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"Precious Gift", by Ilayna Day
Copyright © November, 2000, Age 31
It was a Saturday afternoon, around one o’clock, the day after my twenty-ninth birthday. I figured today would be just like any other. My son Michael and I were watching T.V. on the long brown sectional in our living room. The T.V was turned on to Michael’s favorite cartoon show, Ren & Stimpy. I was starting to doze off when I heard the phone ring. I pushed myself, to get up off that comfortable couch, and answer the annoying phone. "Hello," said my boyfriend Rod on the other end. I grumpily said hello back, and asked him what he wanted, because I just wanted to go lay back down. "I am coming over shortly, to bring you your birthday present." He said. "Alright come on over," I said, before hanging up the phone. After I hung the phone onto the receiver, I got back onto the couch to continue my nap. I began to wonder what he had for me, as I slipped into unconsciousness once again.
About a half hour had passed, when I was awakened by the downstairs door creaking open. I then heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. I got up and walked toward the stairs to see who was there. When I got to the top of the stairs, I saw Rod carrying the most adorable miniature pinscher puppy I had ever seen. He looked just like a full size miniature pinscher that had been shrunk. I grabbed this tiny puppy, maybe the size of a tea cup, out of rod’s arms. He had black with brown markings, and I also noticed he had the most beautiful black eyes, as they gazed up at me. He also had a bright, red bow wrapped around his tiny neck.
I was so excited by this precious gift. "Thank you so much!" I screamed with joy, to my wonderful boyfriend. Michael was just as happy as I was when the new addition to our family arrived that day. I was wondering what I could name him, as Michael blurted out "Lucky." "Lucky, what a dumb name," I thought, but I guess it would do.
Every day after we got Lucky he followed me around. I could hear his little footsteps, they sounded like the tiny feet of a little baby, as he crept up behind me He would bark like someone had stepped on his tail, to get my attention that he was there. As I was working on my computer, he would come over and lick my leg, with his warm wet tongue. He would just sit there and stare up at me, with those beautiful pitch black eyes. I would then pick him up and hug him, as he licked my face the whole time. I knew at that moment, we would become inseparable.
After a week had passed, I had to take Lucky to get his check up and vaccinations. I walked into the vet’s office, holding my squirming new puppy and sat down in the waiting area to be called. About ten minutes later, the doctor called us in. He introduced himself as Dr. Jacobson, as he asked me to put Lucky, onto the examining table. I plopped Lucky’s delicate little body onto the cold steel table. He began to shiver from fright and let out a ear piercing yelp. I tried to comfort him and tell him that everything would be O.K. Dr. Jacobson then began examining him.
As he was checking his heart, he had a look of concern on his face. He seemed to be spending an awful amount of time checking his heart. When he stopped, he began to explain to me what he had heard. I was not expecting the terrible news I was about to be given. He began to tell me that Lucky had a heart murmur, and had most likely been born with this defect. He wasn’t certain what the future would hold for him. It was to early to tell what the outcome would be. I was told to bring him back to be rechecked as often as possible. I left the office in great despair.
The next few weeks I tried to keep myself busy, trying not to think about the news I had recently heard. I was trying to housebreak this puppy, which was turning out to be a challenge.
I would just come in the house from walking him, to find him running into the corner and urinating on my rug. I would shout at him "Lucky! No!" and he would stare at me, with those two big black saucers for eyes, and I would melt like an ice cube. I also began to notice he had diarrhea on a daily basis, which was making it even harder on me to train him, since he couldn’t hold it in for too long. "What did I get myself into?" I thought. The one thing that he began doing was especially disgusting. I had two cats, and Lucky was very interested in the litter box. He would come running up to me, after having a grand, old time in the litter box and would have litter up his cold, black nose. I would have to pull the litter out of his nose while he was screaming for me to stop. It seemed very funny to me after it was all over with.
Six months passed, and it was time to take him back to the vet to have his heart murmur rechecked and have him altered. I was hoping the operation would stop him from relieving himself on my rug. The news I got was not very promising. When doctor Jacobson walked into the exam room he had a look of worry on his face. "It seems the murmur is getting worse," he explained. "I would like to set up an appointment for Lucky, to have an ultrasound of his heart, before I perform the surgery to have him altered." I set up an appointment for that day.
About two days after I took Lucky in for his ultrasound, the doctor called with the results. After I picked up the phone, I sat down in my kitchen chair, and stared out the window as he began to tell me the results.
My heart was shattering into little pieces, like a dish breaking on the floor, as he continued to explain to me that Lucky’s whole lifestyle needed to change, and he was to be put on medication to keep his heart from exerting itself. He was no longer allowed to have any salt in his diet or table food of any kind. His diet would consist of boiled chicken or beef and white rice. He also recommended, a vitamin supplement for the lose of nutrients that was supplied in dog food. I was also informed that it was a risk to perform the operation to have him fixed. I hung up the phone and began to think about what I was going to do to make sure this dog had a good life, no matter what obstacles got in his way.
Giving Lucky his medication every morning, which included a blood pressure med. and a water pill, was not going to be easy. I would pry his little mouth open, and push the pills down his throat until he swallowed them, but sometimes they would wind up across the room as he spit them out.
I thought things couldn’t get any worse until I came to realize this dog was never going to be housebroken. "Now what do I do?" I thought. I loved him so much that giving him away didn’t even cross my mind. I was in for a lot of hard work. The water pill he had to take every morning was taking its toll on his little bladder. "Lucky!" I would scream as once again he wet my carpet. I decided there was only one thing to do to keep my house from becoming a kennel.
I started to put him in diapers, the ones you use on babies. I have to say this was very funny at first, "Why am I putting a diaper on a dog?" I would constantly say to myself. Lucky looked so funny when I put this little diaper with Sesame Street characters on the front, around his little body.
He would run around the house, trying to pull it off, tearing it with his teeth and then shredding it into a million little pieces. Eventually he grew accustomed to them and my carpet thanked me for it.
Well I have to say, two years have passed now, and yes Lucky is still wearing diapers, and causing havoc around the house. I am just thankful he is as healthy as he can be right now.
I wouldn’t change anything I had to go through for him, because he has shown me how grateful he is, with all the love he gives me everyday. I think god put this precious gift into my arms because he new I could take care of him.
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