Explaining Surgery to Nemo

The morning routine is different. Usually, Nemo goes out, I make coffee, Nemo comes in, heads straight for his chewy bone (a teeth cleaner that he likes) then he goes back to his food bowl, eats crunchy mixed with moist, and to his water dish. But, alas! This morning, Nemo can’t have anything to eat or drink because he is having surgery.

How do I explain to him that the polyp on his foot must be taken off and, in order for the veterinarian to do that, he must be anesthetized, and that means there shouldn’t be anything on his tummy? 

He looks at me and his tail does a half-wag. His trusting brown eyes question me. I pat his head and tell him everything will be fine. But, the morning is different and he doesn’t understand why.

Owning a pet is such a responsibility! Hard decisions must be made and then we must live with the consequences. I’m sure all will go well with Nemo. This isn’t major surgery and, in a few days, he’ll be bouncing around as usual. Yet, he isn’t going to understand what’s going on and that is worrisome. As we go through life, we just do the best we can and hope that’s good enough.