....but this time it's a different pony. Little Angus is fine and continues to be a "dickens", romping around happy as a lark in his new digs. No, this time it's Charm, a pony we've had since she was born eleven years ago. She's a beautiful stocky Welsh pony who has never been sick a day in her life until this week.
Christmas morning when I went out to feed her I noticed she was a bit lethargic but she didn't show any signs of discomfort and she had good "gut" sounds. She ate her grain, albeit slowly, and nibbled at some hay but she was just very slow moving and almost pensive. We'd have to keep a close eye on her.
The next morning things had progressed and not for the good. She wouldn't eat. She just stood in the field and looked at me with her head lowered. She then stretched out on her side on the ground, not writhing or trying to turn, just lying quietly, quite out of character for this spirited pony who usually acts like she belongs on the set of "Ben Hur".
My wife came out, stethoscope in hand, and checked her closely. As before, "gut" sounds were good but her pulse and respiration were high. That meant it's "veterinarian time" and my better half went to request a house call on the phone. We have a wonderful vet but I knew this could be a real problem. Being the family accountant I couldn't help but think of the "cha-ching" aspect of the problem, particularly after our Christmas outlay for Angus. But I also knew that Charm was one of our originals and she was very special to my wife. I have to confess I'm quite fond of her as well.
We dropped our plans to travel to a late family Christmas gathering in St. Augustine and settled down at home for the day to await the vet. She was able to fit us in during the afternoon hours and quickly diagnosed the problem as an intestinal bacterial infection that needed some serious medicine to combat it. I'll leave the medical terminology for it to the wife but Charm was put on a series of medicines both orally and by injection and the bill was quite high, not something we had planned for at Christmas time. But the good news is that she is responding well, is getting her voracious appetite and her spunky spirit back, and should be as good as new in a few more days.
The Lord knew what he was doing when he set up our earthly life in a manner where we can't take it with us when we die. When you have a bride who has equine fever you won't have any riches to take anyway. But, on the other hand, you get a life full of interesting experiences and fun. Money can't buy what we have.
And there is one other thing that makes the rapidly improving health of Charm so important. What would little Angus do if he didn't have Charm to admire across the fenced and dream about? He would be one unhappy camper.
So Lord, thank you for answering our prayers and blessing Charm with your care. She is just another example of all the marvels you have created and we are glad she came into our lives. Hopefully she'll be here for a long time to come. With the perfect name, she is really quite the charm.
Charm is one of my characters in Honey, We Shoulda' Bought the Ark. In it you will also meet Charm's mother, Chantilly, who I often called one of the "Children of the Corn". You'll have to read the book for the answer to that one. To check it out go to the web: amazon.com/author/jamesdick.
Christmas morning when I went out to feed her I noticed she was a bit lethargic but she didn't show any signs of discomfort and she had good "gut" sounds. She ate her grain, albeit slowly, and nibbled at some hay but she was just very slow moving and almost pensive. We'd have to keep a close eye on her.
The next morning things had progressed and not for the good. She wouldn't eat. She just stood in the field and looked at me with her head lowered. She then stretched out on her side on the ground, not writhing or trying to turn, just lying quietly, quite out of character for this spirited pony who usually acts like she belongs on the set of "Ben Hur".
My wife came out, stethoscope in hand, and checked her closely. As before, "gut" sounds were good but her pulse and respiration were high. That meant it's "veterinarian time" and my better half went to request a house call on the phone. We have a wonderful vet but I knew this could be a real problem. Being the family accountant I couldn't help but think of the "cha-ching" aspect of the problem, particularly after our Christmas outlay for Angus. But I also knew that Charm was one of our originals and she was very special to my wife. I have to confess I'm quite fond of her as well.
We dropped our plans to travel to a late family Christmas gathering in St. Augustine and settled down at home for the day to await the vet. She was able to fit us in during the afternoon hours and quickly diagnosed the problem as an intestinal bacterial infection that needed some serious medicine to combat it. I'll leave the medical terminology for it to the wife but Charm was put on a series of medicines both orally and by injection and the bill was quite high, not something we had planned for at Christmas time. But the good news is that she is responding well, is getting her voracious appetite and her spunky spirit back, and should be as good as new in a few more days.
The Lord knew what he was doing when he set up our earthly life in a manner where we can't take it with us when we die. When you have a bride who has equine fever you won't have any riches to take anyway. But, on the other hand, you get a life full of interesting experiences and fun. Money can't buy what we have.
And there is one other thing that makes the rapidly improving health of Charm so important. What would little Angus do if he didn't have Charm to admire across the fenced and dream about? He would be one unhappy camper.
So Lord, thank you for answering our prayers and blessing Charm with your care. She is just another example of all the marvels you have created and we are glad she came into our lives. Hopefully she'll be here for a long time to come. With the perfect name, she is really quite the charm.
Charm is one of my characters in Honey, We Shoulda' Bought the Ark. In it you will also meet Charm's mother, Chantilly, who I often called one of the "Children of the Corn". You'll have to read the book for the answer to that one. To check it out go to the web: amazon.com/author/jamesdick.
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