My Rat Terrier Sonny and Our Visit to the Vet

            In preparation for the odyssey that we’ll be enduring at the end of this month, Sonny and I decided to visit the vet (or as my addled, middle-aged mind referred to her, the ventriloquist – don’t ask).  You see, almost every year, we drive up to Buffalo and Toronto from Knoxville, TN, two whole times; first in the spring/summer and then in November.  Not only do we get a chance to see our friends and family but we also get away from our rut even if it’s only for a week.  Usually, while we’re away, our neighbor checks in on Boris (the cat) at least once a day to make sure he has everything he needs, clean his litter (what an angel she is) and play with him a while.  Sonny, on the other hand has had to be boarded – something Rat Terriers abhor!  He’s always lost a little too much weight and had mild behavior problems for a while afterwards so we really didn’t like doing it but what could we do?  This year, however, my husband decided that we should take him with us… to Buffalo… in the car… with us… in the car… for eleven or twelve hours… in the car!  Not a problem, you say.  However, Sonny gets car sick (like Mummy, like Puppy) and, therefore is really quite afraid of the car.  Ergo, our trip to the vet for some fantastic knock-out pills (my hope).

            I had decided to change veterinarians as our other one had already claimed our arm, leg and first born for the very few times we’d actually gone to see her.  After talking to the neighbors and discovering that I was the only one stupid enough to still go there, I took their cue and made an appointment at the new place.  I got an appointment right away for 3:30 pm but I was supposed to be there at 3:00 pm to fill out the obligatory paperwork.  Excellent.

             The day arrived and since the office was only about 7 minutes away from my house, I decided, quite foolishly as it turned out, that I should leave around 2:45 pm.  I, of course, hadn’t counted on Sonny refusing to go.  With the car door opened, I let Sonny do his business to avoid any accidents and then led him, naively, to the door expecting him to jump up and into the car happily and elegantly.  Instead, he looked at me as though I’d sprouted antlers, cocked his head to the left and promptly sat down on the driveway.  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.  As it happened, the trainer was walking towards me and when she was introduced to us, I swear I saw a flicker of horror in her eyes.  She started telling me about the classes and out of the corner of my eye I could see the veterinary assistant waiting to take us into the examination room.  So now, apart from juggling the purse, the papers, the poop and the dog, I was now juggling the trainer and the assistant too.  I’m not really sure what the trainer told me but I’ve got a card and it says I’m supposed to call her so I suppose I will.

            Once in the examination room, things went a little smoother as I was able to dump my paraphernalia and hand Sonny over to professionals.  He screamed so loud when he got his shots, though, that the vet actually jumped a bit but that calmed him down and he came over for a reassuring hug.  He’s in good health, which I knew but then we went to get him weighed.  Last year, he weighed in at 29 lbs. which was 7 lbs. overweight.  I’ve been cutting down on his treats, giving him lean or low calorie dog food and trying to take him on more walks so I was confident he’d lost a pound or two.  When I looked at the scale and saw that he weighed 35 lbs. I almost burst out crying.  I know the serious effects that dog weight problems can have on the health of a dog and on a Rat Terrier's life span.  My guilt was now complete.  Even if she had pointed a finger at me and said, “Bad mistress, bad, bad mistress”, she could not have made me feel worse.

            Although the assistant had mentioned a mild sedative for Sonny for the long car drive (some of which I could have used at that time), the vet told me that all I should give him was Dramamine which I just happened to have in my purse.  I shouldn’t give him more than 50 grams at one time but he can have up to 150 grams in one day.  The only thing is the ones in my purse are the non-drowsy formula so I’ll be picking up the “can’t stay awake no matter how I try” version for him this week.

            The drive home was much less eventful.  Sonny probably sensed my contrition and decided not to make me feel worse.  We drove home listening to the Oldies (we actually heard Me & You and a Dog Named Boo) and when I opened the front door to the house, I think he would have kissed Boris if Boris had let him.  He’s happy now because he thinks the worst is past; little does he know there’s a long, long drive ahead of him and another on the way back.  I know he’ll survive it; I’m just not so sure I will.

          To read more about Sonny, please visit My Rat Terrier Sonny where you can also download your free copy of the Long Life Dog Book.  To see pictures of Rat Terriers and find out more about them, please visit Rat Terrier Life Span and  for information on keeping your best friend trim, take a look at Dog Weight Problems.