A couple of Saturdays ago, my husband and I had an evening plan that included dinner and a movie. Those plans changed about 4 p.m. with the oddest dog injury I have ever seen.

Nothing says romantic weekend “date night” like driving your dog all over Southwest Virginia to get her toenail removed from her adjacent toe.

Yeah. Somehow, Melissa Moo jammed her fourth toe nail into the flesh of her third toe. She was limping for about an hour before we figured out what was going on and NO WAY was she letting me touch it to try to undo the weird damage.

So off the Emergency Veterinary Services of Roanoke on Frontage Road.

When we arrived, the vet tech informed us that the vet on duty that night was performing surgery that was likely to last three hours. We were welcome to wait, or we could go home and come back, or we could take a chance on being seen sooner at Town & Country Veterinary Clinic in Christiansburg.

We appreciated that we were informed of our choices and while she didn’t seem to be in much pain, we didn’t like the idea of her having to wait three hours to get it treated. So we make the drive to C’burg.

While we still had a bit of a wait there, she was treated much sooner than if we had waited in Roanoke. And I have to say that the quality of care was excellent. (The vet had never seen anything like this injury either. Way to go, my freaky dog.)

It only took the vet a few minutes to dislodge the nail from the flesh (she used topical anesthetic), get Melissa bandaged up and we were on our way with antibiotics and pain meds, all for a pretty reasonable price considering it was prime date night time on a Saturday.

Melissa Moo recovered quickly and is galloping around the back yard again at full speed. And we are happy to know that if the Roanoke clinic is tied up, we have another option for great after-hours vet care.

This blogger is taking a much needed siesta for the rest of this week in a place with sunshine, sandy beaches and palm trees.

Stormy — our home security system — will just power nap like a boss until we get back.

Have a great rest of the week, blog readers!

“Stop terrorizing the dry cleaning bag!”

“Could you perhaps eat the pill and not just the Pill Pocket, please?”

“No, you’ve already had your cookies this morning. No more.”

“Seriously, what did that dry cleaning bag do to you to deserve a beat down?”

“A tabby in the driveway is not, repeat NOT, a code red bark alarm situation!”

“THAT’S A BUTTON, DUMMY, NOT A COOKIE!”

“Do not lick this antibiotic cream off your puncture wound, please.”

“Those are my earrings, not your toys.”

— Things I said to my pets this morning before 8:30 a.m.

Photo by Rebecca Barnett | The Roanoke Times: Sabrina Garvin (left) of Roanoke County, president of the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, assesses the progress of a pileated woodpecker held by Hannah Millsaps, 20, of Roanoke County.

Stepping out of my role as pet reporter, I got to take a walk on the wild side of animal life when I visited with a couple of local wildlife rehabilitators.

Click here to read the story from today’s Extra section.

I learned a lot from Sabrina Garvin and DeeDee Hartson, and they both reinforced something I have always believed: When it comes to nature, the less we humans do the better.

Of course if baby wildlife is truly endangered and needs help, compassionate people need to intervene, but before stepping in, step back and really assess the situation. Make sure that help is really needed and by all means, call a professional.

Hannah Millsaps, who works with Sabrina Garvin at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, said one of the best things that pet owners can do is to keep cats inside when its baby season in the great outdoors.

Personally, I am a huge advocate of keeping cats indoors year-round, but I think this is sage advice, especially if you know your kitty has a strong predator instinct. Besides, who really wants the “gifts” the cat is likely to bring?

This is my cat, Thai.

He is sitting rather innocently on my dresser. Move along, he says, nothing to see here.

See that carosel of costume jewelry necklaces behind him?

By the time I get home from work, I will be re-hanging all those necklaces on that carosel.

I am not sure, but I think he is trying to make a statement about my taste in jewelry.

Here’s a calendar item that may be of interest to all your New River Valley pet families:

Pet First Aid Awareness Seminar

A veterinarian from Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine’s Community Practice Service and his therapy dog Grace will demonstrate some easy, at-home, first aid techniques to help you prepare for various pet emergencies.

When: Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Blacksburg Library, 200 Miller St., Blacksburg

Cost: Free

Contact:  552-8426

Saturday was the first annaul Tail Chaser 5K and Black Dog Salvage 1-mile Dog Walk, a fundraiser for the Roanoke Valley SPCA, and as a participant, I can confidently say the event was a blast.

Click here to read Duncan Adams’ story about the event from yesterday’s newspaper.

Phil and Melissa Moo before the Black Dog Salvage 1-Mile Dog Walk on Saturday.

There were hundreds of people and pooches out to enjoy a crisp, cool spring morning in Wasena Park. My husband, Phil, and I, along with our greyhound Melissa Moo, arrived shortly before 9 a.m., in time to see the start of the 5K down the greenway.

We had to wait until 10 a.m. for the walk, the event we registered for, to begin, but it was such a great day and there were so many nice folks and sweet dogs to meet that the hour flew by. It was great to see people we know, including neighbors on our cul-de-sac that came out to run the 5K and walk with their basset hound, Stella, in the walk.

More than an hour on her feet is a lot for a greyhound, a dog that is used to sprinting very fast for a few minutes each day and spending the rest of her time crashed on the sofa.

When the walk started, it must have reminded Melissa of the starting gate at the greyhound race track, because she was eager to pass the other dogs. But that burst of energy didn’t last long, and I could tell she was getting weary at the halfway point.

We had settled into a nice pace, but right at the end, Stella, the short-legged, long-eared hound and her peppy walker, our neighbor’s daughter, beat Melissa and me to the finish line.

A greyhound, smoked in a foot race by a basset hound. Loss of cul-de-sac cred. (Insert smiley face here. Way to go Stella!)

It was really an awesome event and I look forward to next year. Maybe by then, Phil and I will be able to walk/jog the 5K. But maybe not with Melissa.

So far this spring has been one serious disappointment.

Even an indoor-only kitty like Thai looks out the window and thinks, “Seriously? What’s up with this nonsense?”

Go home winter. See you next Christmas.

All I needed was a little kitty loving this morning to send me out the door to face my work day.

Thai, on the other hand, needed some alone time.

So I left for the office singing slightly altered lyrics to the theme from “The Sopranos”:

“Woke up this morning, got yourself a shun. Got yourself a shun.”

Don’t feel like cooking tonight? Want an excuse to dine out? Like Mexican-inspired dishes?

Answer yes to any or all of those questions and the Roanoke Valley SPCA has a deal for you.

Dine in at Abulelo’s Flavor of Mexico restaurant tonight at Valley View mall between 5 and 9 p.m. and 20 percent of your food and beverage total will be donated to the RVSPCA.

Abuelo’s is located outside the mall, near Sears and Barnes and Noble.

The only trick is you have to present a flyer from the RVSPCA to your server when you order.

You can download that flyer by clicking here.