Dotty’s Story – Chapter Sixteen
By mosquito
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2nd Jul 2011 •
3,281 views
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11 comments
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The days went by in a blur. Dotty felt sleepy most days, her head heavy with medications and exhaustion. Despite everything, her leg still hurt, and she seldom left her stall. Katie would come by several times a day, remove the bandage, hose and treat her leg, and wrap it up again. Each day she’d try and persuade Dotty to go outside and try to walk, try to east some grass. Each time Dotty tried, but the pain was too much. It just felt like her leg wouldn’t take her weight at all. Dotty had no appetite, and she never felt hungry. If she did, she’d take a few swallows of water to ease the hunger pangs, but it was too hard to chew, or to swallow, and even the warm mashes Katie made for her were too much.
One rainy morning, Katie appeared at her door, this time with the vet. They came in quietly, not saying a word, and looking a little nervous. Katie approached Dotty slowly, clipped the lead to her halter, and gave her a soft, gentle, but reassuring pat.
‘Katie, I have to say, she isn’t looking good.’ The vet whispered. His voice was quiet, but it seemed to echo on Dotty’s ears.
‘She looks dull, so disinterested. Is she eating anything?’
Kate shook her head. Dotty could feel her hand trembling on the lead. She wanted to lean her head into Katie, but she was afraid if she did she’d lose her balance.
‘Well, let’s take a look at this tendon then.’ The vet slowly unwrapped the bandage, and when he was done, he sighed deeply and stood up. ‘Katie, there’s no improvement. There’s just no chance for her. She might go sound enough one day to go to the shed, but I’ve got to say, she looks terrible. Do you really want to keep going with this?’
Katie was sobbing. Dotty wished she could say something to Katie, tell her she was trying, trying to get better, and to not give up on her.
‘I know...’ Katie said quietly. ‘And I know what’s best. But that’s not what happens here. You know what he’s like. He’ll try and get whatever he can for her, and it will be awful. I can’t bear it; not again!’
The vet put a hand on Katie’s shoulder, and the other on Dotty’s withers. ‘There’s not much I can do, Katie. I can’t make this better. If we give her any more meds, she might stop eating altogether, or even stop drinking, and it’s not going to make her heal any faster. She really needs months of stable rest. That won’t happen here. I’ve got some people I can call. If you can match what he’d get at auction, I might be able to find her a place, and I’ll take care of the transport.’
Katie looked up, and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Dotty almost chuckled. Katie never wiped her nose of her like Connie did. ‘I wonder where Connie is.’ Dotty thought to herself. ‘I wonder how she is; if they have a new favorite now.’ Dotty shook her head a little. She didn’t want to feel angry, or jealous.
‘I can get the money.’ Katie said. ‘I have some I’ve been saving; saving so Reggie and I could get a house one day. I guess I don’t need that anymore.’ Katie smiled a little wry smile. ‘I’ll go get it right now.’
Okay then,’ the vet said, smiling and patting Dotty’s neck. ‘I’ll go make those calls right now. We’ll work this one out Katie. Just this once.’
Dotty could feel a warm look washing over her from them both, and then they disappeared. They hadn’t been gone half an hour when Reggie appeared at the door. ‘This can’t be good.’ Dotty thought.
Reggie came in with a lead rope, clipped it firmly to Dotty’s halter and started to pull her toward the door. Dotty resisted, but she was tired, and weak. She tried to take a step, but stumbled and fell to her knees. Pain shot up through her leg, and she tried to roll to one side to escape it. Reggie yanked on the lead, and Dottie felt his boot strike her under the chin.
‘Get up!’ he shouted. ‘Come on, it’s about time we got rid of you. You’ve brought me nothing but trouble and now you’re getting gone!
‘I’ve brought you nothing but trouble?!’ Dotty thought. ‘Humph!’
Dotty scrambled to her feet, and hopped and limped outside. Maybe this was what Katie and the vet were talking about, but somehow she didn’t think so. The trailer was waiting, open, but with no bedding or hay inside. Dotty scrambled desperately to climb aboard. Reggie kept pulling, and twisting on the lead rope. ‘If he’d just leave me alone I could probably do this just fine!’ Dotty grumbled.
Once inside, Reggie didn’t tie her up; he just unclipped the lead rope, gave a disapproving snort, and stomped out, slamming the trailer gate behind him. the ramp closed, and Dotty leaned against the trailer Wall. She felt her legs give way, and she slid down to the floor. It felt cool, and there was a breeze coming through the windows. It didn’t feel too uncomfortable, even as the trailer lurched and rolled away. She had a bad feeling though, and as she lay her head down and closed her eyes, she heard Katie in the distance.
‘Stop! Stop!’ Katie was crying ‘Wait! That’s my horse in there now! Stop!’
But the trailer didn’t stop. |
Related: Dotty's Story - Chapter One, Dotty’s Story - Chapter Two, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Three, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Four, Dotty’s story – Chapter Five, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Six, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Seven, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Eight, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Nine, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Ten, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Eleven, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Twelve, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Thirteen, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Fourteen, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Fifteen, Dotty’s Story – Chapter Sixteen, Dotty’s Story - Chapter Seventeen - The End,
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FreeRein
this story is getting sad.... lol. great chapter!
this story is getting sad.... lol. great chapter!
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BME Sports
I can't wait for the next chapter! I love these! Good job :)
I can't wait for the next chapter! I love these! Good job :)
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AH! I HATE THE SUSPENCE!!
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