Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Dog is Alive...Bless Us Everyone! (if you are an animal lover, maybe you shouldn't read on...)

Thanksgiving in Utah was a lot of fun. We hung out with my sister and her family, taking my dad along for the ride. We saw Rebekah which was a highlight for sure. She works at the local theater so we saw every movie possible (6 to be exact) with free popcorn to boot! The weather was nice and the food was awesome (I ate my way through the week). But let's get to the fun...my Kindsay, who doesn't go anywhere with us, stays tucked away in a room with a computer, but manages to get herself into the picture in her unique way.
The ride there, 12 hours, was long. Miss Kindsay slept a total of 2 hours during the first 4, then sat wide awake through the night as we drove from 6 PM to 6 AM. She sat up front and texted huge pages of text to people. Her nerves were shot driving that long and waiting to get to our destination. She chewed her foot mercilously, actually making quite a gouge right under her pinky toe (she says it needs to be seen by a doctor and stitched up...it's not that bad, but it's close.) We arrived at dawn in Spanish Fork where we found a house full of people waiting for our arrival...7 children and 2 adults. Rebekah was the first to greet us and it was a delightful reunion...even seeing her dog, Shyann, again was fun. The house came alive and the fun started right then. My sister has 2 dogs of her own--a Siberian Husky named Kaia and a Yorkie named Honey. We all know how much Kindsay loves animals--especially dogs. Kindsay would walk the halls and staircases of the house in her long flowing skirts with Honey tucked beneath her arm like the lady of the house. She was either holding Honey or on Facebook making friends. She truly loves Honey, but one couldn't guess that knowing what she did. I wasn't about to wait for the fun to start, I jumped right on it! I had a list of places I had to eat at and movies to see. Kindsay, as usual, denied us of her presence. She refuses to leave the house. We made her on the first day and then to church on Sunday, but come Monday she put her foot down--"I am NOT going out--no no you are not going to make me, you just STOP IT, shut your mouth!" We gave in because forcing a five and a half foot person into day clothes and an outing against her will is a no-win situation. My sister's kids were off to school (their vacay started that Wed.) and my sis and her hubby went off to work. My dad, Greg, the boys, and I went off to have our fun, without Kindsay and with a little fear of the unknown (meaning, are we sure we should leave her here alone?) What could she do, right? Some of you already know the rest, being history to you...but to others--I must document the rest of the day in an effort to immortalize this child's absolute creativity in her approach to life, it's my duty.
Afternoon comes and we're done with a few things on my list...lunch out, a movie...just fun all around...and we come home to our little dear whose face is lit with remorse and guilt. Uh-oh...what have you done Kindsay?
"I took a shower with Honey." OK--what do you mean, took a shower? You and the dog..? "I didn't have clothes and I held Honey and put shampoo and conditioner on her and I washed her and now she's clean." This explained the massive amounts of water on the bathroom floor. Big sigh from me since nothing is damaged or dead...but no more showers with the dog! She agrees "I know I know, bad choice, I don't know why I did that.." The cousins get home from school and my niece finds a box in her room...it's her dad's diabetes kit with needles and insulin...but a needle is missing. I hear Kindsay in the adjacent room once again expressing regret while my niece is freaking out...the story shoots out of Kindsay's mouth like vomit. As the story unfolds I feel my body and ears perking up and up and up because the story just got worse and worse. She did what to who? Seems that Kindsay had to 'care for the dog' a step further than showering. She rummaged through my sister's pantry and found the kit, which then popped the bad angel onto her shoulder. The bad angel waited for the good angel to arrive, at which point it bound and gagged the good angel and begun its work on Kindsay only to succeed with gold stars. Kindsay knows that needles are for shots which are for keeping us healthy, and Honey must've seemed unhealthy because little Honey, that's right, got a couple of shots. Two shots of water into the stomach to be exact. We all panicked, not knowing what that does to dogs, or life in general, since we've never done that kind of experiment. Honey seemed fine, but I pictured her squealing and rattling in fear while Kindsay held her down for her shots. Kindsay tried giving the Siberian Husky a shot, but it would have none of it--so of course Kindsay goes for the weaker breed. We all held our breath and watched Honey, waiting for her to collapse and praying CPR wouldn't be necessary. Honey was definitely hydrated and had the softest fur in the Utah Valley, that was certain...and for some reason this gluttonous canine continued to follow Kindsay around for the remainder of the week. In any case, the good angel was released and found some redemption by keeping Kindsay well under control till we left. I suppose once Kindsay gets the curiosities out of her system she is able to function normally...but at what cost I ask? We hid Honey every time we left after that, putting her in the shed out back...and finally, the second to last day I noticed Kindsay's lips were pale and realized she had denied leaving the house for three days straight. I forced her out, and I think she knew in her body that it was time since she didn't put up a fight. For the ride home I gave her an Ambien to help her settle into sleep instead of sitting up and biting her foot for 12 hours. It did the trick, and beautifully. It's a good thing I love my Ambien and treasure it too much to give it away--otherwise I'd be tempted to relieve us all of Kindsay incessant movement and 'sssss' noises. No, I'm a good mom...I don't give her useless doses of anything, even though she would deserve a shot in the stomach--just one, in honor of brave Honey...the most hydrated dog this side of the Mississippi.

1 comment:

Michelle said...

Oh Yvette...you always make me laugh outloud. And yes, I'm laughing at you, not with you. God times for Honey. I'm so glad you're back. More posts pretty please. I need my nightly dose of humor.