What if my dog could talk?

This story is a love story, it begins four years ago, at the end of May 2017.

I remember back then we were living in confinement here at home for a few days, not because the health crisis started. Necessarily we had to protect our physical integrity. There were confrontations against the community by government agencies, from Venezuela. Near my home, they burned tires and placed barricades so that the supposed security agencies could not get to where we were. Those were sad days, many people died, many situations changed. You will say: and where is the love story in this?

Here it begins. My eldest son in those days asked me: "Mom, do you want to adopt a puppy? And he showed me a picture that was published of 4 puppies that were being put up for adoption. I did not like the idea very much, I was not in the mood, I felt very sad in those days. My son encouraged me, he felt that somehow having a puppy would brighten up the atmosphere at home. And he was not wrong!

She is a mixed breed dog, a terrier with poddle. When I saw her for the first time I fell in love with her, I chose her among her 3 other siblings, she was only one month old. Many people thought she was ugly, and they still do, because her head has long hairs and her body is covered with short hair. Her beauty is rare. However, for me, from the beginning she is like a semi-precious stone, she is like an Amber.

Ambar is her name, she is cheerful, playful and a fast learner. She has all her vaccinations and has been sterilized since she was 8 months old. In 2017 it was still possible to have these expenses, because the economic crisis was not yet hitting the Venezuelan's pocket so hard.

A few months ago I let her out alone, as I always do in the mornings. She likes to walk along the street where we live. But she doesn't like to be outside for a long time, after a few minutes she always comes back and goes to her corner where she has her sleeping basket. That day Amber came back strange, I noticed immediately that a hind paw was lifting her when she walked. I lifted her up and checked her but I didn't notice anything broken. It only hurt when I touched her.

From unsplash

This part of my story is sad, because I could never take her to a vet. Here in Venezuela everything is dollarized, but the salary of a public employee is not. I asked for an estimate of costs and I cried a lot. I did not have the money to pay a veterinarian or to buy her medicine. I still cry, just remembering that time of pain that Ambar had to overcome. It was several months of mood swings, not eating, and even hair loss. I cried many times, and to this day I apologize to her for not giving her the medical care she needed.

She has been walking ever since without fixing her hind leg very much, and it still hurts when I open her toes on that leg. And always, always, she has had an up and down movement, even in her sleep she doesn't stop moving her paw, like a nervous tic.

I never knew what happened to her that day in the street. A car, a bicycle, or a hit given by some bad person, are the possible causes, but in reality, the only one who knows is Ambar.

Ambar wants to tell her doggy life, but it will be another time, with other stories.

That's why I say: What if my dog could talk?