Always in my 'Harr't (Dem/Open)

[Miranda Florin]

Owner's Name: Miranda Florin
Patient's Name: Harr
Age: 17 years
Wormed recently: Y/N
Temperament: Calm, but make sure not to sneak up on him (Blind)
Symptoms: Blind, slow movement, pain in the joints, overall sickness, arthritis
Allergies: N/A
How long have they been like this: 2 weeks pain, blind for 4+ years, Arthritis sneaking up past year
Any treatments given (this includes herbal remedies): Devil's Claw, Chamomile, Bute (Past two days)

Miranda set her jaw as she walked into the White Oak Barn, telling herself that she couldn't cry, knowing that she would break down anyway within a few moments. She let herself into Harr's stall with the gelding's grooming kit, talking to him softly, fighting the tremble in her voice. A few days had passed since she had said goodbye to Aros and Kalle, and Harr had only been getting worse in that time. She knew the time had come to let him move on, away from his pain in the dark world, but she knew also that she would miss the calm, polite gelding. She spent nearly an hour grooming him, spending as much time with him as she could. It would, after all, be the last time that she would be able to do so.

After she finished grooming the appaloosa gelding, Miranda picked up his halter, a forest green nylon affair. For the last time, she put it over his head, fastening the strap. She took the matching lead rope and led the gelding out of the stall. Walking slowly, she led him out of the barn, in the direction of the vet clinic.

After quite some time spent walking, she had reached the barn. She walked the gelding into the stall at the end of the barn with the removable bedding and the large door in the back. After she latched the door closed, she took off the gelding's halter and clutched it in her hands, as she went to find her mentor, to let her know that it was time. They had discussed this option a few days before, when it became apparent that the gelding wouldn't be getting better, and she didn't want to prolong the gelding's suffering any longer. Tears started falling as she left the barn, and although she halfheartedly wiped at them, she knew they would streak her face.

[Demeter Carr]

Demeter was sitting in her office, working on her computer. She glanced over into the corner that was furtherest away from the door, where a mother cat lay stretched out in a large box with eight kittens sprawled over the tabby Queen. The cat had turned up at the dairy farm an hour away and then the kittens were another surprise. Demeter had been at the farm the day before, to treat a cow with mastitis and her calf had the scours. The farmer was about to put the cats - mother and babies - into a sack and throw them into the water-race, as the the Queen was missing an ear and only had half of the remaining one, and Demeter begged to be allowed to take them all.

The veterinarian looked up when she heard the sound of someone approaching the office. Her eyebrows shot up when Miranda appeared, her cheeks tear-streaked. The woman rose to her feet and crossed the room to gently place her hands on the student's shoulders. "It's time." It was a statement, not a question. "Would you like me to send Cara a message?" She knew that even though Cara wasn't good at displaying her own emotions, she had a strong empathy toward the emotions of others and as the girls spent so much time together, she seemed the best person to have here if Miranda did want someone to lean on.

[Miranda Florin]

As she entered Dr. Carr's office, Miranda saw the woman at her desk. She saw her mentor rise and walk towards her, and felt the woman's hands on her shoulders. She heard the two words and nodded, although she knew that the vet hadn't asked for confirmation. As Dr. Carr offered to send Cara a message, Miranda bit her lip for a moment, before nodding again, "Yes, please." She didn't want to put even more on her friend, but she didn't want to say goodbye to Harr alone. Yes, technically, she wouldn't be alone, since Dr. Carr was there, but there was a difference.

She took a deep breath as she stood in Dr. Carr's office, trying to contain her tears. She knew that neither Cara nor Dr. Carr would think worse of her for crying, but she didn't want to bawl like a little baby either. Not here, in front of people she wanted to have respect her a fraction as much as she respected them. Chewing on her lower lip, Miranda waited for Dr. Carr to send the message, glad that the woman had thought to ask that.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara was in the gymnastics studio, doing press-ups on the beam - her ankles on the beam and hands on the ground - when her phone sounded. Had it been training time, she would have had her phone turned off, but since she was working out in her own time, she let her legs drop from the beam and she reached over for her phone.

