Page 11 of Loving Harper

“And as a breed, well, we always use the Belgians, but they can be really hard to handle sometimes. And I think a Doberman would be perfect for you, Sally,” Greg said. “Most loyal dog out there.”

“Well, that settles it then. One shelter has four and are expecting a litter of puppies, I guess. I don’t think I want a puppy.”

They cleaned the dishes, and Lydia took Venom outside after she fed him.

The night had turned colder, more crisp. She walked with him down the driveway to let him forage for his favorite spot before they’d all retire for the evening. She headed back toward the porch and sat down on a rocking chair, watching him investigate the weeds until he found a good spot. This was his favorite place.

She checked her cell phone to see if there were any messages from Harper and didn’t find any. Something caught her eye, and she saw a shadow on the driveway. Looking closer, she realized it was Venom, but he was walking with a lilt or limp of some kind. Finally, in the starlight, she saw the dog collapse on the road and moan, more like a cry out for help. It was a high-pitched sad moan.

Everything in Lydia’s body went on full alert. Venom was in danger.

She ran inside and called the boys, who passed her, running, beating her to get to Venom on the roadway.

“He—he’s breathing, but he’s foaming at the mouth. I’d say he’s been poisoned,” said Greg.

“Oh my God! We have to get him to the hospital,” shouted Lydia. “I don’t know where to take him.”

Sally caught up to the group. “You take him down to the Sonoma Valley Pet Hospital, just right near downtown. That’s where he always takes Venom. They know him there. And it’s an emergency hospital, so they can treat him. Let’s get him down there right away. I’ll make a call and let them know.”

Lydia was sobbing, completely inconsolable. Danny brought a big towel from the house, and they laid Venom down in the back of Lydia’s SUV. Sally agreed to stay at the house by herself while both of the men accompanied Lydia and Venom to the vet. She handed Lydia her jacket.

“Take this. You’ll need it.”

“Don’t you want one of them to stay behind? For protection?”

“I brought my sidearm. I never go anywhere without it. I’ll be fine. I may not be able to stay up all night, if it takes that long, but I’ll blast the first thing that comes through any of your doors unannounced,” she quipped.

Lydia found her car keys in her jacket pocket and tossed them to Danny. They took off within seconds.

Upon arrival, the vet techs had a stretcher ready to take him inside for an emergency look. The dog was breathing heavily, blood starting to come from his nose and mouth, which alarmed Lydia to no end. She hadn’t stopped crying since they found him in the driveway.

“We’ll take him inside. I’ll get some x-rays right away, and we’ll get some bloodwork. What do you think it is?” the technician asked.

“We think he’s been poisoned. We’ve had some trouble with intruders. That’s all I can guess. He was fine until he went out to do his business, and then I think he ate something, but I don’t know. He’s been with us all day inside. When he was in the backyard, we’ve been with him the whole time,” Lydia said.

“First, we’re going to pump his stomach if there’s no obstruction. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”

“You have an emergency doctor here now right?” she asked.

“Yes, he’s just finishing up a patient, but he’ll be right in. Don’t worry. We’re gonna get on it right now.”

Lydia dumped herself in one of the chairs in the waiting room. She got out her phone but hesitated to leave a message for Harper. At the last minute, she changed her mind several times and then sent him a text.

“Venom has been poisoned, I’m guessing. At the vets now. Call me when you can.”

Both men were very consoling for her. Danny assured her, since they caught it so early, less than a half an hour from discovery to getting him at the vet, that they’d seen cases like this where the dogs survived. But not knowing what he had taken, of course, things could act a lot faster.

There wasn’t anything they could tell her that would make her feel better. She got up and began to pace back and forth. Danny brought all of them a cold bottle of water from the front desk. She wasn’t concerned about price or how long it would take, whatever Venom needed, she would provide. Nothing else mattered; she couldn’t let Venom die.

It was nearly forty-five minutes later when the veterinarian came out to the lobby. He had a splash of blood on his apron, which concerned Lydia and made her knees wobble. She grabbed on to Greg’s sleeve as she stood and braced herself for the news.

“Well, we’ve done what we can. We pumped his stomach. For sure, it was poison, but we don’t think he ingested much of it. His stomach contents had a white powdery substance, and it must have been bitter to discourage him from eating it. From your description of his behavior after ingestion and what we saw during intake, the effects seem to primarily be neurological. While we can’t test exactly what it came from here, we can send the stomach contents off for evaluation, or you might want to check the area Venom was in to see if you can find additional samples to send out. Our lab can do an analysis if you want.”

He shook his head sadly. “I’m not sure if there is permanent damage to his organs or neurological system yet, but we did baseline bloodwork, which looks normal. We have him on IV fluids to support his kidneys as they process the poison. I also have him lightly sedated and on oxygen, because breathing has been difficult for him. This should give him some time to let his body recover. His gums and lips are turning back pink, did that almost immediately after we pumped his stomach, so that’s a good sign.”

She was relieved. “Will there be long-term effects?”

“It’s too soon to tell. We’ll monitor him closely. Do you put out rat poison? Or does he eat dead animals that might have ingested rat poison secondhand? Or do you have a neighbor you are quarreling with who might take it out on him?”

---