There is a Zorro after all

It was the summer of 2011, I was in Fort Lauderdale at the time. I wasn't doing much, just working at Puma and taking a math course at the community college.

 Mid July, I began to lose feeling in my left index finger, and of course, after ignoring it for so long, I found myself waking up one morning to a swollen, purplish, stiff finger.

Did I mention that it hurt like hell too?

Well, as much as it hurt, I still waited like 4 more days before I told my mum to bring me to the ER. She then made my father do it.

Allegedly, I broke my finger. How? I don't know, but the doctors at Broward General Medical Center were sure as hell. After getting it splinted, then sent me to my orthopedic, who then sent me to go get blood work...

I go to LabCorp the next morning, not knowing that this was going to be the worst day of my summer. Apparently my veins where so small, that each nurse could not find one suitable enough to draw blood from. This resulted in my being pricked 6 times by a needle that was far too big. Fighting back tears (because I am 18 for Christ sake) I listen as she tell me to come back tomorrow to try again. She even gave me wacky tips on how to make my veins more visible, like lifting a weight. 

My appointment was at 8AM. It just finished raining. I ate a granola bar with my crippled left hand, while lifting a 5 pound weight with my right. By the time it was 7:45AM I was already driving to LapCorp, still lifting my weight, when I see a small, black dog wandering near my neighborhood. 

He was wet, he looked lost and my track record with picking up strays is pretty high. I couldn't resist. I love dogs, I feel like they need us to live better in this world and honestly, I think abandoning them is just inhuman. 

I immediately heard my mum's voice in my head, screaming "Gina do not bring another dog in this house! We do not have time to take care of them or money to feed them!"

I tuned her out of course, and reversed my car back to where this pup was. I stared at him. He stared back. I opened my car door slowly, trying not to alarm the creature. He still sat there, staring. I gave my leg two taps.

Immediately the pup began running into my car, onto my lap and landed gracefully in the passenger seat. I admit to being a bit freaked out, I mean, who did this dog think he is?

I was late to my appointment that day but it was worth it. I felt like Zorro and I uniting was fate. After all the missing dog signs I put up and the constant nagging I got from my mum,  he stuck around. And still is. I miss my pup. 7 hours away is just too long...