A sticky situation

June 19, 2010 Kelly E. Carter
Tags: Italy, Tropea

I’m spending a month in Italia, my favorite place! Here I am waiting patiently to see the veterinario, who was a very nice man although he should know that dogs have very good hearing.

After removing a glob of gum and dirt from my zampa, that’s paw in Italian in case you didn’t know, he leaned in to my owner and whispered that I am “grassa,” which means fat! Oh, was I insulted. I’ve been exercising like a mad dog, huffing and puffing through the hot streets of Tropea. How else does he think I got that damn gum embedded so deeply in my paw?

I haven’t been on a scale in a while but I feel so much lighter than when I left the States on May 10. But I guess to other people, I’m still a fat pooch. He suggested my owner feed me less! Is he crazy? I’m barely getting 1/2 cup of reduced calorie food as it is. If I’m good, and I usually am, I get a couple of treats at night. And that’s supposed to sustain me?

I don’t even know why she went to see him anyway and why she couldn’t remove the gum. She soaked me in a sink on la terrazza for a while but the most she did she unloosen the sticky substance from my tail, which had become attached to my paw.  I must admit, the gum was wrapped around the pads pretty well. The vet used scissors to remove one part and thought he was done. But my eagle-eyed mommy pointed out that there was more. Couldn’t he see that? He grabbed what looked like a surgical instrument and went to work pulling and tugging it lose. Boy did it hurt! I may not have many teeth left but  I turned toward the vet and let him know that I was willing to use whatever I have left to bite him.

“La testa,” he told my owner, indicating to her that he wanted her to hold my little head.

As we prepared to leave, my mommy reached into my carrier. The vet saw this and said no, there would be no fee. Did he really think she was grabbing her wallet? Not my mommy! She brought my pink leash out of the bag and I chuckled to myself.

That was my exciting day.

Entry Filed under: Travel,Uncategorized,Veterinary,Weight

Trackback this post  |  Subscribe to comments via RSS Feed