The girls and I got back from the ranch last week. L.E., the rescue Boxer, got really sick. She lost her appetite and had all kinds of stomach issues. I won’t go into because it was pretty unpleasant, and she wouldn’t like me spilling the beans about her medical records.
She did visit her favorite vet, L.D. Eckermann at the Westbury Animal Hospital. He gave her a shot and some meds to settle her stomach down.
A week later we were heading back to the ranch. Medina went to sleep in the back seat but L.E. wouldn’t settle down in the front seat. I patted my hand on the seat so she would sit. It came back covered in blood.
I turned the truck around, dropped Medina off at home and took L.E. back to the vet. This was the start of something bigger than us. They squeezed us in because they had no appointments available. The blood was due to gastrointestinal issues. We were given more of the same medicine.
We doubled back, picked up Medina, and headed for the ranch. In San Antonio we had a blowout on the front tire. Fortunately we were able to limp off the freeway and into the parking lot of a 7 Eleven.
Triple A made it to us in 20 minutes and we were back in business on a spare tire. I asked the very nice young man where the closest Discount Tires was. He told me I was lucky, it was right around the corner.
There was a two hour wait at Discount Tires. I informed them I had two old dogs and could wait that long. They told me they all have dogs and to bring the the girls in. They went to work. Then they told me they couldn’t warrant the tire because it was the wrong size. When they doubled check they realized they made a mistake when I originally purchased the tires and put one wrong size tire on. The one that blew out. They honored the warranty.
The girls got to visit people in Discount Tires and enjoyed looking at truck tires.
We finally made it to the ranch and had California weather. Normal California weather.
L.E. felt better and her stomach issues seemed over. But then Medina starting having the same stomach issues. And because of the 2nd trip to the vet, we already had medicine to help her.
I was convinced that my day had gone to crap. One dog was sick, we were late to the ranch, we had a blowout, we would have a long wait at the tire shop, and the other dog got sick. I was leaning toward convincing myself that life was just unfair.
But instead I thought a little differently this time. If L.E. hadn’t gotten sick in the truck I would have never gone to the vet to get extra medicine that ended up being for Medina. And how did we make it to the 7 Eleven parking lot after the blowout? I don’t know. How did Triple A get there in 30 minutes? They usually take 1 – 2 hours. How did we get out of the tire shop so quickly? All of the bad things that happened to us were followed up with good things to answer them. Without the bad, there would be no good.
I focused on the good and left the bad in the background. The girls and I are fine and we had a great time enjoying nature. God smiled on us. I bet God smiles on you too. You ever notice it? I did.
Yes, God Smiles On Us!