The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Susanne spent her morning showing Moppy the things that she had learned during Paxton's therapy sessions. She wanted Moppy to feel comfortable enough to be able to practice with Paxton throughout the day. She was a quick learner and Susanne thought that she would do an excellent job.

Susanne brought Ashley the kitty into work today. There was finally a space available for her in the adoption program. Susanne was going to examine her today, update her vaccinations, give her a dewormer, test for FeLV/FIV, and check a stool sample for parasites. She was getting the works. Hopefully, someone would think she was irrestible and adopt her.

Susanne's day was going well. It got even better when she got to see one of her favorite longtime clients. This client was one of Susanne's biggest fans. They met early on when Susanne was first starting out at the clinic. They had an instant connection because they were both huge fans of Boxers. They each had two boxers at the time along with guinea pigs, which just sealed the deal. They loved swapping stories about their pets and were shocked with the similarities between their dogs' personalities. This owner had a white version of Maverick and a white version of James. Susanne got along so well with her. It felt more like a friendship than a typical relationship with a client. She was so happy to see her and be able to update her on Paxton. She had been keeping up with everything through Susanne's close friend, Julie. Susanne couldn't wait for her to see pictures of the little guy. She was so encouraging to Susanne and really helped her to keep things in perspective. Unfortunately for her, she brought one of her dogs for a wellness exam and she ended up being really sick. Hopefully, with the right medications she will be feeling better in no time.

It must have been Susanne's lucky day because she got to see another one of her favorite patients. This was a Welsh Corgi that had so much personality. He absolutely loved Susanne. Anytime he would see her it was almost instantly that he would roll over on his back for a belly rub. The funny thing was that he only wanted to be loved on by Susanne, but did not want anything else from her. Whenever she had to do any procedures or even just look in his ears, he would try to nip and be sassy. It was very comical and entertaining, but he always had to wear a muzzle for that stuff for safety precautions.

One of Susanne's appointments during the day was a beautiful, new kitten. He was just as sweet as pie. The owner had recently purchased him through a breeder that ran a cattery a few states away. The kitten looked healthy overall, but Susanne needed to run a couple of tests to make sure he was free of parasites, feline leukemia, and FIV. Susanne called the owner before she left for the night to go over the test results. The kitten ended up having a parasite that needed to be treated. The owner was concerned because the kitten started having loose stool once they got home from the appointment. The owner was convinced that Susanne had done something to the cat that caused this to occur. Susanne understood how it seemed like a coincidence, but the fact that the kitten had parasites explained the true reason behind the diarrhea. Susanne also tried to tell the owner that the stress from the recent travel, new environment, and now going to the veterinary office could also exacerbate the problem. Unfortunately, the owner wasn't interested in Susanne's thoughts on the matter. The owner was instructed to bring the kitten in if she was concerned and she did. Susanne just happened to be there when she arrived. She took a look at the kitten to reassess how it was doing. Other than evidence of diarrhea, the kitten look the same. The emergency doctor also examined the kitten so that there would be a second set of eyes evaluating the kitten. His assessment was the same as Susanne's. The owner was not satisfied and still believed that it was trauma that was causing the loose stool. The owner left angry and Susanne left frustrated.

Susanne did not pack a dinner because she had high hopes of being home at a reasonable hour. She realized that this was not the case when she arrived home around midnight. She felt horrible because Moppy still had to drive home and then be up early to catch a flight to Orlando in the morning for a conference she would be at for a week. Susanne wished she could predict her schedule a little bit better, but that has never been the case. This factor alone made it unbelievably difficult to find adequate child care. No one wanted to work if they didn't really know what time their shift would end.