Ms. B has had an irritated spot for a few days so it was time for a vet consult. She has a vet right close by but I knew from my last visit that it wasn’t going to work out because I can’t message them or get a house call. I want a vet I can reach out to and have a personal relationship with, not a vet working in a fancy hospital that’s part of a chain.

So I asked my neighbourhood group for a recommendation for a vet who does house calls and three people in under a minute recommended a vet in the Málaga neighbourhood just south of me, with others chiming in to sing his praises. I reached out and the vet promptly responded that he could come by today at 11AM.

It wound it being 1:30 before he got here as he kept getting delayed. I’m home all day, have a flexible schedule, and I knew he was coming so I wasn’t up off by that. We connected immediately and B, while very timid, let him exam her. Turned out she has a wart. He wanted me to take her in tomorrow or Saturday to remove it, but with my schedule being so off as I get ready to go to Canada and my leaving in a week, I was worried that would be too much stress for her. And for me — what if she gets a complication?! So for now she has some anti-inflammatory cream that needs to be applied twice a day.

When I return, I will schedule the wart removal and a teeth cleaning. The other vet said she had to be put under general anesthesia do that, but this vet says that she should do fine with just conscious sedation for both procedures, so that makes me less nervous.

I’m so pleased that I’ve finally got B a vet I can form a long-term relationship with. That he’s going to be much cheaper is a bonus! I mean, the other vet is $550 for an onsite consult while this vet was $350 for a home visit! Yes, I undertook the cost of dog ownership when I adopted my girl six months less two days ago (already!), but why pay more for subpar care?!

Six months ago, I was waiting apprehensively the start of this new chapter of my life — dog mom. It’s been a much smoother ride than I expected considering all the challenges B landed here with. I’m so lucky to have such a good girl and loyal companion. 🙂

And. Here. We. Go.

Four little words written by a meek little thing on this day ten years ago after she’d shoved all of her worldly belongings into an RV and moved to an RV park. She was just a few days ahead of a September 4th, 2008, departure into the greatest adventure a person can undertake: that of finding their authentic selves and the life of their dreams.

It’s still all a work in progress, but I know that if I’d stayed, I’d be exactly where I was then. So any step forward is a huge victory and there have been so many steps forward.

Drinking water delivery the last few weeks has been erratic when I used to be able to set a clock by it. The few times I didn’t get my water on a Thursday, the truck would be by the next morning early. So two weeks ago, I wasn’t stressed about being low on water until Friday morning passed. Thankfully, as I was calculating whether I’d make it through the weekend (there’s another delivery on Monday), the truck came in the late evening.

But last week, the truck didn’t come Friday either. I had enough to get me through the weekend and no time to figure out how to get more from a store to my house (truck is currently disabled due to a dead battery).

This morning, I tried the number I had for the delivery driver, but it was disconnected. Just after I did that, the truck went by my house! I ran after it, but by the time I got to the street, it was long gone. So I went to one of my neighbourhood Facebook groups to ask if anyone knew of a shop in the neighbourhood that delivers that brand of water (Cristal — sold by Coca-Cola)

In less than a minute, I got a reply that I needed to call the distributor, Bepensa, because they need to know I’m having a problem. They would then get bottles to me ASAP. The commenter added not only the number to call but that if I needed linguistic help, she could call on my behalf. Wow!

I tried the number and it took me directly to a man who understood my issue. He got my name, address, and request for two 5-gallon jugs, then promised I would have delivery at some point today. I had my water no more than an hour later!

The driver was very contrite and handed me a card with his personal number so that I don’t have to call head office.

This is not the first time I’ve reached out to this group and gotten help. I really try to figure things out on my own so I’m not the gringa constantly using the group as a crutch for things that are researchable, but it’s really great when I reach a dead end. Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful, just like they are in real life. I really love my neighbourhood. 🙂

(Now, to sort out the truck issue. Hopefully my mechanic next door has a battery charger he can lend me, or else I’m going to see about a trickle charger at Autozone. A boost would be doable in that a car could come into the bay next to me and I have super long cables, but then I’d have to go for a long drive and that’s not going to happen. I can’t believe I left my battery charger in Canada. 🙁 🙁 🙁 )

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