A Vet Trip? Already?

Leaving Amarillo on St. Patrick’s Day, we went to the KOA in Raton, New Mexico.  We first stopped at Sugarite State Park because the views and lake are beautiful, but some of the park wasn’t even open for the season yet and the part that was warned of boiling water to combat ecoli bacteria in the water supply.  That’s a big negatory from this chick.  I can do rustic but not ridiculous.

Not all KOAs are created equal and the shower at the Raton KOA was only okay.  That’s my new measuring stick for which parks I like the best.  How’s the shower?

Dave and I left the rig for a bit to see how the dogs would do and when we got back, Brodie decided he’d had enough and was trying to figure out how to drive the other dogs home.  Thank god Dave had the keys with him.

The next day was a layover day (yay!) so after I made us a yummy breakfast, Dave took a walking tour of Raton while I worked on the blog.  Free Wifi my butt.  It took hours and I was only able to post one thing with fewer pictures than I’d hoped and no videos.  Maybe someday I’ll do a whole entry just on pictures I didn’t get to use.  Anywho, since we got a 10% off coupon for KBob’s Steakhouse from the campground, we threw caution to the wind and opted to have dinner out!  Well, I mean Dave would walk the short distance to KBob’s from our rig and bring it home, but still!  And I knew I’d love this place because just look at the sign:

They have steak, seafood, chicken, fajitas, a salad wagon and steak.  Well if they’re listing steak twice on the sign it must be good.  So we ordered the barbecue.  We ate it while watching Jodie Foster in Panic Room on tv and let me tell you – we should have ordered the steak.

It was my night to be off duty so it’s never a good sign when Dave lets the dogs out at 5:20am and then says, “Uh, Shelley?  Something is wrong with Belle and I think she wants you.”  Oh crud.  She first had an accident in the RV and then had been squatting outside to pee several times but couldn’t go and I knew immediately that she had a urinary tract infection.  Damn.  Double damn.  I lamented that she wouldn’t be able to see a vet till we get home and Dave reminded me that there are, in fact, veterinary clinics in Raton, New Mexico.  Good thinking.

I called the Mesa Vista clinic which was only about a half mile from the park and made an appointment for 10:45am.  They (reasonably) asked me to bring in a urine sample.  From Belle.  My sweet but mentally ill paranoid dog.  Hmmm.  Let’s just say that the Gap Year Gods were on my side and after taking Belle out on a leash with a large plastic serving spoon under her unsuspecting butt, I caught some urine and put it in a Ziploc storage container from the kitchen.  Let’s just say that neither item returned to the rig after that experience.

I ended up walking the sample to the clinic while Dave prepped the RV for leaving the park.  I let Belle stay with him till her appointment time because I know how she freaks out at the vet.  She was sad to see me go.

While I was in the waiting room, a guy wearing a cowboy hat came in and asked to see the doctor.  Clearly the two were friends and the doctor came out and clapped him on the back good naturedly.  They got to talking and the vet said he had this belt buckle that he’d had since 1969 but now he had a new belt and it wouldn’t fit the buckle.  The friend said he could probably fix it since it was just a matter of resizing the keeper.  How can you not eavesdrop on something this fascinating?

The vet said, “I can run home right now and get it for you.”  Stacey, the girl running the front desk, said, “Dr. Smith, your 10:45 appointment is here.”  He looked at me and I smiled.  He glanced at his watch and said, "Floyd, you stay here while I run home for the buckle.”

AND HE LEFT.

Small town America.  Right here in Raton, New Mexico, the vet has an appointment waiting but by god his friend is here and can probably fix the keeper on his belt buckle and so everyone is just gonna have to wait.  And so I did.  Sure enough, Dr. Truman Smith gets back to the clinic and comes to the waiting room to hand Floyd the belt buckle for repair.  I was texting Dave (he was in the parking lot with the dogs) and I tilted my phone in a casual manner and quietly snapped a picture to illustrate the story and don’t you know I accidentally got the PERFECT shot of the vet handing Floyd the buckle in the waiting room.

Finally it was our turn.  I asked for a party hat for Belle (aka a muzzle) because I am not about to get into a row with a country vet when my dog bites him out of panic, and she came in for an exam and sure enough she has a UTI and he prescribed antibiotics and we were on our way.

Boom.  Belt buckle crisis averted.