I recently had the joy of visiting some of my latest cases, two kitties and a puppy, all of which are on the mend. All three have had some pretty extensive operations and are coming along just fine.

First is Ashes, a sweet little 4-year-old tortoise shell cat who needed her back leg removed.

“How are you doing Ashes?” I asked.

“Pretty good, Uncle Lennie. See, I know how to stand up and keep my balance, and I’m not hurting anymore.”

“Good for you sweetheart,” I replied as I kissed her little face.

Next I visited Luna, a 3-month-old kitten that had an FHO on her hip. The hip socket had to be ground down so that the ball joint would slip into place. This little girl has stolen the heart of the whole staff at Landrum Vet.

“Come here you sweet little thing,” I said as I gently lifted her up and held her against my chest. Luna’s purr is like a locomotive. I can’t believe such a loud purr could come from this little girl.

“You’re healing beautifully, Luna. Soon you’ll be able to run around and play again,” I whispered.

“Thank you, Uncle Lennie.”

“Most definitely my pleasure, sweetheart.”

Later that day I had an appointment to see little Johnny, the puppy that was found injured and lying in a ditch. Three major procedures were done for Johnny along with a blood transfusion.  I’ve been getting updates but I hadn’t seen Johnny since Lani and I picked him up at Upstate Vet Specialists a few weeks ago.

The meeting took place at Kathy Toomey’s office in Tryon as planned. Kathy is fostering our brave little boy and she is thoroughly smitten. When I walked in, Johnny ran over and nearly jumped in my arms.

“Don’t let him jump, Lennie,” Kathy said.

“I know, Kathy. He just caught me off guard,” I answered as tears welled up in my eyes. I got down and wrapped my arms around him as he attempted to wash my face.

“He looks wonderful, Kathy! I can’t believe how well he’s doing, considering what he’s been through.”

“He wags his tail in a circle, Lennie.”

I laughed. “Don’t you know about the circle wag?” I asked.

Kathy looked at me puzzled, expecting some sort of joke from me. “Seriously Kathy, a dog wags his tail when he’s excited. When he’s overly excited he can’t get it to go back and forth fast enough, and the result is the circle wag.”

Kathy laughed as she gave him a hug. “Well, he’s always doing it.”

“That’s because he’s a happy dog and he’s certainly won the hearts of all who know him.”

“You got that right,” Katy replied hugging him a little tighter.

Johnny’s circle wag gives me an idea of what to title my story for the week: I think I’ll title it “Happy Endings.”

Thanks for listening.