[Dailydrool] Young Charlie's New Year's Day afternoon

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

On New Year's Day I learned that our veterinary chiropractor, Dr.  
Jim, was making a house call near us that afternoon, and Lena, the  
woman who asked him to come to adjust her dog, was opening up her  
home for anyone else who wanted to bring in a pet for a spinal  
adjustment. This wasn't an entirely altruistic move, since the more  
pets Dr. Jim sees during a vet, the more he discounts his $95 fee.

I decided to take young Charlie for an adjustment because Ken and I  
had noticed he seemed to have developed a hiccup in his gait with his  
rear legs. The last time he'd been adjusted was about six months ago,  
and Dr. Jim had really had to work on him to get his alignment  
straightened out. Charlie was very unhappy while this was going on,  
getting himself more and more worked up and less and less  
cooperative. Then he began turning his head and snapping at Dr Jim,  
so I had to muzzle him for the first time. This went over even less  
well with Charlie than the adjustment itself. Dr. Jim finally got him  
all straightened out, but Charlie really made him work for it.

When he was done, Dr. Jim spoke sternly to me about "letting" Charlie  
jump on and off our bed with those deformed, wonky front legs and  
feet of his. I hadn't been letting Charlie do this, but I hadn't been  
terribly active about preventing what had turned into an almost daily  
ritual morning act of naughtiness. So out came the puppy gates, and  
after several months, Charlie had moved on to other naughty behaviors  
that are easier on his skeletal frame.

I don't know why Charlie's gait had developed a hiccup since that  
adjustment because he doesn't get on our bed anymore, but it clearly  
needed to be fixed. The last time I had both hounds adjusted, our  
Elsinore had gone for a full year without one, and Dr. Jim said her  
alignment needed very little work. So I figured that after six  
months, she probably wasn't in need of adjusting this time. She was  
quite put out with me for taking Charlie off for a car ride without  
her, and Charlie went with me happily like a lamb being led to the  
slaughter.

He remembered having been at Lena's house and was delighted to be  
invited inside for what appeared to be a social call. Dr. Jim was  
running late, so we all enjoyed a nice visit, young Charlie cuddling  
up to Lena's friend on the sofa. Then Dr. Jim arrived. Charlie went  
over to greet him, tail wagging and a happy look on his face. But  
after just a few seconds of being patted by Dr. Jim, we watched it  
all come back to Charlie--those memories of Dr. Jim cracking and  
snapping all his joints, digging in and twisting his neck and  
shoulders, and pulling his tail hard. As realization swept across  
Charlie's face, he jumped back from Dr. Jim, dropped his tail and  
ears, and gave him a hard, unfriendly look. Everyone laughed because  
it was so obvious that Charlie remembered EVERYTHING and was  
forgiving NOTHING.

I pulled out the muzzle and snapped it on. Dr. Jim plays mandolin in  
a band, and I don't want it to be my basset who chomps off his  
fingers and ends his musical career. Charlie was furious about being  
muzzled, put on the dining room table, and adjusted, but Dr. Jim is  
used to getting mean looks from some of his clients. This time the  
adjusting didn't take nearly as long, and when it was over and  
Charlie had had a good shake to settle everything in its right place,  
his gait was as smooth and even as it should be. Dr. Jim gave him a  
treat, which Charlie took, but it was clear the treat wasn't mending  
any of the many fences Dr. Jim has broken with Charlie.

When we got home, Ken greeted me with the announcement that a  
neighbor had just called and said the police were at my mother's  
house just around the corner. That didn't bode well. Then another  
neighbor came over to make sure I'd gotten the other neighbor's  
message. Our Elsinore went into her crate quickly, but young Charlie  
was out in the backyard. I didn't want to take any more time trying  
to get my pokey puppy inside and crated, so I raced out with a leash  
and Ken, and the three of us hurried down the alley to my mother's  
backyard. Well, Ken and I hurried. Charlie wasn't feeling the  
urgency. I wound up dragging him behind me, probably undoing all the  
good aligning that had just happened to him.

To be continued.....

Elizabeth

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