The Ugly One

My friend Judy said, “Its pajama weather and we need to put pajamas on Jake (the dog) again but Sam says, ‘Don’t tell Betty anything, she will write about it.’”

“Oh don’t worry about Sam; he loves reading about himself in the newspaper. He just acts touchy,” I assured her about her husband.

My daughter, Allison, called and said, “I feel terrible, I called Daisy the ugly one and she might not make it.”

I said, “I know, I called Daisy ugly too. Your sister, Angel, reprimanded me about saying anything in front of Daisy about her long ears; and warned me about writing anything about her in the newspaper.”

I told your sister, “Oh you love when I write about Daisy. Don’t be so touchy.”

So here I go again. No one wants me to write about them, but they all love to read about themselves in the newspaper. Go figure. I’m writing nice things about Daisy this week. I guess I need to watch what I say, seems everyone is touchy these days.

This week proved to be a lesson for all of us. Our daughter, Angel, owns Daisy. Angel is affectionate about animals. I don’t hold the same affection, as you have all guessed. So when some one says they spent $2,000.00 at the animal vet, I ask, “Why? It doesn’t make sense.”

Something happened to Daisy. She started bleeding from her mouth. My daughter called our son-in-law and said, “Will you come over and look at my dog?”

He did and said, “We need to call a vet.” Which they did, they hauled poor Daisy off to the vet and after a blood transfusion, oxygen, x-rays and several days at the veterinary’s office, Daisy still had a fifty-fifty chance. You can imagine the doctor’s bill.

I thought I was being nice and sympathetic and gave Angel my advice as she was leaving for work, “Prepare to let her go. There are lots of dogs at the Humane Shelter.”

Apparently I said the wrong thing. My sympathetic words brought more tears. Now everyone at her work was rallying around her. “Take my shift, go see your dog, I understand.” They advised her, “Give her a chance. You’ve already spent X amount of money. She is worth it.”

My son-in-law, the voice of reason said, “Decide how much you can spend. You can’t be emotional about it.”

I thought that was sound advice. In my mind, I am thinking, it’s going to take years for her to pay off the doctor. But I guess some things are worth paying for if someone is willing to pay for it.

What did we all learn? My daughter, Allison and I have learned not to call someone else’s dog ugly. Some times we pay later for what we say earlier.

Some people are willing to pay a long time for something important to them. Some of us are willing to write what is important to us and pay for it later.

As for Daisy, let’s just say she is literally worth her weight in gold. Sam’s dog, Jake, will continue to wear pajamas even if he doesn’t want anyone to know about them. And when I hear a story to write, logic doesn’t come into play, either. I am willing to deal with touchy people and pay later. Sam’s not talking to me, but Judy loves talking about Jake. You win a few and lose a few.

Final Brushstroke! We will all pay for what we think is important and we will usually pay later for it.