He also keeps us on our toes! I spent 2 hours at an emergency vet clinic with him on Christmas Eve, only to leave him there for Matt to pick up on his way home. You see, Gus thinks he's bigger than he is, so he tried to take on a larger furry animal outside, and this one wasn't dead! Unfortunately, it managed to leave his neck and ear a nasty mess. The vet spoke very calmly, she told me exactly what was going to be done, and then she whisked him away. I was left standing there feeling helpless with both of my children asking what was going on. I explained that she was going to have to shave some of his fur to get to the spots, she was going to drain them, clean them, then mend him up. However, as we left the clinic to go get lunch, the tears started to pour from my eyes (and my mother had to talk me down from a near panic attack). These tears were not all related to leaving Gus, they were more about leaving behind what Gus means to us and fearful that we'd lose him too. He is a constant reminder of some amazing neighbors we were blessed to live beside for 3 years. He is a way to hold on to everything they meant to us and a way to say thank you to the example they left even though we never verbalized a thank you to them. He is a way to show love and he is a lesson for our kids in helping others. And, a few hundred dollars later, he is home and he is almost perfect....except for those few bald spots and the fact that he whines because he can't go outside. The vet said 3 weeks, I say forever, Matt says at 2am when he's hitting him on the head to wake him up that it seems like the right time to let him go back out. HA! I think I'll keep my Gus inside safe and warm.