She hurried down to the clinic after she had read the message, taking no more time other than to pull on her tracksuit jacket, and pushed her feet into her paddock boots. The message hadn't said anything other than requesting her presence at the clinic, but she had a good idea over what was happening.

Arriving at the clinic, she could see Dr Carr and Miranda through the window, both standing outside the woman's office. "Hi." She said as she pushed the door open and entered the foyer. She reached out and squeezed Miranda's arm, knowing that anything she said wouldn't be enough for the other girl right now. She had been through the same thing herself a month earlier and she knew that words did nothing other than comfort the speaker.

[Demeter Carr]

Demeter gave the girl a warm smile as she sent the message through to her other senior vet student.

Once Cara had arrived, the woman raised her eyebrows as she looked at the two girls. "I'll see you with Harr." She said as she headed off into the barn, knowing that it was better to leave the two students to head down to the horse by themselves and she would meet them there once she had everything she needed.

Walking into the medical room, she grabbed Harr's file off the desk and checked his latest weight measurement so that she would be able to give the gelding the correct amount of the drug that would stop his heart. Once her part was done, she would leave the girls and go and make the call to have the gelding's body taken away.

She pressed her lips together as she prepared the syringe and vial of liquid she would need. Although it wouldn't bring the gelding back, she knew that Harr's name would be added to the memorial garden along with a new flower. With a shrug, she made her way down to the stalls where the gelding was waiting for her.

[Miranda Florin]

Miranda managed a small smile when Cara arrived, "Thank you." She felt the petite girl's hand on her arm and felt a deep gratitude for the older girl. She knew Cara had gone through the same thing not too long ago, and she had a question on the tip of her tongue when Dr. Carr left them, saying that she would meet them at Harr's stall. She nodded at her mentor, and but after the woman had left the room, she turned to Cara, fresh tears in her eyes as the time drew closer, and asked, "It's the right thing to do for him, right?" She knew the answer already, that the gelding was suffering and deserved this peaceful death, but she needed to hear it, to reassure herself that she wasn't ripping away a horse's life for nothing.

Swiping an arm across her face, Miranda looked at the door. There wasn't much sense in putting it off, since it was to be done,and she did't want to keep Dr. Carr waiting forever. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and held it for Cara without a word.

She walked to the barn, to the stall where she had left Harr, and saw Dr. Carr there already. She nodded at the woman and held a hand out to the blind gelding, using her other hand to rub his forehead. Deciding that being in the stall would be best, she unlatched the door, holding it for Dr. Carr before slipping into the stall. She moved to Harr's side, blinking away more tears.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara met Miranda's eyes, suddenly feeling the burn of the tear in her chest that Bunny's death had created. She held the younger vet student's gaze as she pressed her lips together. "You already know the answer to that." She replied softly. "And you aren't doing it to him. You are doing this for Harr." It was the same inner-turmoil that she had faced when she had had to make the same decision.

She bowed her head as she stepped through the threshold of the open door and waited for Miranda and then the two of them walked down to the gelding's stall.

A muscle in the girl's cheek jumped when she saw the vet, but she didn't say anything as she stepped across the aisle from the stall the gelding was in. She wanted to be here for her friend, but she didn't want to crowed the blind gelding who must already be being assaulted by a dozen smells and emotions - both his own emotions and the ones he was picking up from around him.

[Demeter Carr]

Demeter waited patiently outside the stall that Harr was in, holding her hand out to the gelding and tickling his muzzle when he seemed to accept her presence.

She looked up as the girls approached and entered the stall as the horse's owner held it open for her. She studied Miranda's face. "The only pain he will feel is when the needle penetrates his skin." She told the vet student as she raised the vial, pierced the top of it with the needle and then filled the syringe with the clear liquid.

Pushing her thumb into the gelding's jugular, she waited until she felt the blood well up under the thumb and then took her thumb away and pushed the needle into the gelding's skin. Pulling the syringe back, she watched as the needle filled with blood and she emptied the syringe into the gelding.

Withdrawing the needle, she stepped back. "I'll leave you to it." She said softly as she stepped back from the gelding and left the stall. From where she put the injection, she knew that he would go down pretty quickly and then once he was on the ground, he heart would just stop beating. Even though it was all part of her training, euthanasing an animal was never an enjoyable experience.