On the way to the vet...
On the way back from the vet (check out the body language)...
What happened in between...
Day one of having a puppy called for a trip to the vet. I had a puppy wearing a borrowed collar and lead from my mom. I needed to get her everything she needed and maybe one or two things she wanted. What girl doesn't enjoy a little retail therapy? Besides, spoiling her a little was a small price to pay for the fact that I knew that she was going to face needles, lots of needles, and a thermometer up her bum (yip, how awful does that sound?)
Anyway, at 15h00 she strutted into the vet's office – tail wagging, cute little paws bouncing on the linoleum floor. Poor little creature had no idea what was about to happen. She sat on the vet's table (tail still wagging) while the less invasive checks were done... then her expression changed.
As the thermometer went up her usually perky ears went down and she gave me the 'Why mommy, why?!?' look. She swallowed her deworming tablet easily enough and the little piece of biltong she got from the vet helped it go down a little more smoothly. Then it was time for her vaccinations. I held onto her tightly as she dug her little claws in and begged me to just pick her up. I was taken by surprise at how protective of her I was already – she had been mine for less than 24 hours and my heart was already breaking a little with every injection. Then the really tough part came... Ellie had to be micro-chipped – it's the responsible thing to do. However, I wasn't anticipating such a big needle or such a gut wrenching "YELP!" when it went into the scruff of her neck. Ellie screamed and I cried – yip, sad but true. Seeing my puppy in pain made me cry and seeing the "Why are you letting her hurt me?" expression on her face traumatised me.
The end result? Ellie (and I) survived. By 15h30 her tail was wagging again and I was loading a brand new dog bed, specially formulated puppy food, immune boosting treats, food & water bowls, dog shampoo, a harness, a collar, a lead, Frontline and several cute, colourful, development-assisting toys. I may have bought a few little extras out of guilt, but hey, if I'd had to have a thermometer shoved up my bum I would have expected someone to buy me a treat too!
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