$141.25 [Kong Squeaker Ball to the Eyeball]

You know those 2" Kong Squeaker Balls that Betelgeuse is so fond of [previous post here]?  Well, it turns out that she's not so fond of them being kicked at her eyeball.

On Tuesday night, she took a Kong Squeaker Ball to the eyeball, yelped in pain, ran to me for comfort, and spent the rest of the evening being pathetic and refusing to open her left eye.  Yesterday morning, she was opening her eye, but still squinting, and the vet recommended that I bring her in to check for any scratches on her cornea.  Even though I could have waited to see if the eye improved on its own, I kept thinking about the beagle I met in South Carolina who lost his eye after being hit by a golf ball (oh geez, can you imagine?), so I just went ahead and made the vet appointment.

I was home sick yesterday with a gnarly cold, and my boyfriend had taken the car to his work, so I just packed some tissues, threw Betel in a bag, and hopped on the subway to our vet's office in DUMBO ($2.25).  The veterinarian wet Betel's eye with a stain that glowed yellow in the black light ($35.00) and examined her eye for scratches ($65.00).  Her eye looked just fine in the black light.  No corneal scratches for my little raver.

Betel also got her overdue Bordetella Injection Booster ($35.00).  (I'm helping my veterinarian pay off her student loans.)

For our trip home, I remembered that we could take the East River Ferry ($4.00) back to Greenpoint.  I wish I had thought of it for the initial leg of the trip -- it's faster than the subway and way more fun.  It was Betel's first time on a boat, and she did great.  She is so calm and patient when commuting in a bag (doesn't matter if it's a train, plane, or whatever).  Everyone riding the ferry wanted to talk about Betelgeuse riding the ferry.  She needs business cards.

When we got back to the apartment three hours and 141.25 dollars later, Lulu was so unbelievably happy to see us.  The two pups are rarely apart these days, and I'm pretty sure Lulu thought we were never coming back.

Even though it turned out that nothing was wrong with Betelgeuse's eye, I don't regret taking her to the veterinarian.  It's kind of why I work at a law firm -- so I don't have to make difficult decisions like whether I will take my dog to the vet for a busted eyeball or pay my electricity bill.  (Although that past isn't very far behind me.)  I'm just glad she's okay.

And FYI -- she's still into the Kong Squeaker Balls, even the pink one that hit her in the eye.  She's awesome.