Compressing

Today was drastically different from yesterday.
In the matter of a day, Tyson's swelling has gone down by at least 60 percent.
That's A LOT.
I hadn't noticed (I'm such a terrible pet owner... I hate myself) how swollen ALL of his paws had gotten until today.
I always thought it was just his poor little hind foot that was swollen and bloody. When I stepped outside today in the afternoon, I looked down at him and I was shocked to see how normal all of his paws looked... well, that super fucked up paw is still rough to look at, but not nearly as fucked up as it was yesterday at the vet's.
Jesus Christ, Tyson! The pain you must have been in! I'm SO SORRY, CORAZÓNCITO!

I'm pretty sure the vet gave me the worst case scenario yesterday as a means to scare my ass into responsible-pet-owning shape.
Sure, I spent the majority of yesterday afternoon crying my ass off whenever I thought of Tyson... or dogs... or animals... or injuries... or... just about anything, but I deserved it, DAMN IT!

He's so much happier (he was even barking like the good ol' days... all loud and vicious. Anybody could be confused into thinking we had a new dog in the backyard or something)... which gives me hope that I won't have to walk around with a gimpy dog... not that there's anything wrong with gimpy dogs-- they own a little piece of my heart-- I just can't live with the thought that MY dog is handicapped because of MY negligence (well, technically it's my mom's fault. I hold myself responsible because I didn't just take Tyson to the vet regardless of my mom's protest/threats).

Today, I spent a total of about two hours outside with him, petting him and baby-talking him... he even did a few tricks for treats.
As I stared at the stale Beggin' Strip, I frowned, realizing how LONG it had been since I paid him so much attention.
And staring into his forgiving little eyes... Jesus Christ... a fucking dagger through my heart.
Why didn't anyone tell me I was going to become one of those pet owners who love their dogs as if they were humans (much better than some humans)?! I just wouldn't be able to forgive myself for hurting my loyal little cow.

I'm holding out for tomorrow before I start performing any cartwheels, though. If that little foot of his is further healed, I'll go out and smile at a baby or something. Until then, I'll just... smile to myself with the knowledge that my doggie doesn't hate me for being such a stupid dumb bitch to him and nearly getting him killed... my poor little guy.

During better times...
Just look at that smile!!
BABYYYYY!

(This joy just added to my initial excitement form the morning, after the US-France Women's World Cup match. 1. I love the attention soccer is getting from the locals thanks to the good performance from the girls, and 2. I love the fact that the US women stomped on FRANCE, of all countries. FUCK that place!)