Stop #41: I’m not sure that Charleston should count as a stop because we didn’t actually sleep there or see a whole lot, but we will talk about it anyway. Luna hasn’t been eating for the past three days which is VERY unusual for that little piglet. She wasn’t even interested in what I was eating. She also threw up in Asheville and was sick in other ways, so on day four of this no-eating behavior, I got concerned. As a result, on the way to Charleston, we (with the help of friend who was not driving) were able to find a highly rated vet who could fit us in.
This vet was AMAZING! First of all, they don’t have any of those stupid tables that most vets make dogs get up on. They had outdoor furniture in the rooms that dogs could get up on and they did the exam on the floor. Genius move to make the dogs feel more comfortable. They gave me a whole list of options for tests and next steps to identify the issue. Of course because I’m a panicky dog owner, I wanted to do the blood tests, x-rays and samples. They could look at everything right on site too! Everything looked and came back normal, so they gave her an anti-nausea medicine injection, some IV fluids (because she hadn’t really been drinking water either), a prescription for a parasite she might have caught from drinking lake water in Arkansas that doesn’t always show up in the tests, and some special canned food. I don’t want to discuss the bill. It’s depressing, but luckily I have pet insurance. At the end of the visit, the vet asked how long we had been traveling and when I said since August 1st, she said, “Yeeeaaahhh….this could just be stress. It might be time to go home.” I’m working on it, lady!!!!
All of that took about 2.5 hours, which cut into our tourist time in Charleston a bit. However, after the vet ordeal, we headed downtown. There was something going on and some streets were closed and it sounded like there was a marching band. One could assume it was a parade of some sort. We were stopped at a stop sign with one car in front of us and a horse drawn carriage full of people in front of that car. Well something spooked the horse and it freaked out. It backed up and slammed the carriage into the car in front of me. Mayhem ensued. Cops, people running everywhere, all while the horse continued to panic, so much so that it ended up in a sitting position on the street for a minute. Finally, someone who appeared to know how to calm the horse came around and got the situation under control.
This episode in combination with an unknown commotion with the parade and the recent violent civil unrest in other parts of the state made me decide that it might just be time to get out of Charleston. We weren’t going to stay the night anyway, and there was clearly some bad juju in the air. I didn’t want to tempt fate or test my luck, so off we went to Savannah!
Lesson of the Day: Listen to the animals. If your dog has an unidentifiable illness, it may be time to go home. If a horse freaks out, it might be time to leave the city.
L&K Take America 