-^-for posterity-^-

today our dog went from a he to an it.

jota was running around too much. he was always chasing girl dogs and getting into fights. he’d leave in the morning without as much as a kiss goodbye and be gone all day roaming from one shanty to another flirting and winking at all of the stray female mutts that passed. i don’t think jota’s responsible enough to be a good parent.

i asked one teacher friend of mine after class this morning if he would be willing to accompany us to the local vet. within ten minutes we had found the dog, found my father, found julie and started to drive into town. jota had no idea what he was getting into.

the whole ride he wagged his tail and barked at dogs. we reached the vet which is nothing more than a glass paneled shack on the side of a large room outfitted with a couple of large, stainless steel mesh tables with drains attached to the bottom. we walked in, no appointment necessary, and told them to take away jota’s manhood.

the vet is quite an odd operation. there are two ‘nurses’ inside that really know their stuff. they have a medicine chest full of brown bottles and a desk full of carefully wrapped knives and needles and what not. they walk from animal to animal giving advice and shots. they seem to always be working on two animals at the same time and they do get quite a variety. we were in there at the same time as a kitten, a duck, a larger dog and a smaller dog.

they gave jota a shot in the legs which was supposed to knock him out. it didn’t. they gave him another shot and his legs became wobbly instantly. he rocked back and forth and laid on the ground. his head rocked back and forth violently as if he knew what was coming and he was protesting by saying no over and over again.

they tied him onto one of the large, stainless steel tables while he was semi-conscience. they tied all four of his legs to the four legs of the table leaving him laying spread eagle. the reality of the operation set in. the reality that i was going to be able to watch the whole process also set in. the reality that the dog was semi conscience set in. the reality that there was a crowd of four or five old people watching through the plate glass also set in. i could watch for a bit, not for too long.

i kept thinking about my grandfather and his farm. i remember being a child and helping him neuter the baby pigs. i didn’t really help, i think i just watched and was scarred as much as any of the pig’s backsides. grandpa would gently swing the baby pig through his legs. he would wipe a bit of iodine on the area where the operation was to take place. he would nimbly slice, remove something, slice again and dab once more with the iodine. he did this over and over and over and over again. that’s all i could think of.

while they were preparing them and i was wondering whether i was going to stay or go, someone brought in a duck. the duck was small and the belly was shaved completely. i watched thinking it would take my mind off of jota’s little procedure. one of the ladies took the duck over to a table (she was helping with jota but the duck took precedence for some reason). the took a long knife out and slit the duck up the middle. the duck was still alive and did put up a bit of a struggle. the duck continued to struggle while it’s insides were cut out and inspected. the ‘nurse’ reached into the duck (the sternum and chest had been exposed. all the skin was cut away) and took out something and snipped it off. she inspected it and threw it in the trashcan. she took out another piece and snipped it off and threw it in the trash can. the duck continued to struggle but it’s movements were now less controlled and more twitch like. she took out the intestine and stretched it out completely. the duck had died. she held it to the light and threw the duck’s carcass into the trashcan at her feet. it made a noise when it landed.

i was baffled for a bit. were they trying to save the duck? was this some sort of manic tumor removal? maybe a bypass? i didn’t know so had my friend ask her exactly what she was doing. it turned out that the man had a whole flock of sick ducks and wanted to know what the problem was.

that whole episode didn’t unnerve me but i couldn’t stay to watch jota’s operation. dad stayed for half of the process (the mid point wasn’t too difficult to judge) and took some pictures which i’m not too enthused to see. we went home and waited for the dog to wake up.

when we returned the dog was sitting on a table moaning and writhing his head back and forth. his tail was also moving in circles. he seemed to be starting back up again from the front and back and working his way to the middle. his head spastically moved back and forth as if he was in denial that the whole operation took place. he didn’t regain consciousness for another twenty minutes or so and he couldn’t control his drooling. we took him back home and he only has been able to walk in the past five minutes. he walks and runs into things and has already vomited once. he’s a new dog, for better or for worse.