So Hard...

I got up early and took Jack for a walk before I took him in at 7:45 a.m. He's such a lazy bones. He didn't want to get out of bed.

Once he heard the leash, he was up and at it! He always runs to his food dish as if to grab an energy bar or to make sure that he won't get hungry on a trip. He started that way back when Rich used to walk him and since he is a "man of habit", he never changed. Susan and I laugh every time. He was surprised this morning because he didn't know it but he was fasting. When we got back we got into John's truck, which completely confused him, but somehow we managed to get where we were going. A more discombobulated pair you'll never find.

He couldn't get closer to me if he tried while we were in the waiting room--really wanted to sit on my lap, and managed to get half of himself up. A doctor walked by with a black lab, and of course he was reminded of Lizzie, as was I. He howled as she turned the corner out of his sight, and tears slipped out of me. The ladies at the desk came out to shower him with attention. Lots of pats and rubs.

When they come to take him in the back, he's very cooperative, but he always looks back at me several times as if to say, "Aren't you coming?" I just about lose it every time...I managed to get out the door and then lost it.

In the short amount of time between leaving the house and getting back, I lost my phone, his collar, keys, and my glasses. I recovered the phone and the remembered the glasses and phone were at home, but the collar is still missing--I think I left it there. It's the choke chain that he likes--it's like his jewelry. He's probably the only dog that really, really likes his choke chain. I take it off him while he's there because I don't know if he could catch it on whatever kind of area they hold him in until they're ready to see him.

It will be a while before I hear whether he has to be tapped. They do rounds until nine o'clock while the aids prep him for an ultrasound.

The house seems so empty and sad without him. I know if Rich were here he would be taking him to Texas, too. There used to be a program on the Animal Planet channel with a vet, Dr. Fitzgerald, in Colorado. Rich used to look at me, sometimes, and say, "If either of them (meaning the pups) ever get sick, we'll take them there. I wish he were here to go to Texas with us.

Well, I'm going to try to busy myself to make the time go by until they call so I can go get my buddy. I think we'll go shopping at PetSmart. Well, that's if he's not groggy. If he is, we'll go tomorrow.