Friday morning I came home to this.
The real story, as always, is Riley.
Our exam room was at the end of a short hall that faced the waiting room. In the waiting room was an older man wearing his “Korea Veteran” ball cap. I could hear him on the phone talking to his wife about having their pet cremated. It was heartbreaking. This man was looking down the hall at Riley while he was on the phone. In the 10 minutes that followed, this grieving veteran managed to work his way down the hall, into our exam room, and onto his knees next to my dog. This very old man had just lost his pet, and now he was on the floor holding onto Riley. All he wanted was to tell Riley that he was a good dog.
We all watched and let them have their moment, two veterans who have seen stuff that the rest of us can’t even imagine. They were both hurting.
Tonight I’m thinking about John (the veteran), and hoping that he’s OK, his first night without his beloved pet.