My Rat Terrier Sonny: Our Trip To The Vet (part 2)

Reminded of old cartoons involving stubborn mules, I tugged slightly on his leash and pointed inside the car. He, in turn, decided he’d rather visit Ziggy, his dog-friend from next door. Pulling him back to the car, I tried gesturing frantically in the direction of the car dog with little examples of how he should jump up and into the car. Obviously amused by my antics, he decided to sit and watch me. Realizing that I would have to pick him up and that he weighed a ton, I started reaching for him losing my sunglasses, his vaccination papers, the lovely little bag of doggie-do that I was asked to bring and my purse when he bolted away from me. The next few minutes could have been a scene from a Harold Lloyd film with me bending to pick him up, dropping something and Sonny slipping out of my grasp, over and over again. I finally threw everything inside the car and grabbed him. It took all my strength to get him in the car and attach his harness to the seatbelt but I did it.

Of course, by this time, I looked like I’d fallen into a well and clawed my way out. I was drenched due to the fact that temperatures have been hovering around the 90 degree mark and, truthfully, I’m at that time of my life when outside temperatures don’t really factor into how hot I feel. I got in the car and tried to drown out the whining and whelping with soothing sounds of encouragement. Afraid that he might decide to give me back his breakfast at an inopportune time, I decided to drive slowly and take the curves with great care. The inside of the car could have roasted a turkey in record time so I put the air on full blast. The sound didn’t appease Sonny in the least so I turned on the radio (I like to think he appreciates the Oldies) and started singing "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce to him which confused him enough to stop his complaints.

At long last, we arrived at the pet clinic and Sonny dove out of the car like the best diver in Acapulco. Bustling through the door disheveled, sweaty and with a hyperactive dog, I looked at my watch and was horrified to see that it was 3:42 pm. I couldn’t stop myself from fantasizing about how much I’d enjoy strangling the nice lady at the counter if she told me I’d lost my appointment. In fact, I’m quite sure that my eye started twitching like Inspector Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movies. But, instead, I was asked to wait and fill out their forms. Now how does one fill out forms when you’re trying to juggle a purse, vaccination papers, dog poop, oh yes and a dog that has now completely lost his mind? Couldn’t they empty the place out for us? Dogs of all breeds, cats and even two parrots were apparently taunting Sonny into becoming a lunatic. A staff member even came out and gave Sonny a treat, to try and calm him down, which he promptly spit out (first time in history that this dog has spit anything out). I finally handed in my illegible forms and asked about the dog obedience training that one neighbor had mentioned. (To be continued....)


To find out how to help your dog live to a possible 27 years (!), download your FREE copy of the Long Life Dog Book. To see pictures, videos and great information on Rat Terriers, please visit Rat Terrier Life Span and for information on keeping your best friend trim and healthy, take a look at Dog Weight Problems.