Everything Is Peaches and Cream Now

Peaches came home from the veterinary hospital last week with a great swooping incision curving around her left rear leg. Drs. Woody Walker and Susan Dietrich performed the surgery, reattaching her tendon with strands of muscle taken from her leg. She had two surgeons attending, which is very good for anyone, especially a small dog whose ancestry is clouded. Most people think she is a cockapoo, but Dr. Walker says she looks more like a Maltipoo, or a Maltese terrier and poodle mix.

Her leg looks scary because it is shaved from the top of her hip down to a few feathers on her toe. It looks about the size of the thigh and drumstick of a not particularly robust chicken.

Dr. Dietrich, who is scooting around the hospital on a crutch because of recent knee surgery, has taken special care of Peaches. She feels an empathy for the small dog because of her own surgery. Dr. Dietrich said on the day after surgery she looked at Peaches and saw her drooping eyelids and thought, “Oh, yes, I know exactly where you are. I was there last week.”

She saw that Peaches was not eating the meal presented to her so she brought the languishing dog some chicken. It did its fabled work, just like chicken soup, and the next day Peaches ate the regular food. Peaches’ friend, Kay Murphy, went with me to pick up the patient. We brought her home and she scorned the down and feather pillow I had thoughtfully bought for her.

I had dug out a basket belonging to Cuchulain the cat, which was pristine because he had always scorned it in favor of my bed. At the pillow store, I said: “Do you think this is about the right size for a cat basket?”

“Is this pillow for a cat?” the nice young woman asked.

“Actually, it’s for a dog,” I said. The young woman asked no more questions and instantly slipped into a mode signifying, “It’s going to be one of those days, one goof after another,” and gave me my people pillow meant for a dog in a cat basket.

As soon as we were home, Peaches jumped up on the old green needlepointed hassock, her throne of choice for surveying her domain. She scrambled up using her forepaws and her right leg, her left leg dangling. But she made it and settled down with a satisfied look on her face. Pillow in a cat basket, indeed.

She will have her big black stitches removed in a couple of days and will be able to put weight on her leg in about three weeks. In six months, she will be back to her regular athletic pursuits, jumping from one piece of furniture to another. She follows me everywhere from room to room, remembering, I’m sure, that Patsy smiled warmly at her, got in her car and never came back. But Patsy sent her a get-well card full of Beaufort, S.C., news and Peaches was pleased. She also got a card from her friend, Feather Christensen.

The next day we met an attractive woman whose name is Fran Barrington-Dryden. She talked to Peaches and exchanged pleasantries with me about being a dog owner. She said she has a 14-year-old Llasa Apso whose name is Cleo. She has severe arthritis and Fran says X-rays recently showed a half-inch gap between her hip and her femur. Her veterinarian wanted to remove Cleo’s leg to get rid of the pain along with the leg. Fran said she refused.

When the cold winter nights caused Cleo discomfort, Fran hit upon putting a baby aspirin in a saucer of milk and Kahlua. Cleo would drink it all up and sleep like a top.

“It gets her through the winter and she has survived three husbands. I always have a large male dog for Cleo, for company. They usually don’t live as long as the smaller dogs like Cleo. Her current husband is a beautiful golden retriever. He is totally obedient to Cleo. All my friends say that Cleo seems younger and friskier with a handsome male around.”

Well, of course, this is not a dumb dog. A little nip here and a tuck there and a small injection of collagen and Cleo is right back to being a calendar dog as long as she has a large, handsome male to do her bidding.

It sounds like a wonderful idea. I think I’ll just slip out and fix myself a saucer of milk and Kahlua and wake up refreshed and rejuvenated. Best advice I ever had. Much better than avoid cholesterol and exercise regularly. Dull, dull, dull.