prayers and was taking care of this little girl.
The doctor told me I could pick her up after 4:00 pm. Not too early and I discovered why when I got there. Have you ever seen a dog after anesthesia? HAH! They're a hoot! He put her on the floor to show me what was going on and she wobbled all over the place, fell on her butt, ran into the wall. But, she had absolutely no pain! I brought her home, called Max down from upstairs and put her on the floor so we could giggle at her a little bit. Then, Max stayed with her while I ran a few errands.
She has settled in for the night on the couch, I'm staying pretty close to her. I figure she'll need to go outside and I get to carry her out and put her in the snow. She's just adorable.
This passage was in my email last night:
Job 12:7-13 (NRSV)
"But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being. Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food? Is wisdom with the aged, and understanding in length of days? With God are wisdom and strength; he has counsel and understanding."
God is so good ... I count on Him for everything in my life and He honors me by caring for the smallest things. I'm thankful for His mercy and grace.
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