Do What You Can

Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’ What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?” “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.” Luke 10: 30-37 (The Message)

Summer went back to the vet today for the second in her series of three shots. She has gained 7 pounds and 6 ounces in the last three weeks which according to the vet is perfectly on track. “50% of her body weight,” he happily exclaimed. I wish someone would be happy if I gained 50% of my body weight, but sadly, they expect me to lose 50%. She has such odd loose skin that the vet actually stuck the needle in one side and out the other spraying rabies vaccine all over the table. I think he was embarrassed. I was just hoping he didn’t charge me double. When all was said and done and we got the heartworm and flea medicines she needed, we dropped another bundle on her. But, who said money can’t buy happiness? Every dollar is well spent if you count the smiles Summer has given me. That’s why I felt so badly for the young woman who came rushing into the office in the middle of our appointment. I didn’t quite get why she wasn’t at her own vets’ as she kept saying, “I talked to my vet and he told me to do this, but it is not working.” Either she was visiting from somewhere else or her vet was closed for the holiday, I don’t know, but she or rather her dog, was in dire need of veterinary care. She had a tiny Yorkie in a box that was in distress, whining and crying. Apparently the young woman had not known that her dog was pregnant. When she announced that it must have been the neighbor’s Chihuahua two weeks ago, everyone was stunned. “Honey,” said the sassy vet’s wife and assistant, “This happened a long time before that.” And the daddy must not have been a Chihuahua either because when they x-rayed the Yorkie, the puppy inside was as big as she was. I think he only ex-rayed out of compassion. I know he was considering, “If I help this dog, I am going to get stiffed” because the girl had no money or credit card to pay him. They tried to get her set up with some kind of vet payment plan, but even that was not working out. In the meantime, the dog howled in pain as the vet and his assistants huddled around and whispered about C-Sections. While the girl’s friends sat outside talking on their cell phones. If I hadn’t just spent so much on my own dog, I would have helped her. As it was, I left before I had to watch the vet make the decision about whether to assist her dog or turn her away. There are so many things wrong with this world that it would be easy to get discouraged and do nothing. You can’t fix everything, but we can all do a little something to make the world a better place for someone. I just hope I didn’t miss that opportunity today.