Today is freedom day for Guinness and Hershey is grounded

Guinness is 16 weeks old today and due for his third set of shots which would free him to play with other dogs and walk where other dogs have been. Hershey came along to have his broken nail and exposed quick examined. I was determined that this would not be the 3-ring circus the last vet visit was (see Journal -- July 28, 2005), but the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go awry. I removed everything from the back of my vehicle except Hershey’s ramp and their leashes. I lifted Guinness in wearing his leash, then helped Hershey navigate his ramp. When we arrived at the office, Hershey jumped out; I set Guinness on the ground, and put Hershey’s leash over his neck. Not that his invisible leash is not sufficient, but, for protocol, he is required to wear a visible leash. I held Guinness’s leash while he ran to grab Hershey’s leash. Guinness then pulled Hershey on leash into the office. Fortunately, no other patients were in the waiting room, but Guinness was far too energized for me to have a seat. Hershey and I stood still while Guinness danced around us weaving his leash and Hershey’s around all of us.

I assumed that the vet’s office was puppy proof. Once inside an exam room, I release my pets to wander. Guinness leaped at the trash can, caught his paw in the swinging lid, howled in pain, pulled the can over, and continued his dreadful yelping until the vet freed his paw. He held his poor portly puppy paw in the air, prompting the vet to examine his leg. Everyone in the building heard the fracas. This was the first such incident in many years of practice. Guinness was non-stop in a vivacious buoyant, cavorting routine the entire visit. Meanwhile, Hershey was unusually calm, obviously trying to set an example for his little brother. Initially, the doctor stunned me when he stated that Guinness, born April 21, was not old enough for his third set of shots. I numbered the weeks on the calendar waiting for this day! I knew today was his freedom day. He double checked his calendar and concurred. I held brave Guin while he received his shots with aplomb. When Hershey left the room to have his nail and quick examined, trimmed, medicated, and bandaged, Guinness cried at the door. The elder vet peeked in, affording Guinness the opportunity to escape into their inner sanctum. The doctor bellowed in his booming voice, “We have a terrorist on the loose!” The receptionist came in to give Guinness a cookie while Hershey was not present, since Hersh cannot have one. Guinness demonstrated that he does know how to sit – at least for two seconds.

Hershey returned with an impressive green bandage covering his paw, and the warning that his paw must stay dry and clean. Now that Guinness’s quarantine is ended, Hershey is grounded until his nail regrows. Next we moved to the scale room. As our vet bent over to set Guinness on the scale, a syringe fell out of his pocket. He grabbed it before Guinness stole it. With Guinness still in bouncing mode, the vet guessed his weight at over 28 pounds. He tried again for a more accurate reading. He crouched forward, attempting to hold Guinness steady, and three syringes fell out. This time, while he collected his needles, I grabbed Guinness and commanded him to sit, which he did momentarily. He weighs 27 pounds. Gentleman Hershey sauntered onto the scale and sat patiently for his reading. He only weighs 75 pounds! Guinness has raised Hershey’s level of activity accounting for the weight loss. My activity has increased also, so why haven’t I lost?

The waiting room was now full of patients – a wildly barking bishon, a cat cradled in the owner’s arms, a stunned mutt, a cat cowering in its crate, and an elderly pit bull who seemed keen on devouring the entire herd. His aged owner was having difficulty dealing with him and paying her bill simultaneously. Once the pit bull had departed, it was our turn to settle our account and receive multiple medications – heartworm and Metronidazole for Guinness and an antibiotic for Hershey. The paperwork and bottles were not prepared yet, so I opted to take the boys to the car rather than deal with Guinness needing to wait with an audience watching his antics. I dropped Guinness in the back, managed to lead Hershey up his ramp while preventing Guinness from escaping, interested Guinness in a frisbee in the car, turned on the car to cool it down, partially rolled down windows, and opened the sunroof before leaving them. After paying, the waterproof protection to encase Hershey’s paw was still not ready. I stated that I would check on the dogs and return in a few minutes. Meanwhile, our vet came out to the car with his innovative boot made from an intravenous drip bag threaded with a gauze ribbon.

By the time we arrived home, all three of us were exhausted. We had our lunch then a good long nap.