The Day Willy Hurt His Foot

So.

We've inherited a dog for the week.

Willy. Our dog-in-law. Whom Caleb loves dearly. (I do, too.). He's a sweetheart, and he and Caleb have been great pals for a long time. Caleb calls him "Wih-wee."

We took him hiking with us yesterday morning. We often borrow Willy for hiking.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until we brought him home. Next thing I know, there's a trail of blood leading up the stairs, down the stairs, and all through the den.

Oh my.

"Outside, Willy! Outside!" Ugh. Cleaning dog blood out of the carpet was so not on my To-Do list yesterday.

It's not like Caleb's out of school, we're having company over for Thanksgiving, and I have baking, cleaning, and shopping to do. Not at all. I have all the time in the world for things like bloody carpet cleaning sessions.

"Ok Willy, let me take a look." I was done being mad about the mess and had remembered that I do actually like this dog. I checked each of his paws, and sure enough, his back left paw was bleeding. He had partially sliced the pad.

That's when I knew the rest of my afternoon would not go according to plan.

"Kim? It's Nicole. I think I need to take Willy to the vet. No, no, he's fine. Just cut his paw. Not sure if he'll need stitches."

Most of the in-laws were already out of town for the holiday. Which meant I was now responsible for taking an 80 lb. golden retriever AND a 50 lb. four year old to the vet.

The visit went better than expected. In fact, it turned out to be a great learning experience for Caleb. He was very interested to see the "dog doctor" and to watch her take care of Willy. He only got worried when they tried to put a cone on Willy's head. Thanks to Pixar's movie "Up", the Cone of Shame just about cost us a tantrum. But I was able to convince Caleb it would help Willy and as soon as we got home, we took it off.

"The paw needs to stay bandaged. Make sure he doesn't chew on it. Make sure it stays dry. Tie a plastic bag around it when he goes outside. Give him these antibiotics twice a day."

Good grief! I had no idea having a dog could be so involved!

But Willy is a good doggie, and didn't chew on his foot.

"Kim? Willy's going to be ok. They wrapped his foot up and put him on antibiotics. But he needs to be watched. He can't go outside unless the foot is covered. Do you want John to bring him out to Bremerton when he comes? Or . . . "

Ok. I'll confess. I offered to keep Willy for the week. We love Willy-dog, and Caleb kept asking if he could stay.

Maybe I felt a teensy-bit guilty that the accident had happened on my watch.

Maybe it was seeing Caleb "take care" of Willy last night, propping his hurt foot up on a pillow and covering him up with a blanket.

Or maybe I just like having a dog in the house.

Whatever the reason, our dog-in-law is spending Thanksgiving with us.

And Jason and I are talking about getting a dog of our own. :)