Henna's High

Our sweet girl is deathly afraid of fireworks.  The booms and bangs of the annual Forth of July celebration are enough to send her into a fit of tremors and shakes that would easily score a 7.3 on the Rictor Scale.  All of this shaking is followed by loud panting and drooling.  The kind of drooling that leaves large puddles on the floor.

At her last visit to our veterinarian this state of anxiety came up in conversation.  "No problem" said the vet, "I'll give you a mild tranquilizer for her.  It won't hurt her, just mellow her out."

When the big day dawned I was prepared.  Around 4:00 PM I administered the proper dose (actually only a partial dose as she wasn't too keen on the pill and kept spitting it out), and promptly forgot about it.  Fast forward an hour, give or take, when this conversation took place.

Chris:  "Mom, some thing's wrong with Henna"
Me:  "Seriously?  What do you mean some thing's wrong with Henna?"
Chris:  "She can't walk.  Her back legs won't work."
Me:  (Puzzled) "What do you mean she can't walk?
Chris:  "Her legs don't work and her eyes are funny."
Me:  (Light bulb moment)  "It must be the tranquilizer I gave her."

And there she was, poor thing, trying to walk but nothing would work in sync.  One leg wobbled to the left, the other to the right.  She took one tenuous step after another until finally she gave up.  Waved the white flag in defeat and stared up at me through glassed over googley eyes, as if to ask, "what the hell did you do to me?"

Chris:  "Mom, she's stoned."

And from some better left unknown member of the peanut gallery:  "I had a few nights like that when I was in college!"

Yes indeed our girl was stoned.  Higher than the fireworks streaking across the night sky.

Eventually we assisted her up the few steps into the house where things went from bad to worse.  Those little wobbly legs became ice skates on steroids once she hit the wood floor.  Front legs splayed out on either side of her, back legs dancing and sliding to a beat known only to them.  It was a sight to behold.

Finally, after several failed attempts to hop up onto her spot on the bunks, she nestled in and began to sleep it off.  The Kid was convinced she was dead when the following morning she failed to move when he tried to wake her.

I can happily report she is fine now, back to her old self, no ill effects from her "high" time!

I can also report that the earth shattering booms and bangs on that night didn't phase her one bit.

Nope, not one bit.