When bad things happen to good people....

... I get very upset.

I went to Ambato Sunday night to visit my friend DA and her family. It was (supposed) to be a much needed, animal-drama free 3 days of rest and fun before heading back to Ibarra for the last week of the PAE/WV clinic. But the universe saw fit to have otherwise.

My last night in Ambato was supposed to be spent at a nice little restaurant and any number of local bars or clubs - a girls' night out on the town. After finishing dinner and dessert, DA got a hysterical phone call from her sister (whom we JUST saw not even 30 minutes before). She returned home to find her dogs had been poisoned in her front yard. One dog was still alive, but had escaped during the chaos when the family got home, and was running/seizing/vomiting in the field next door. I have been blessed/cursed with the ability to maintain some control during emergencies (then I freak out afterwards), so I ran (high heels and all) to fish vomiting Osita out of a drainage ditch. I jumped into the back of DA's car and we rushed her to the local vet.

DA's whole family showed up at the vet's office; it was horrible to see them upset about the dead dogs and dying Osita. The story I got (via translation) was that someone threw a few dead chickens (packed with a variety of rat poisons) over the fence into their yard. The dogs ate the chickens (feathers and all) and Osita (being the largest of the dogs) was the one that survived long enough to get to the vet.

After waiting at the clinic for almost 2 hours, Osita was stable and we were told to come back in the morning. I haven't felt so powerless and hopeless in a long time. There was nothing I could do except sit and wait. If there are 2 things I'm NOT good at, it's sitting and waiting. I'm much more of a get-out-there-and-get-dirty kind of gal. It was horrible. The next morning was a relief when I heard Osita was fine (I think the vet was up all night with her) and her prognosis was good.

I wish I had more time to spend in Ambato, but it was hard to be there and not be in a position to help. DA's sister is probably the nicest woman in the world; why someone would poison her dogs is beyond comprehension (*side note* NA told me that when she lived in the Caribbean, people would poison the dogs a night or 2 before breaking into the house... again. Why?) I left Ambato this morning feeling sick and depressed (the sleepless night before didn't help) - my nice, relaxing vacation in Ambato turned into a melodramatic 72 hours, complete with a toxicologic emergency experience and a twisted ankle... In Quito now, and back to Ibarra tonight. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger (and gives you nightmares and ulcers in the process...)