Have a Little Faith

For the last week, Scout has been wearing the Dishtowel of Shame. She's had to wear it to protect the wound from her surgery last Sunday - we got her fixed (as Megan says, "Because she was broken.") It wore her out - in this picture she was literally falling asleep standing up.

But once she emerged from her anesthesia induced fog, we were told we could go about normal business with her. The vet should have told the general public this information, because we have had no shortage of dirty looks and criticism. Some people look at us like we are cruel animal owners to drag her outside in this condition. Others laugh and comment about her funny clothes, as though we chose this outfit for her.

The most surprising though is the number of people who feel they must comment on the surgery itself. When we tell them why she is wearing a dishrag, they inevitably say, "Oh, she's too young to have that done. You should wait until she's grown." When we tell them that she IS full grown, they respond by insisting that she is a Labrador or a Golden Retriever. If we inform them that she is neither and that she is 7 months old, they tell us we should have waited till she is nine months.

What baffles me in these conversations (you may have noticed I am often baffled in this country), is that they seem to have little faith in the veterinarians who performed this surgery. Do they think that the doctors would not have confirmed her age? Or that they are back alley vets just looking to make a buck off of ignorant foreigners? I'm sorely tempted to tell them that we did it ourselves and we just didn't know. Mostly I just wish they would have a little faith in us and our doctors and our collective intelligence regarding the age, breed, and treatment of Scout.

I'm really looking forward to getting the dishtowel off so we can go back to being a little bit less conspicuous.