The rest of the short drive passed in silence. We pulled into the gravel lot behind the veterinary clinic. The building was mostly dark, and I started to fret. Before I could spiral too far, headlights swung into the lot, and Alice waved as she hopped out of her car.
Kincaid and I got out as she called, “Just come in the back with me.”
She hustled ahead, flipping on lights as she went. By the time we caught up in the hallway with Bella, Alice immediately crouched down at her side.
“Is it getting any better?” she asked. I’d grown up with Alice in Willow Brook, although she’d been a few years ahead of me in school. I was grateful she’d taken over the vet clinic here when she moved back to town.
I pulled out my phone. “I took a video at home. Here—watch.”
Alice studied it quickly and nodded. “Okay, yeah. She already sounds better, and I know what’s going on.”
“You do?”
Bella had stopped pacing. Her breathing was still labored, but it had eased a little.
“It’s tracheal collapse.”
“What does that mean? Is she going to die?” I pressed.
“She’s not going to die, not at this moment,” Alice said calmly. “But it’s uncomfortable. Usually, they just need a little time to recover. If it doesn’t ease up, there are things we can do.”
“I’m going to give her some medicine. It’ll relax her a little. The muscles supporting the trachea weaken with age, and sometimes it collapses like this. They can’t get enough air, so they try harder, but they don’t have the muscular strength to make it work. So it just gets worse. Until they can get out of the cycle of breathing like that.”
“Oh, my God...” I sagged against the wall, swiping at the tears tracking down my face.
Alice’s lips curled into a soft smile. “We can get Bella through this.”
“Did I just waste your time? I made you come all the way in.”
“Absolutely not. Even if you’d texted me that video, I would have wanted to see her. She’s not young, but she’s doing pretty well for her age.”
“Is she really?” I asked quietly.
Alice looked from Bella to me to Kincaid, then nodded. “She is. I don’t think we’re losing her yet. She might be mostly blind and deaf, but her heart’s still pretty strong. Sometimes things like this happen just because she’s old. That’s it.”
“I just want her to be comfortable.”
“That’s what we’re going to do.” She stood, glancing toward the exam rooms. “Let me do an exam to cover all the bases. Just a quick check, but first I’m going to get those meds.”
We walked through the open doorway Alice pointed to, and I knelt down beside Bella. I stroked the soft fur just over her forehead. She tipped her head up and closed her eyes. She loved any and all affection. “That’s my sweet girl,” I whispered. Her tail gave a little wag.
“She’s going to be okay,” Kincaid said softly.
I smiled up at him. “I know. She’s just old, and trust me, she already sounds much better.”
“Oh, I heard the video. She didn’t sound good at all.”
Alice reappeared a moment later, holding out a small bottle. “This is just going to chill her out a little bit, okay? It’s an anxiety medication. Just enough to take the edge off so she can relax if she gets stressed. Because not being able to breathe is stressful.”
“For all of us,” I murmured.
Alice chuckled softly. I moved to lift Bella onto the exam table, but Alice shook her head and dropped to the floor beside her. “No need.”
She listened to Bella’s heart and lungs, carefully checked her body, and gave her several treats. Bella licked her hand like the good girl she was. “Even since you’ve been here, she’s improved,” Alice said.
“How long does it normally last if it happens again?” I asked.
“Sometimes just a few minutes. Sometimes longer. But now you know what’s happening. You can always call us, or just hop in the car and start driving. Whoever’s on call will meet you here. We love this girl,” she added.
