Layers

I live in East Baltimore, really just its beginnings. While my street has its fair share of violence and drugs in their many forms, my roommate and I have had a good experience being in this neighborhood. I'd say it is still good, even after last night.

One of our neighbors, Angela, always tries to yell at Heather and I when we bring our trash out before the actual trash days. Whatever. It's our can, we can fill it. She has a mental health disorder, that much is obvious. She is always well-meaning, and who can dislike someone who wishes me happy birthday every time I meet her again for "the first time?"

Yesterday I went to throw dirty litter in the trash can and she approached me, inevitably asking me to not put my trash out yet. I skirted around it, and she started telling me about how much they try to keep the trash cans cleaned up. She does. She does it well. I asked her if it was because of the rats; I've noticed they have open wounds and sores and thought them diseased. With a look of pride she told me about how she was taking matters into her own hands and was setting out poison. Now it made sense.

I left and did my day.

Then my night did me.

I was cooking dinner, let Scout out, chopped an onion, let him in. He came in, happy as hell, and was munching on something. I immediately started digging in his mouth, because the rats carry chicken bones into our yard and Scout tries to gnaw on them. I pull out what looks like a puporoni.

Immediately, it occurs to me that this is probably rat poison.

This kills dogs.

Due to the onion, I wasn't sure how much he had. I didn't even really know if it was rat poisoning, but I panicked for two seconds and threw him a bagel. He was really feeling great now. Wow - a whole bagel.

Proceeded to handle the situation in an awkward fashion and called my dad, hardware store extraordinare, who would absolutely be able to confirm my fears. I took a picture, sent it to him, and he gave it a go - my dog was eating poison. In a last ditch effort to not have a poisoned dog on my hands that I LOVE AND AM OBSESSED WITH I walked over to Angela's and showed her what I pulled out of Scout's mouth. She confirmed and then told me it was three times bigger at one time.

I proceeded to drive Scout to 24/7 animal shock trauma center. I called them first, and they riled me up further. So I blasted the Vibe to the hospital. I walked in the door - they took him from me immediately (still looking normal and happy-go-lucky).

$300 later, his stomach was pumped, filled with charcoal, and they injected two softball sized tumors of water into his skin. I left with vitamin K pills that he has to take twice a day for two weeks.

There are two kinds of rat poisoning: blood thinning and some sort of brain failure type. They treated him for the blood thinning form, because there's now way at this point to know if he had the kind that will attack his brain. That doesn't show up for a couple of weeks, you know when I start watching him to see if he changes.

Since the rats had so many sores and wounds, I think he's safe from the brain killing agent, but we just can't know that as 100% true.

His poop is black.