The relief lasted about three weeks. Then the limp returned, worse than before, and Copper began losing interest in food. He still ate, but slowly, and only if she sat with him. He slept more. He stopped meeting her at the door. She told herself steroids sometimes had side effects, that his body was adjusting. She called the clinic and left a message. They called back two days later and asked her to complete the course.
It was her colleague Priya who pushed her. They’d been talking about Copper one lunch break — Rachel mentioning that things weren’t improving the way she’d expected — and Priya said flatly that she should get a second opinion. Rachel said she trusted her vet. Priya said that was fine, and she should still get a second opinion.
Rachel made the appointment partly to silence the doubt and partly to prove to herself that Dr. Harmon was right. The new vet, Dr. Singh, was at a clinic thirty minutes away. She was thorough and quiet, and she asked Rachel to walk her through the full history. The doctor took new X-rays, looking at them for a long while. When she came back into the room, she sat down before she spoke, and Rachel knew immediately that something was wrong.