While grooming & bathing my dogs today, I saw that Rocky has an enflamed testicle. He is one of my only two male dogs not yet neutered & those male dogs who are neutered have on several occasions attacked their genitals. It must be some sort of sexual pheromone thing. Before paying out $200 to a vet, I decided to try treating him with canine penicillin which I could get affordably at a vet pharmacy in Mexico about one hour away.
Before leaving, I checked with a Mexican friend who assured me the pharmacies stayed open until 7 or 8 pm. I was feeling urgent for Rocky’s sake & It’s quite cold today so instead of parking my car in the US & walking the bridge into Mexico, I drove over, not realizing that the cost for a car is $3 & not fifty cents if you walk. When I arrived at 4:30, all the pharmacies & the vet clinic were closed. I looked for an ATM to get cash to pay Mexican border patrol on the way back & discovered there are no longer ATM machines on the Mexican side. The toll is $1.60, not 35 cents if you walk. How the hell could I have known that!? Playing the old lady card, I tried to persuade the Mexican border patrol to skip the toll but he made several cars back up so I could back out of line. After several attempts at markets to use my bank card & get cash back failed, I stopped an American guy & asked him for the toll money. It was dark by now & I hope too dark for him to ever remember my face. Begging certainly beat spending the night in my car in deserted downtown Progreso.
It was rush hour time now & to avoid the expressway traffic I took a back road mostly traveled by 18-wheelers between the US & Mexico. It was uneventful until we hit the zone with miles of road work & detours. I became hopelessly lost & didn’t find road signs pointing in the right direction. Finally, in a busy area I pulled off at a gas station to get directions. It was dark & unlit so I missed the driveway into the gas station & drove into a ditch with a foot of water. The police, the gas station guys, the tow truck guy, & a few guys getting gas were so damn sweet, asking if I was okay & assuring me that it’s actually a common accident in unlit areas. My car will need some repairs but is driveable. I have no injuries but I would say, all in all, the day sucked even though I’m laughing about it now.