TheBanyanTree: Visiting the Vet

[NancyIee at aol.com]

and now for a tale with another ending:
 
Misti was a 3 pound Chihuahua only we loved. She barked shrilly at anyone  
or anything else, even the shadows and the wind against the windows. We 
liked to  refer to her as the world's smallest pit bull. She never went far from 
the  house, so it was safe to let her out while we walked the other dogs on 
leash.  Misti liked to do her own thing, and if any of the other dogs 
looked her way, or  dared sniff at what she was sniffing, they got her snarl and 
a quick nip if they  didn't back off quick enough.
So, one Sunday we took the dogs out, walked them, and went back in the  
house for lunch. Misti, the champion lunch stealer of all time, didn't bother  
the others as they ate this day. In fact, she wasn't even much interested in 
her  own lunch. When we saw another dog steal her lunch without the usual 
snarl and  lunge, we decided she wasn't well.
She napped in her sunspot, but didn't rise with her usual burst of energy.  
In fact, she rather dragged around. By dark, she was unstable, and walked  
haltingly. We took her to one of those Sunday night pet ER places (which 
meant I  could have put a down payment on a Lexus the $$ they charged,) But, 
they had no  idea what was going on with her. The numerous tests told them 
nothing, and in a  little while, she just died.
A stroke?  Heart failure?  Snake or scorpion bite? Did she eat  something 
she shouldn't have? Though she usually was too fussy to pick up  something 
off the lawn. We'll never know.
She sleeps in her sunspot outside, near the oak tree where the roses grow.  
She keeps company with other of our four legged friends who have passed  
away.
She wasn't a friendly or cuddly dog, except to us, and she hated the other  
dogs, and barked all the time. In fact, I hear her now.  (Charlie the  
Cockatoo imitates her constant shrill bark exactly, and uses it to irritate us,  
call for attention, or just because.) She wasn't even very cute, being more 
like  a fawn-hued spider than a dog. But, I miss her. She was fierce and 
fearless, and  a great foot warmer on chilly nights. Like she did with most 
things, she grabbed  hold and held on . .like she did with my heart.