The dreaded visit...with a happy ending!

"Kess, it's time to go for a car ride" mum said one sunny Saturday afternoon. My ears perked up. My tail did a boogie woo "left-to-right-and-back-again" wag. I rushed to grab my leash from the top of the shoe cabinet. Car rides are on my list of favourite "To Dos"! Little did I know...

It was actually the car ride to X@#*! (This is a child-friendly blog after all). We were going to the VET! Aargh...It's every doggie's nightmare (I know coz I've read your blogs). Apparently, it was time for my annual check-up and vaccination, which is actually top of my"Don't Do" list, but do my humans take that into account? No, of course not! They say it's for my own good. Huh? How does having a vet prod my anatonomy, peer into my ears and mouth, put me on a weighing scale (I don't need a vet telling me I'm fat!) and stick a needle on my butt helpful?

But, no amount of pleading eyes and whining could change their minds. They say that the vet needs to examine me to make sure I'm in good health. In fact, after my last check up, the vet recommended that I take glucosamine because of my weak hind leg (my humans reckon it's from all the climbing and jumping off fences when I pretended to be Houdini, the famous escape artist...If you're new to my blog, read about my escapades and adventures).

Well, I wasn't about to cooperate with the vet. Plus I really detest the slippery metal table they put me on!. So I struggle to get off...

After a long while, I got tired and succumbed to the vet's stethoscope. Kess - 0, Vet -1.

Check out the size of the needle! And I got jabbed twice - once for the core vaccination and once for heartworm. Kess - 0; Vet - 2.Heartworm disease, which is carried by mosquitoes can cause serious harm to the heart, lungs and other vital organs of dogs. If untreated, heartworm disease can result in death. Read more about it on American Veterinary Medical Association's ("AVMA") and American Heartworm Society's websites. Pretty serious! However, I much preferred when my humans fed me the Heartgard tablets every month. But since mum and dad suffer from bouts of forgetfulness, they opted for the annual injection to minimise the risk. The AVMA website also has a section of vaccination, if you're interested to read up about it.

After the trauma of the slippery table and needles, mum gave me some treats to make up for my suffering! Sigh...bribery works all the time with me. Finally, dad lifts me off the table and I could just kiss the floor! Suddenly, a strange dog comes bounding into the examination room through the back door. Now mind you, I was already traumatised at this point, so I wasn't my usual friendly, docile self. I growled at this strange canine and my humans had to quickly remove the newcomer before things got ugly.

I was more than happy to say goodbye to the vet and left the room before my humans changed their minds and decided to have a 2nd session with the vet. Out at the waiting room, I saw the new dog again. By now, I was back to my normal self. After taking turns butt-sniffing, I became pals with QQ, a beautiful retriever. Unlike me, QQ was very excited to see the vet (so much so she couldn't wait for her turn and sneaked into the examination room before her turn!)

Anyway, both QQ's and my humans were glad that we became friends.
So, there was a happy ending after all! I gained a new friend.