Intravenous Vodka: Tsegi Ruins, Chapter 5

Rory turned his truck onto Hwy 46 heading back to Paso. In a good mood, he rolled the windows down and turned the radio louder. Katie did the right thing, the way she showed Tal and everybody else who her real man was.

He reviewed the case management in his mind. Bolt was a French bulldog, commonly known as a Frenchie. He was a white, short nose, snorting thing and the love of Sheriff McKissack's life. Rory needed to figure out how much vodka to give the dog. He tried to remember its weight, probably near twenty-four pounds.

Twenty-two pounds is ten kilograms, he thought, so I could safely use one liter of fluids at a 7% alcohol concentration. I'll remove 175 ml of the saline fluid and replace it with 175 ml of 80 proof vodka in the fluid bag.

So Bolt needs about six ounces, that’s only six shot glasses.

He chuckled.

There would be a lot of extra vodka for them to have an impromptu party.

Sheriff John stood outside the clinic door waiting for Rory.

“What kind of vodka did you get John?”

“Smirnoff,” he said. “Will it be all right?”

“Sure, as long as it’s clear liquor. It’s going right into Bolt’s vein, so it has to be pure.”

“Well you didn’t tell me I should buy the purest, I got the kind I like.”

“You did fine, don't worry.” John followed him inside. “Oh, Hi Honey, you’ve already got him on the table for me. I’m impressed.”

“I knew you were here when Sheriff John said, ‘Fucking finally.’”

“Did you weigh him?”

“Yep, twenty-five pounds,” she announced proudly.

The vodka preferentially binds to alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme molecules so there are none left to change the antifreeze into deadly calcium oxalate crystals.

“How does this vodka thing work, Doc?” Honey asked.

“It’s a scientific principle called competitive inhibition. Antifreeze is made of ethylene glycol. When ingested, the body breaks it down, and it forms into crystals, which precipitate in the kidneys and cause irreversible renal damage. Ethanol, which is in the vodka, stops the antifreeze conversion.”

“I wonder who figured it out.”

“Someone either real smart or real lucky.” They both laughed.