Huntington/Fox Fire KOA
Thursday, 18 April 2019
[photo of route not yet available]
By this morning, I'd realized several important things.
One is that Dexter probably had something more than a bruise on his foot. He's a little reluctant to go for walks and limps along on 3 legs - it's his left rear foot that hurts. I've checked his foot out several times and, other than being really sensitive, can't find anything wrong - no stones or stickers or anything like that. So I figure I need to take him to a vet.
Another is that this campground does not have wifi. My computer didn't acknowledge any signal at all, even from someone's personal source. And my own little hot spot picks up a signal so weak it's slower than when I used dial-up.
And still another is that I really miss my camera. I either need to get it repaired or I need to get a replacement. Or both. And I can't find any place nearer than Charleston that claims to do any of that.
So despite being a nice campground with a quiet level site by a nice little stream, and despite being desperate for a nice long rest, I knew I'd have to head out today. The only cell phone signal I can get is weak, and I can pick it up only if I hold my head really still in one position - not real useful. But good enough to allow me to call the KOA I stayed in a couple of weeks ago and book my previous campsite for a few nights. Then down the road we went.
I saw lots of green fields and grass along the way. The hill tops that had looked like wire bristles 2 weeks ago were showing green instead now. I saw redbuds and dogwoods blooming. Spring has reached West Virginia and it's pretty.
I went to the PetsMart I'd been to before because online it said they have a Banfield. And learned when I finally got there using only my memory as a guide that the Banfield's been closed for years. And when I said something to one of the employees, he said he didn't have any control over that. So I said maybe he should at least alert the company, and he ignored me. Not my best PetsMart experience.
Back in the parking lot I got an internet signal and started calling nearby vet offices. My cell phone is so old the battery only lasts a day if it's not being used, and about 40 minutes if I'm making calls, so I kept worrying I'd run out of battery before I found any place to work us in.
But we did find a really nice vet office called the Kanawha Blvd. Animal Hospital. And this is when I learned how to pronounce Kanawha. I'd been putting the emphasis on the 1st syllable. Wrong. The woman who answered the phone said kah-NAW-ha and kind of swallowed the last syllable, and I didn't understand her because I wasn't expecting it. But now I know.
Nice people, nice vet, worked us in fairly quickly and only charged the usual vet fee. The vet said he could x-ray Dexter's foot if I wanted, but it would only be to confirm his diagnosis which was that Dext had fractured his toe. He said with or without the x-ray he'd treat him just the same, which is to give him pain pills and recommend an Elizabethan collar to keep him from chewing on it and wait a month.
He was actually a lot more reassuring than that sounds and said I should maybe get an inflatable collar instead of a stiff collar, which wouldn't fit very well in a 24' RV. But he said it'll take about a month and will heal on its own, and the pills will make him feel better. He made me feel better, anyway.
There's a Best Buy back over near the PetsMart, but it was after lunchtime by this point and I was really a truly exhausted so figured the inflatable collar and the camera could wait.
I stopped for some groceries and went on down the road to the KOA. I'm taking tomorrow off.
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