Lessons in Motherhood

I've never wanted to be a mother. Even as a little girl, I never played with dolls. During my 20s I didn't have those clock-ticking urges that many of my friends did. And since my ability to bear children was taken away from me at the ripe old age of 31, I've never given motherhood a second thought. Don't get me wrong, I like kids, especially when they're someone else's.

But a couple of years ago I decided I wanted a little love in my life. After the death of my mother, I felt the need to extend my family. Since men are so much work, I decided I'd get a puppy. I adopted Julie in January 2004.

Julie's a pretty low maintenance dog, really. Yeah, she's a bit clingy, but that's because she's with me all the time. I work at home -- she's here. I work at the bike shop -- she goes with me. She loves being with me and I love being with her (most of the time). But she can stay at home alone for hours at a time, with the run of the house and the patio. She misses me, but she does just fine.

This afternoon as we were getting ready to go into the shop, I noticed she was making a funny chewing kinda sound. I assumed she got into something she shouldn't, so I tried to take it away from her, sweeping my finger in her mouth. Nothing there. Hmmm... Upon closer inspection, I noticed that she looked a little puffy around the muzzle (or is that nuzzle?). Not sure if she really looked swollen, I looked at some photos. Looking closer at her again, I realized she was all pink around the mouth. About that time, panic set in. A quick call to the vet and we're off to the clinic!

During the drive to the vet, Julie's making a funny noise, kinda grunting and snorting at me as she breathes. And her muzzle is getting bigger by the minute, until it's puffed up almost to the full size of her head! I'm worried that she might pass out or stop breathing on the drive to the vet. I try to keep it together emotionally (since I'm driving on 101), but started crying a little bit.

Once we arrive at the vet, Dani (our vet) tells me it's a bee sting and Julie is apparently allergic to bees. Several shots, a couple of prescriptions, and almost $200 later, we're on our way home.



I can't imagine being a mother and seeing your baby in pain. I'm not sure why I thought I'd be a good pet owner. I joke that I can't even keep a houseplant alive! But somehow, Julie and I have made it together for almost three years. Thank goodness she's okay -- I don't know what I'd do without her!

ps -- the pics are from January 16th, 2004 -- the day I brought her home (because puppy pics are so cute and I'm jealous of vb's new kitty and j/a's new puppy).