One afternoon, I saw a dog laying in the middle of an intersection. This dog was sooo pregnant. I, too, was super pregnant and immediately self-identified with that homeless, dirty, stray dog.
That dog and I were one.
I took her by the vet’s office, bathed her and much to my husband’s dismay, he found us cuddled on the couch. I introduced her as “our newest addition.” He looked at me warmly and said, “Do not name it. We’re not keeping it.” I responded, “We’re going to have a baby and nine puppies!”
Our kids, ages 5, 4, and 3, and our other dogs waited for his permission to keep her.
However, he told all seven of us that this dog was merely a traveler on her way. To what? No one could know. But, traveler she was and visitor she would be. With strict instructions to find a new home for her, I obeyed. I hung flyers, posted pictures online, and prayed several novenas (at the same time) for someone to claim her and love her as I deeply as I did (it had only been three days.)
Five days later, our visitor had a name.
June’s “visit” coincided with the listing of our home on the market. The day we moved out, she went into labor. As our vehicle was packed with suitcases, kids, and a cardboard box with a birthing June and five puppies, we headed to my parents’ home to wait until our new house was available.
Several hours of waiting passed and no more puppies had been born. So, off to the emergency vet clinic we went. Hubs gently and repeatedly said, “We have no money to help this dog. It’s tragic, but we may have a hard choice ahead of us.” I understood.
The vet confirmed that June’s labor was stalled and we were advised to either approve an emergency surgery, to euthanize her, or to let her die naturally. To say this news affected me deeply is an understatement.
My poor, pregnant self was sobbing on a dirty, vet hospital floor for a dog I had known for six days.
The memory still makes me cringe. It still makes Hubs cringe but for an entirely different reason.
One very expensive surgery later, Hubs could have said a number of things to me. However, he simply held me while I held June. Though we’ve added one more kid to our family, we’ve yet to add any more pets.
Hubs is emphatically against it. I’m gonna go with that.
His understanding with my pregnancy induced emotional rollercoasters makes me feel loved. It can’t be easy to enter into another’s feelings, especially when those thoughts and feelings seem completely illogical. And yet, he did.
