And now we're expecting..... two puppies

Recently I decided it was finally time to suck it up, transport Lily to the city and finally get her spayed and immunized.  This wouldn’t be such a big deal in America, but here in Morocco this entails getting her into 2 forms of transportation, with lots of scared Moroccans and trying to keep her calm… and that just wasn’t something I was looking forward to. 

Before I share this story with you I have to tell you:

• I DID NOT want to have to do this to Lily with the given place, situation, etc.  But unfortunately it’s not like I have my choice of vet clinics here in Morocco.
• The doctor spoke better English than my Tashlheet, but things often don’t translate very well in regards to bedside manner (example: we are going to operate=I cut her open). 
• This story is pretty awful, especially if you’re a pet person… but unfortunately its all true.

So read on if you dare... After waiting forever in my Souk (go figure, I needed to get somewhere) I finally got Lily to the city.  I hadn’t fed her dinner or breakfast since she was going to be operated on, so the poor thing was hungry and tired.  I had planned to go in at the same time as another volunteer who had a male dog she wanted to get fixed.  You have to understand what an ordeal this has been, trying to find a vet that was willing to do the procedure and had the immunizations she needed.  This has literally been on my “to-do” list since October!!  So we finally get to the “vet” clinic, which is really an agricultural center in Ouarzazate.   My friend had got there before me, so her dog was already being snipped.  After greeting her she told me that her dog (Beaner) had woke up during the surgery and crying in pain.  This is obviously hard for any pet owner to hear and my friend was visibly upset.  After telling me the story she fainted… she landed hip first (thank god) and came to quickly, but needless to say- it was scary.  After Beaner was done being operated on the doctor carried him into the “waiting room”.  Poor Beaners tounge was hanging out of his mouth and after he tried to stand he fell on his face- it was awful to see.  This freaked Lily out like whoa and she had the death grip on my arm so I wouldn’t put her down.  After we finally coaxed lily into the “operating room” (picture a closet with boxes and medicines all over the place- awful, I know) he gave her the shot to knock her out.  Poor baby started crying and shaking, which of course made me cry.  It didn’t help the doctor kept saying “why you cry??”  Not what a pet owner wants to hear in the given circumstance.  After Lily was out the doctor told me to go and come back in 2 hours.  I couldn’t imagine sitting in that dirty room outside the “closet” where he was operation so I went to try and run some errands. 

After 45 minutes I get a call from the vet- not good.  I rush back to the clinic to find Lily laying on the floor in her own urine.  I immediately ask if this is normal and the doctor replies “no.”…. again, NOT GOOD.  I pick poor Lily up, she cant move, is terrified and crying.  The doctor then starts telling me he couldn’t operate because he saw a cyst in her belly.  He told me he thought it was urine and wants to look again since she’s not relieved herself.  Keep in mind this is all in broken English/Tashlheet.  So we put poor Lily back on the fold out table he uses for operations (still covered in Beaners hair and some blood) and he tries to find the cyst with the ultrasound machine.  Then he tells me shes pregnate.  Not possible right?!  She's only 6, 7 months max.  He then tells me she’s 9 months…. Which I’m still not sure if I believe.  This has turned into a day from hell at this point.  I have no idea what to do, if I should believe him, who the dad is if its true……. I guess I’ll know for sure in a few weeks.

He tried to show me the puppies (yes, 2 of them) on the ultrasound machine, I have no idea what I’m looking at.  He tells me the puppies are 3 weeks old.  This means that she either got pregnant when she jumped off my roof while I was gone or while escaped while my friend was watching her and got knocked up.  I then ask him what I should do and he tells me can operate and “kill puppies” but Lily will probably die too.  I barley wanted to do a simple surgery here so there is no way we’re having a real surgery done here. 

So… we’re expecting puppies.  Two of them.  March 20^th.  I have a friend, who is also a volunteer and wants one when its old enough… so I guess I’ll just go with the flow, keep Lily healthy and see what happens….