The Art of Racing in the Rain: Chapter 37 Summary & Analysis

The following morning, Enzo finds that he can barely move. He says that by now he's eight years old, which is too young to suffer from an arthritic condition in his hips, although that's exactly what the problem is. He tells the reader that while it's an unpleasant condition, he's happy he can focus on his own difficulties rather than dwell on the fact that Zoë is stranded with Trish and Maxwell.

Enzo explains that he learned his hips were abnormal very young, when he became old enough to go to dog parks. He realized that keeping his hind legs together, despite being more comfortable, was a sign of defective hips. He didn't want to be labeled a misfit, so he learned to walk and run normally. As he matured and cartilage began to wear away, the pain increased, although he tried to hide the problem. He wonders that maybe he's more like Eve than he's admitted, since he distrusts the medical world and behaved in such a way as to avoid a diagnosis that would bring about his untimely demise.

Enzo continues and says that he doesn't know why Eve distrusted medicine, but his own distrust stems from an event that took place when he was a week or two old. The alpha man introduced Enzo to a friend of his, Doc, who examined Enzo's front legs and said his dewclaws should be removed. The alpha man offered to hold Enzo, but Doc said he needed anesthetic. The alpha man said he wasn't wasting money on a dog, and Doc complied. He snipped off Enzo's dewclaws one at a time, and the pain was horrible and intense. Blood ran everywhere.

When Doc applied salve to the wounds, he whispered to Enzo that it's a mean bastard who won't pay for anesthetic, but Enzo tells the reader that it's a mean bastard who will cut without anesthetic for money, and that's why he distrusts doctors.

Returning to the present, Denny takes Enzo to the vet where he is diagnosed with hip dysplasia and prescribed anti-inflammatory medication. On the ride home, Denny repeats the diagnosis and shakes his head, and Enzo tells the reader that if he'd had fingers, he'd have shoved them into his ears to avoid listening. He knows that the diagnosis will bring his slow and painful end. He repeats that the visible becomes inevitable and the car goes where the eyes go. Enzo says that he saw what happened with Eve, that she was unable to escape when those around her agreed that she would die. Enzo says that, unlike Eve, he's going to try to look away from his diagnosis.