Truck repairs on the go and Elsa’s eye trouble

Having donned proper footwear, i.e. our hiking boots, we went up into the mountains again last week for another hike. It was a beautiful day. While up there I wore my straw sunhat to shield my face from the strong Arizona sun rays. Benno suggested I should look into purchasing a cowboy or western hat while we are here as they are being sold in almost every store in Tombstone. Well, more on that in another post.

Of course our doxies were super excited to run up the trails and sniff their surroundings. We had noticed that Elsa had a red and teary eye a couple of days before but didn’t think much of it as she often has a bit of eye boogers in the mornings. However, back home we thought we should monitor her condition more closely.

I finally made the decision to call local veterinarians to get an appointment. No luck as they were all booked but an emergency fee of $200 I thought was not warranted. We had planned a trip to Tucson and the PetSmart store there advertised a walk-in “Say hello to the Vet” event. We went the next day but unfortunately we had to book an appointment for the following day with the same Vet but at the Oro Valley PetSmart location. However, the trip was not all lost with a purchase of Jarlsberg cheese at Costco (do not go there on Saturdays because it’s a nuthouse) and some great finds of goodies at the World Market store. (What a wonderful store with food imports from around the globe and neat stuff for the home) And on the way back we made a quick stop at the Pima County Fairgrounds where Nancy Kissack was parked with her fifth wheel. Read about it here.

So, we were heading towards the Tucson area again on Sunday. I must say the Oro Valley (North Tucson) is a very nice and a scenic area of Arizona and by the looks of it, real estate must be in the upper $$$! So we enjoyed our ride and the views there when all of a sudden our truck computer announced that the rear right turn light was out. Not a big deal, but you know if cars behind you don’t know you want to make a turn, it could be a problem.

The Veterinarian turned out to be a Canadian doctor from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He explained our options for determining what Elsa’s condition might be and of course we let him do what he thought was right. So a yellow stain was inserted into her eye and through that revealed to him that she had a small tear under her cornea. She got an antibiotic injection as well he prescribed anti-inflammatory tablets and an ointment to be applied. 

“Well Elsa, that’s what happens when you stick your nose into everything”. The good news (not the vet bill) is, that her eye seems to be much better already.

On the return trip we were thinking of how to fix the indicator light on the truck. In order to replace the light on the truck you have to open up the rear light console. For that you need one of those funny star type screwdrivers (Torx bit) that we have at home but not here! There happened to be a Harbor Freight store just a few miles further from the PetSmart location and Benno did not bitch to go in and have a look, he found a set of Torx bits there and with the help of a 1/4” open end wrench that we had in the truck he got the rear light open. He handed me the burnt out bulb that I took to the Advance Auto Parts store located right next door who had replacements. Wow! We were back in business and it felt better while driving knowing that the turn light worked. 

I think it was a successful day.