ladysprite | When Will The Killing End???

It's been a deathtastic couple of weeks over here. For some reason, instead of the usual spring surplus of puppies and kittens, I've been wallowing in record numbers of euthanasias, DOAs, and critical cases that die as I'm trying to fix them. I can handle a day or two like this, and I've got coping strategies to pull me through a tough or prolonged run, but I'll admit that my emotional reservoirs are pretty close to empty at this point.

So, when a scheduling malfunction by the clinic I was supposed to work at today left me with the option of leaving work at 10:30am, I jumped at the chance. The sun is shining, there were errands that needed running, and this almost certainly meant that I would make it through a weekday without having to kill something, which would utterly make up for any lost wages.

Right?

Right. At least, until half an hour ago, when my neighbor showed up on my doorstep and asked me to give the mercy stroke to a mouse that he found in a trap, wounded beyond repair but not quite dead.

I did it, of course. The poor thing didn't deserve to suffer, and I know that part of living in a friendly neighborhood means being the one that everyone calls when their puppy gets a splinter or their guinea pig has the itchies or a mouse needs to be shuffled off this mortal coil.

But... please, if I could have one wish, it would be that the rest of this week not involve any more dying critters. Because I swear, I'm about one more round of CPR away from dying my hair black, drawing a curlicue on my face, and changing my career description to "Harbinger of Doom."