My Little Pal

My little running partner had knee surgery for torn ligaments; this means she may never be my running partner again. She has a whole year to recover while I’m gone though. The vet said she’s doing great and she tried to put weight on it the day after surgery. I wish I could be as resilient as her, she’s away from home in a strange place with a busted leg and apparently she is trying to get better so she can get home. I can’t imagine what she is feeling right now. I know what it’s like to be away from home but I made that conscious decision to do so. The vet doesn’t want me coming by and definitely doesn’t want me bringing her brother to see her because she would get too wound up. She will have to be caged for 6 weeks and then rehab the leg for a few months. I have no idea how it must feel to be scared and all alone and then when she comes home to have to be confined to a cage. She’s going to literally sit around and watch the world go on around her. I am reminded of some times in my life where I was similarly sitting around watching the world turn from winter to spring with no way to be a part of it. The worst part I think is that I will be leaving just a few days after she gets home but at least she’ll have my parents and the other dogs around her. I don’t know how many of you have been trapped in a strange place with no friendly faces before but it would seem like the sort of thing that would drive you into a deep depression. It got me to thinking about how when I see an animal with troubles I immediately feel the need to help but when it’s a person I somehow have this urge to get away. I don’t want to see people in distress. Is it easier to avoid someone in pain than to be reminded that it could be you? Is that why sometimes when I see a homeless person at a stop light I immediately start fiddling with my radio? Why is it so different when it’s an animal or a child? It’s not just because they are seemingly helpless; maybe part of me wants to believe or at least hope that I would not make the decisions that put an adult in that situation but then again I also feel very uncomfortable around sick people. Probably the whole mortality thing, I realize it’s selfish and that’s why I wish I was a little more like my puppy, if anyone is sick or injured she rushes to them to comfort them and I find that remarkable. She doesn’t have any of the hang ups I have developed as an adult, she just wants to help. Hopefully some of her kindness can rub off.