Gonzo's Fight Part II - Taking a Stand Against The Mask

Gonzo let out a blood-curdling scream after he jumped off the bed Wednesday morning. My dog has never screamed. Not even when he managed to get 72 porcupine quills injected into his face last Halloween.. Screaming was not like him.

I rushed upstairs to see what had happened. I asked Gonzo what hurt and he showed me his back left paw. I palpated it and nothing seemed broken, but he still didn’t want to put any weight on it. The paw was trembling and I couldn’t fix it.

Gonzo slowly began putting weight on it but still favored it a bit…until it was time for our morning sprint down the road. No hurt paw was going to keep Gonzo from his happy sprint time.

Our morning and afternoon sprints are two of his favorite things on our daily schedule. (Gonzo is a very structured dog and probably thinks I should be more like him.) In the morning, the sprint happens as soon as I put all my work stuff in my car. I’ll give him a sly look, as he patiently waits by the front door, and say, “Ready?”

He gets a thunderous grin on his face and bolts down the driveway toward the road with me. The cutest part is that he runs alongside me, looking up lovingly as though he is so grateful for a sprint partner. "Thanks, Mom! You're my favorite mom!"

So yes, all of a sudden, his paw seemed just fine when it was our normal time to run, so we went for a very slow, short jog, instead of the sprint..

Gonzo already had a vet appointment scheduled that afternoon for some bloodwork, so I figured I’d get his paw checked out then.

I left work early to pick up Gonzo, then we drove to the vet. We called from the parking lot to announce our arrival and I spoke with a very sweet employee who informed me I would need to wear a mask when I came in with Gonzo.

Me: “What? Why?”

Girl: “Oh, because there’s been an uptick in COVID cases, lately.”

Me: “How’s a mask going to do anything about that?”

Girl: She said something about masks protecting people.

Me: I asked for any study proving that masks protected from viruses and I offered plenty of studies that proved the masks are dangerous on so many different levels.

The poor, sweet girl said she’d check with the doctor.

Another gentleman, who I’d had several wonderful email interactions with and who I just adored, got on the phone and began politely explaining that I could either wear a mask to bring Gonzo in, or they could come and get him and I could wait in the car.

The biggest reason I took Gonzo to this particular vet was because they were not COVID crazy, at least not until then. This vet is more expensive and farther away from the one we had been going to. However, when Gonzo had gone to our pervious vet, who wouldn’t let me go in with him due to COVID, he returned to me traumatized and resentful.

He acted like I had destroyed his trust, broken his heart, and hurt his feelings. I couldn’t do that to him again and I was also not going to wear a face diaper. I let this gentleman know all of this as politely as I could, even though I was pretty upset.

I asked him what good the mask did and he had the same non-committal response. I asked if there was any study showing the mask protected anyone from COVID and his response was along the lines of “We’re not having this discussion, this is our policy.”

We went around in circles and I never got a clear reason why they had a policy that was not backed by any science, but he finally asked again if I’d like for them to come get Gonzo while I waited in the car.

Me: “No.”

Him: ‘What?”

Me: “Let’s just cancel.”

Him: *stammers a bit*

He brought out the meds we needed and it turns out Gonzo didn’t actually need the bloodwork we were there for. His paw was also doing just fine.

I felt like a jerk, even though I had been polite the whole time. (At least I thought I was. Hopefully, they did, too, for what the conversation was.)

I just will not acquiesce to this stupidity, especially when masks have been proven to be dangerous and proven not to protect from viruses…the label on the box of blue medical masks even says so.

I initially came close to giving in on the matter. This was my child, who was supposed to be getting medical attention. Was I a bad mom for cancelling? Was I ignoring his needs? No. God has taken care of me every time I have stood up to this mess and He will take care of Gonzo, too.

I sat in my car for a minute or two checking email and saw another vet tech come out to someone’s car.

She wasn’t wearing a mask.

What? How did SHE get to have facial freedom? I let it go.

Moving along to the very next night, I attended a conservative meet up in a town about an hour away. I noticed a familiar face there. During a break, the person who had invited me introduced me to the familiar-faced lady. I told her she looked familiar and I was sure we’d met before.

She asked if I have a dog or cat. “Yes.”

"Do you go to *name of vet.*"

“Yes.”

“Are you the one who cancelled your appointment yesterday over the mask?”

Sheepishly, I admitted, “Yes.”

She threw her arms wide open and said, “Thank you so much!” as she gave me a great, big wonderful hug.

She was the lady I had seen in the parking lot at the vet with her beautiful face not covered. It turns out, she refuses to wear a mask, too, and has been taking a lot of heat for it. They are too understaffed to fire her, but it’s still difficult for her. She was so grateful to have an ally in the fight, even though she said they might fire me as a client.

So far, I have not been fired.

Seriously, as I was making my stand at the vet, I felt like a turd, even though I was polite. I felt like maybe I shouldn’t make such a big deal about it. I also felt like I HAVE to stand up for what I believe.

Who would have known there was someone inside the vet fighting the same fight? There should be more of us and we need to support each other. The tyranny stops when everyone quits complying!

So, keep standing up for what’s right! You never know who might need the back up or encouragement to do the same.

Now for the latest update on Gonzo’s tumor growth. I need to come up with a name for it. Right now it’s just "Tooomer."

Gonzo is in great spirits, and is as happy and as energetic as he usually is. What I am doing seems to have stopped Tooomer from getting larger and, in fact, it seems to have shrunk by about ¼ of an inch. The first picture was taken on May 21, 2022 and the second picture was taken on May 29, 2022. Tell me what you think…

(Side note: I love all the people at both of Gonzo’s vets. I just don’t like all the new rules that don’t make sense and leave the poor pets wondering why their parents temporarily abandon them during a potentially traumatic event.)

Gonzo Gets Good News, Bad News, & Confusing News - Gonzo's Fight Part VII

Tooomer Is Back - Gonzo's Fight Part VI

The Kai Ken Connection - Gonzo's Fight Part V

Week 1 of the Melanoma Roller Coaster - Gonzo's Fight Part IV

"Time is of the Essence" - Gonzo's Fight Part III

Taking a Stand Against the Mask - Gonzo's Fight Part II

Gonzo's Fight Begins (thankfully not with another dog) - Part I