"nobody would abuse a bichon"

a woman walked into my office yesterday and stated that she wished to make a complaint. i asked her what her complaint was. she said that she was angry someone from my office had called animal control on her, and that she wanted the vet to know she was angry about it. i told her i was the one who called, and that i got the vet's consent to do so after (two weeks ago) she had told us that her dog had "a broken leg" but that she refused to do anything for its care besides giving it aspirin (which we strongly advised against because it is very bad for dogs). she stated that we should know better because her dog is a bichon and "nobody would abuse a bichon". i said that was totally untrue. she then shared with us that she had to give up her own drinking habit to take care of her dog. we wondered how she was "taking care of" her dog without seeking medical attention for the broken leg. she admitted that she didn't know for sure if the leg was broken or not because she did not have it x-rayed. i told her that was why we called animal control - we were told an animal was in pain, and nothing was being done for the fact besides, basically, poisoning the dog with aspirin. she fumed that she would "not come back here". i told her that was fine, and she left.
so then later that evening, while i was out walking teddy and the oh-so-adorable fraidy cat lab april, we were interrupted by loud barking. specifically by a heeler mix whose owner was also struggling to control two other dogs. she dropped two leashes, and the heeler attacked teddy right in front of my house. i've never kicked a dog on purpose before, but i let that little guy have it. he still kept trying to get teddy, while teddy kept trying to evade him. in the meantime, april tried to run, slipped her collar, and took off. and i still had this little bastard heeler trying to eat my teddy. so i went after him. i barked and snarled and yelled at him and finally stomped on his leash so i could drag him back to his owner. all this while, the other loose dog (probably a 90 pound shaggy mutt) was halfheartedly trying to get in on the action. i had to yell and swing at him a couple of times before he backed off. if i hadn't had to run after april, this would be the time when i would have had some choice words to the owner about, among other things, not controlling a vicious dog. but i had to run after april. a black dog, at night, tearing around in fear, in the vicinity of the "main drag" in town. i was terrified that she'd be hit by a car and i'd have to call her owner (also, since the cowboy left, there is no vet in town until monday). but oh, she is as good as gold and just ran to the office and waited at the door, hoping to be let in. what a smart doggie! and oh, the relief! so by the time we got back to my house, the bad dog, owner, and other two dogs had disappeared. i guess that's a good thing, since it was more important to get the scared dogs inside than to yell at some random stranger. i hope they walk a different route from now on.
not that i didn't have some good things happen yesterday. i had japanese-ish food again (tempura veggies this time, and no fortune cookie). i had a giant popsicle. i got to laugh my guts out when, as the vet in bluejeans was eating lunch at the pirates cove, some of the ladies at the bar asked out loud if that was the eye candy all us girls had been talking about. then one of the ladies decided her cat must be sick. then they started telling the vet dirty jokes. he took it all very well.
the weather was awesome yesterday, and it's even better today. blue skies, warm air, not much wind. smell of the ocean. ahhhhhh.
and i should probably go start some laundry.