Good Luck Chuck

I am being incredibly facetious in the title of this blog. As much as Adam and I love our newest fur child, Chuck, he seems to have brought the bad luck with him - for us, not for himself! Today was a perfect example! Chuck was adopted from a no-kill pet adoption agency in Cleveland, TN, called the ARK. Part of the deal with ARK animals is that they get a free spay or neutering through a local vet clinic in Cleveland. Originally, the person that gave Chuck to us said that they would help with the transportation to the vet's office in Cleveland for the neutering, but was unable to work her schedule around it. Adam and I have been fairly patient with Chuck's wild and crazy behavior, but the time finally came to remove his motivation for craziness!
Last week I called the vet's office to make the appointment for Chuck. Since I would have to drive 70 miles to the vet's office, I asked how long the procedure would take so I could plan my day accordingly. At the time of making the appointment the receptionist told me that Chuck had to be dropped off by 8 am and would most likely be ready to go home by 1ish. So today I got up early and drove Chuck to Cleveland (with him crying the entire way, which can really wear on one's nerves). I walked into the office at 7:55 am - just in the nick of time! There was already another customer in the office waiting. The long of the short of this part of the story is that we waited about 20 minutes for anyone to finally come to the front desk to help us - seriously. I filled out my paperwork for Chuck and then the receptionist tells me that Chuck will not be done until 4 pm. I am pretty sure my eyes bulged out of my head. I asked her why it would take so long and she said that cats do not do well with anesthesia, and usually take several hours to wake up. She told me to drive another 30 miles to Chattanooga and hang out at the mall, since there is nothing to do in Cleveland. Then Chuck and I had to wait in a room for another 20 minutes for a consultation with the surgery tech. She told me that Chuck would be done by 5 pm or tomorrow morning at the latest. I politely told her that I didn't have the option for tomorrow because I live out of town. I told her to call if Chuck happened to miraculously wake up early, so I could him back home as soon as possible.
I left Chuck and the vet's office fuming! I typically don't get mad easily, but this incident really got to me. I drove down the street and pulled over in a parking lot and went off - luckily it was just me in the car! After talking to Adam, I decided to just drive back to Knoxville to get my work done for the day. I have a cake due for a friend tomorrow morning and was nowhere near finished. So, I drove the 70 miles back to Knoxville. I got off the interstate at the exit for our house and while I was sitting at the stoplight, the vet's office called. I was expecting them to tell me that he was out of surgery and doing well, but still sleeping. OH NO! As luck (not sure if it's good or bad luck) would have it, Chuck was awake and ready to go home! I couldn't believe it! I told them that I would come pick him up soon. I drove to the house and ate a snack - still fuming. I called the vet's office to double check that Chuck could actually come home. The receptionist told me that they just gases him instead of putting him under so that I wouldn't have to wait all day. I have to admit that it was nice of them to think of me and my situation, but I really wished they had called me earlier to tell me their change of plans!
Chuck is home! He had tons of energy almost all day today until about 9 pm. I think he is starting to wear down. Hopefully he will recover well. We've both had a bit of a rough day!