Did I Tell You...

about the time Huckleberry got a fish hook stuck in his lip?

It was a pretty terrible day.

I was cooking dinner for Steven and I.

I'm a bad cook. And multitasking is not my forte. I'm pretty certain every burner on the stove was on...

and I was distracted and reading directions...adding salt...putting in more water...cleaning the overflow from one burner...turning down one burning while turning another one to a hotter setting...

and Huckleberry has to go pee.

He was still pretty young and couldn't go outside without a lease at this point.

But I had about 14 million things going on and didn't want to take the time to walk him outside.

The Solution: Tie him up to the 20 foot lease we have on the back porch. This way he can reach the grass and walk back up to the door when he's done, so I'll know to let him back in.

The Problem: I forgot about him.

The Surprise: While continuing to cook, I see Huckleberry out of the corner of my eye tugging on something --and I hear him give an ear piercing yelp. He had a fish hook stuck in his upper lip and he was tugging HARD to get it out. OUCH!

The Reaction: Surprisingly, I was very calm. I ran to Huck and picked him up so he would quit pulling away from the fish hook and possibly rip it right through his lip. I tried to break the fishing line, but dang! those lines are tough --so, I bit it in half...yep. I really did that. I know. Disgusting. I noticed that the fish hook had a catch at the end of it that was keeping me from simply pulling it back through his lip.

There was no way I could get the hook out myself. I needed someone to hold Huckleberry still so I could cut off the catch at the end of the hook, and Steven still hadn't arrived to my place yet. Keeping calm, I carried Huckleberry with me, trying to soothe him with kisses and a soft tone, while I went and turned off the oven. I then walked over to my neighbors and started knocking on his door.

Did I mention it was raining...and I was bare foot?

This is when Steven pulled into my driveway. Thankfully, my neighbor didn't hear my knocks at the door, and therefore didn't witness me in such a state.

The NEW Reaction: Before Steven had stepped out of his car, I began running towards him..crying. Crying is actually an understatement. I was BAWLING inconsolably. You know, that really ugly cry when you're mouth is wide open but no sound emits and your chests heaves up and down? Yeah, that was me. 

I still remember Steven's face at this moment. The utter despair there. I wonder what was going through his mind? I'm quite certain he thought Huckleberry was dead in my arms...

I tried to explain what had happened but I was crying so hard and having trouble breathing. So I'm sure he didn't understand a word I said. He saw Huckleberry's lip though, and quickly took him into his arms and went inside. I kept Huck still as Steven calmly and expertly took a pair of pliers, cut off the jagged edge of the hook and easily slipped the rest out.   

I love that man.

The Lesson Learned: that much to my surprise, I can keep calm and cool in a high stress moment when necessary. I even had enough presence of mind to turn off the oven!!! But, when Steven arrived, someone I knew could manage the situation much better than me, I just lost it...and all the emotion I felt inside came rushing to the surface. 

The Other Lesson Learned: Put the fishing poles back in the shed after each use. 

Luckily, Huckleberry survived the ordeal unscathed. I'm pretty sure that within the hour, he had already forgotten all about it. 

 And now I can say that my puppy has his lip pierced. Bet you can't say the same! :)