Veterinary Trama

Today I am making a trip to the veterinarian’s office.  Thankfully it’s just for another round of shots for our new kitten, Lew.  I think I can handle the 2 lbs kitten with no problems.  But it reminds me of other visits to our vet’s that didn’t go so smooth…

It all started about 6 months ago, just after Tad and I got married.  Tad couldn’t remember the last time his beagle, Rocky, had been to the vet and I was noticing that his ears seemed to be bothering him.  So I searched out the closest vet to our new home and made an appointment.  $260 later Rocky was up-to-date on all his vaccines and we had some goopy stuff to drop in his ears 2 times a day for 2 weeks.

The most difficult part of getting Rocky into the vet’s office is making it past the flowerbeds out front without Rocky trying to take a dump.  Other dogs find a likely spot, lift their leg, make a little sprinkle, and wa-la! Their territory is marked.  No, no - not Rocky.  Rocky insists on finding the most prominent feature in the landscaping and attempts to poop on it.  Evenly cut grass just won’t do.  If he is forced to do his business in a relatively featureless landscape, such as our backyard lawn, he will hunt out a tall growing weed that sticks up higher than the surrounding grass.  I’m not sure what kind of statement he’s trying to make, but at the vet’s office, this translates to the desecration of the ornamental grasses growing outside the door.  How he even gets his back-end all up in the middle of it, I’m not sure.  Rocky just has this skill.

Sitting with Rocky in the waiting room is the next challenge; it can only be described as embarrassing.  There’s no such thing as waiting quietly if Rocky is with you.  The whining never stops.  If that didn’t draw enough attention, asking for paper towels to clean your dog’s pee off the nice, shinny floor will certainly help. 

Recently I had to bring both Rocky and Nash into the office at the same time.  You might think having a calmer, more well-mannered dog with him would help to even out some of Rocky’s behavior.  However, in reality, the opposite occurs.  Nash becomes a Rocky-wanna-be and is just as impossible to control.  My well-trained poodle turns into a mindless ball of uncooperative energy.  I wish there was some way to pretend that they aren’t mine, but the leashes give me away.

Whenever I leave the vet’s office, I can just imagine the receptionists and vet techs saying a little prayer of thanks for our departure.  But today should be different.  All I have to handle on this trip is a cute, little, innocent kitten.