What is Wrong with Me?

I am feeling awful. My whole body is tense, and my heart is pounding. My skin feels like it is on fire, it is itching beyond belief. I do not know what to do. My head is hurting, every part of my body aches. As I look down to my muzzle, I can see a lump growing on either side. Why is my nose growing? I have not told any lies today. How am I going to eat? It is a lot earlier than usual. I do not care. I need her. Woof! Woof! Woof!   

I can hear her coming. She seems a lot quicker than usual. Note to self; bark in a higher tone tomorrow to get breakfast earlier.

On seeing me she drops to her knees and looks at my muzzle. I am panting a lot. She rolls me over to my back and looks at my stomach. I could see the look on her face.  She is worried.

‘Lillia, you are covered in hives.’ She stands up and quickly goes to the kitchen cupboards. She gets out a bottle of something.  

She gets a syringe and fills it with the liquid then she comes up to me and holds my mouth.

‘I know you hate it, but you need the antihistamine. It will help.’

I try to spit it out, why would she do this to me? When I am already so ill? How could she? I thought she loved me.

I have eaten a lot of hideous things in my life but that was truly vile.

She then shouts something upstairs and runs (well quickly walks, as we do not live in a mansion) over to another cupboard to get a jug and bowl out. They both get filled with water, the bowl gets some white powder thrown in. Then the girl walks in with a stack of towels, cotton wool and some socks.

‘Mum, what is wrong with Lillia, is she going to die like Penny?’

‘No, she wont die. She is just having an allergic reaction. Will you pass me the socks and put the towels next to Lillia please and then go and watch telly with your brother, I will look after Lillia.’

On her way out the girl gives me a cuddle and leaves.

With all the towels and the water, I do hope I am not expected to pop out puppies. I hope someone has explained to her how nature works. This is no immaculate conception.

I need to scratch. My heart is pounding. I still have that awful taste in my mouth.

She picks up her phone and holds it on her shoulder while she continues doing something strange with the socks. What is she doing with the socks? She seems to be filling them full of oats. At a time like this, she is thinking about squirreling food away. What the heavens for? She already has cupboards full.

Then she puts the phone down and gets the socks filled with porridge, her bowl and the jug and sits them on the floor at the side of me.

‘This should do it Lillia, let me clean it with the bicarbonate solution and then we will soothe it with the oats and then it will be time to take you to the vets.’

It was just what I need, my skin begins to calm down. 

As she sat at the side of me and squeezed these socks, (hopefully they were clean) onto my stomach. She looks sad.

My heart rate had slowed and the ones on my muzzle were much smaller in size.

Then the children came in.

‘Can you stay with Lillia and rub her stomach, so she stays on her back please? I am just going to go and get changed out of my pyjamas so we can take her to the vets’

The kids stayed with me, the girl stroked my stomach, the boy kept holding a cup from his kitchen to my mouth. I had a sniff but there was nothing in it.

She then came downstairs moments later. Her hair was still a mess and usually her skin is a shade of orange. The bright orange shade, I think it must be a cream she uses as it smells quite nice. There was none of that today.

She got my lead and collar and took me and the children to the car.

She was not driving for long before she stopped.

When I got taken out the car, she had put a mask over her face. The children stayed in the car and then a woman came out also wearing a mask. They stood talking for a while and as they did, I started feeling sick. I sat down in the carpark and I vomited everywhere, then I started to feel much better. She paused talking to the other woman and came to stroke me.

‘Come on girl, you will be okay.’

The woman took the lead from her and walked me away.

How exciting, I was finally going on holiday. A break from them all. I eagerly went with her. I wonder what I would be graced with behind those wooden doors. Endless countryside. Other dogs to play and talk with.

Nope, it was the vets! I was taken to a cold table, two of these medical professionals stood over me.  One of them stuck a thermometer in my bottom, then an otoscope in my ear and the other a needle in my shoulder.

Once they had done with me, I did not even get a treat. They just gave me back to her and the kids. Some holiday that was!

As least they were pleased to see me. She picked me up to put me back in the car and she was all over me, cuddling and crying.

 The woman stood talking to her and then the woman walked away.

‘Thank God, for that Lillia, just an allergic reaction, the vet said it was probably the toast you stole from the table. The steroids she gave you should help. No more stealing bread for you missy!’

I have no idea what she is saying, I can only assume she was apologising for taking me there and promising me a piece of toast because I really enjoyed it yesterday!