Sick Puppy

Sorry, I've been too busy exploring this beautiful island to post in a while.  I've been too immersed in the rich Okinawan culture to sit down and write about it.

Okay, that's a lie.  I think I venture off-base about once every two weeks.  (Not including treks to the dog-park, which is technically off-base, but still owned and operated by the U.S. Air Force.)  I promise to bring you more culturally-stimulating posts in the future.

Today I was forced to go outside of Kadena Air Base.  I woke up this morning to the sound of Lucky's stomach gurgling.  I thought a freight train was rumbling through the poor guy's intestines.  He refused to eat breakfast and skulked around the house lethargically all morning.  

"Mom, I don't feel very good today.  Can I stay home from school?"

We went for our usual noon walk around the neighborhood, and he stopped to do his business in someone else's yard.  However, it became apparent really quickly that something was terribly, terribly wrong with his digestive system.

The vet on Kadena Air Base is closed on the weekends, so I scheduled an emergency appointment at NOAH Animal Hospital off-base.  Luckily, the entire office staff spoke English and they were super-helpful.  Lucky's on antibiotics now, and he's already acting like his normal, energetic self.  Plus, they gave me his medicine in this cute little envelope.  How very Japanese.

The kittens have little cat-shaped space helmets!

The visit, fecal exam, steroid shot and medicine cost about 5800 yen, or $73.  Not dirt-cheap by any means, but it wasn't as much as I expected.  (I've been warned that everything -- car service, hospitals, vets, groceries, etc. -- is more expensive off-base.)  Hopefully Lucky's digestion will be back to normal in a bit, and he won't require further care.