Two Pine Cones and a Sock

I have written about my dog, Caliope before.  I have shared that she will eat many  any strange and exotic thing that a lot of dogs would take a pass on eating.  Last night I had to rush my dog to the veterinarian's because she began bleeding. Thanks and eternal gratitude to my friend Connie who dropped what she was doing and came on the run.  She even brought a wheel barrow in case we needed one. (We didn't, thank God)
Next, we got to Dr. Kay's office, even though it was after hours, she waited for us to get there.  She is hands down the best vet I have ever had.  Caliope was okay to walk into the office, and then after an ultrasound, it was discovered that she had eaten, that is to say, swallowed whole, two (because really, one just awakens your appetite without bedding it down) pine cones and my missing sock. They had moved far enough down her intestines to be within striking distance so to speak.  Dr. Kay decided against opening her intestines and with some dilation, went after them the other way.  She allowed me to stay with Caliope while she did the procedure.
As she pulled the very large (and disgusting mass) from my dog's south end, she said she loved the glamour of her job.  Caliope was given three units of fluids and then she peed most of it out, or enough to tell us her kidneys were on board.
Finally, Dr. Kay let me lay on the recovery table with my big dumb dog as she awoke. Caliope licked my face twice and then burped a noxious, foul smell. Been there done that.
So after a few more hours of observation, we got to come home. Caliope would not have been a good patient, she suffers from separation anxiety the way Jeffrey Dahmer had cravings. We got home around five A.M. and the list of things that I must go for this dog when she goes to the bathroom are proof positive that I love her.
Three days of a rice diet, and then we move her up to eating more solid foods.  Bad news, Caliope isn't allowed any oranges or citrus fruit until she is completely healed.  She also has to balance her roughage (a euphemism we use for all of the fruits and vegetables and assorted strangeness she loves to consume) with the bland food she will be eating until her hieney heals.
But now that it is over and the blind panic of losing the best dog ever is over, I am so thankful that God spared my big, dumb dog.  I cannot imagine what I would do without her.  If you have a pet, give them a hug.  You never know when you are two pine cones and a sock from losing them.  Think about it, you'll thank me later.