Born to Suffer

Doc bolted after a herd of mule deer into the dark timber and came back not using his right front leg. I made a vet appointment the next morning. She ordered X-rays. When she came back in the room she told me Doc had severe bilateral dysplasia in both elbows and it was starting in both hips. One of the worst cases she'd seen in a dog his age. I told her I'd noticed the limp but had never once heard him whimper. She looked at me and said, "Brad. That's because pain is all Doc knows and has ever known." We both started crying. Two people who'd met an hour ago, in tears over a German Shepherd neither one of us was willing to let down. Episode Four of Take It Outside is out now. Born To Suffer. Six weeks on the floor. Chicken tenders through Paradise Valley. A five dollar GoFundMe donor who needed to do something good in the world that day. And a sleeping dog who showed me something I'd been missing for years.