My travails

(From Fred's perspective)

It was the last day of January 2018.
I was experiencing coughing fits,
with little rest between.

Mom noticed and was concerned,
looked at me with a frown,
seemed uncertain what to do,
Dad was out of town.

Myself? I was scared,
again, Dad was out of town,
As she took me to the vet’s,
The fleeting thought – would they put me down?

The vet probed and poked.
They took an X-ray.
Again, would I live?
Once, I had only been a stray.

I was nervous as they shaved spots
to attach electrodes,
Hooked me to a machine,
to see how my blood flowed.

Pulmonary edema
was the prognosis,
It looked like I would live,
complete with canine halitosis!

But now the pills come fast and furious,
I hate them all,
They seem so
Spurious.

Then just as things
seem to settle down,
Mom and dad leave for vacation,
they’re headed out of town.

Dad takes me back to the vet's,
for an extended stay,
I droop my ears, tuck my tail
and pray.

That I will look so pitiful,
he will change his mind,
take me home quickly,
where peace I can find.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.