Some milestones come when and where you’re not looking for them. Especially at a vet’s office.

We’ve been in Panama for just over two months. One of the challenges tasks that we have is finding medication for our dogs. One of our dogs, a certain little Jack Russell mix, takes for omeprazole and metoclopramide for his GERD (and the associated complications from him surviving salmonella last year).

In most cases, getting medication in Panamà is very straightforward. Most medication is available over the counter, including omeprazole. However, metoclopramide requires a prescription. I had been trying to stretch our JRT’s dosages for the last few days, but it became clear this morning that wasn’t working out. I needed to find a vet to secure a prescription.

Fortunately, there are a few vets within walking distance of our apartment. Most vets in Panamà generally function on a first come, first serve, basis. Those vets who do take appointments are generally more expensive.

So, this morning I sent a WhatsApp to the nearest vet asking if there was a wait to see a vet. No, their vet was available right then, so off we went.

We did have to wait (a puppy had just arrived before us). We were then ushered in to see the vet.

I explained that our JRT had GERD, had survived salmonella and a hospital stay last year. I told her that we had just moved to the area, and I had some metaclopramide, but needed a prescription for more.

She asked if the GERD diagnosis was because from an endoscopy (yes). She said she didn’t normally recommend omeprazole on an ongoing basis for dogs as it could damage the stomach. I explained that our JRT was 14 years old, so at this point we want to stay with what works. She agreed. She asked what food he was eating. I told her – Science Diet. She wanted to know if it was a prescription diet – no, because he doesn’t like it and won’t eat it because our other dog gets something different. She laughed.

The vet examined him and gave me a prescription. It’s for a liquid and not a tablet, so I can give it with a syringe I explained that prior to these tablets, I gave our JRT all his medicine with a syringe, so that works great for us.

Medication secured, a quick checkout and $27 (for the visit and the medicine) later we were on our way.

There are many kinds of milestones. One, of course, is that we got the medicine for our JRT. (Picture above is taken right after a nap this afternoon, as he was clearly exhausted by the visit.)

The other? All the conversations – with the vet tech, the vet, and the checkout team – were in Spanish.

My Spanish is still quite bad, but is probably less bad than it was yesterday.