Page 55 of Family Jewels

The corners of his mouth twitched with the hint of a grin. “Well, let’s deal with first things first. Has she eaten since she was kicked?”

I cringed. “No, but it happened late in the evening. She seemed okay—she even ran off to the house—so I took her to bed.”

“She sleeps with you?”

I nodded.

“Did she cry in the middle of the night or make any sounds of distress? Was she restless?”

“She didn’t make a peep, but she was still sleeping on my bed after I got up and showered. When I set her down on the floor, she didn’t put much weight on her leg. And she refused to go down the stairs. Once we realized she was in pain, Neely Kate made this appointment for me.”

“And she didn’t eat this morning?”

“No, there wasn’t time,” I said, sounding guilty.

That earned another warm smile. “I’m not judging your pet ownership. I’m just trying to determine when she last ate.”

“Last night. About seven, I think.”

He put the treat on the floor, and Muffy stood motionless.

“I’d really like to see her walk,” he said as he stood. “Let’s try something else.” He walked over to the door and opened it. “Go out into the hall and see if she’ll walk to you.”

I did as he instructed, then squatted down and held my hands out to her. “Come here, Muff.”

She made a beeline toward me with a skip-hop. When she reached me, she tried to put her front paws on my knees, but her back leg wouldn’t support her. Her whimpers made my eyes sting.

“Don’t worry,” Dr. Romano said as he reached down and picked her up. “We’ll get her fixed up.”

“What do you think’s wrong with her?”

“I suspect she’s bruised,” he said, cradling Muffy to his chest, “but let me palpate the area. Then I’d like to take an x-ray just to make sure nothing’s broken.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Rose.”

I stared up into his warm eyes.

“Don’t look so worried. She’s going to be fine.”

“I should have called last night.”

“If she wasn’t in obvious distress last night, I would have told you to wait until the morning.” He set her down on the exam table. “Can you hold her up while I examine her?”

I nodded and slipped my hand under her chest by her front legs. He spent several minutes feeling every part of her front legs, her back, her tummy, and her back hips, leaving the right side for last. She flinched and looked back at him with a low growl.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, horrified. “She usually never growls unless there’s danger.”

“It’s normal,” he said, rubbing behind her ear. “She’s in pain. I suspect that’s why she wasn’t overly interested in the treats. It could be because she’shere—many dogs get nervous in our office—but if she’s a good eater, it’s probably because of her pain.”

“Can you give her something for it?”

“Let me take her x-rays; then I’ll make a diagnosis and we’ll figure out how to treat her.”

“Okay.”

“Hopefully we’ll be back in a few minutes.” He picked her up and carried her through a door at the back of the room, leaving me alone in the small exam room.