"I cannot bear to look."
We took the (bigger) dogs to Petco this morning for the vaccination clinic. While it was the more affordable option to get both of them their shots for just under $70 total, I left feeling angry at the old, dirty, Santa-looking jerk who gave the dogs their shots.
He was an older fellow in a denim shirt; and he looked kind of annoyed just being there. I know it can't be fun to sit in a folding chair for 4 hours to give shots to long lines of dogs and cats, but he shouldn't take it out on the dogs.
Wait-- I don't mean to make it sound like the guy was punching dogs in the face, or kicking the dogs. It wasn't that bad.
But I watched him give shots to two dogs before it was Hailie's turn, and he seemed to pride himself on how quickly he could jab the needle in and back out again. It really did look like it was the one way he had to keep his job interesting. I was a little concerned, but I knew that it would probably be fine. I've taken lots of dogs to vets over the years, and they never even seemed to feel the needles. I remember my Mom telling me when I was little that dogs just don't feel shots like we do. She said that to keep me from freaking out when our dog Buffy was getting vaccinated and I was probably standing there next to the table like a wide-eyed little overbearing owner. And in a way, she is right. If the vet performs this procedure correctly, the dogs don't even notice it.
Well, idiot vet today (if he was even a real vet... maybe he's a weird drifter who drives around with little vials of killed rabies virus and needles and bribes Petco to let him in once a month in exchange for some kibble. For him. He eats the kibble.) didn't do it right. He JABBED our dogs.
Hailie went first; Greg was holding her and the first needle did seem to make her jump a little. The second one, she jumped even more. It happened so quickly I didn't really see what was going on, but I did hear Greg tell Hailie she was a good dog. And the jackass mutters to himself as he turns away: "Good dog, yeah, almost made me stick the needle in my own arm!" Whoa, guy. Relax. She definitely IS a good dog, and no, there was no way she jumped enough to make him stab himself. STEP OFF. Ain't no one insinuating Hailie is NOT a good dog.
Indy's turn was, in a way, worse. He, too, had to get two shots, and the first one made him jump and wince, and then I look at his back and there is blood on his fur. The asshole grabs a swab with some alcohol and starts sponging it off, saying, "This happens sometimes." No, I don't think it does. Not once I have a had one of my dogs bleed from a shot that much. I held Indy so he would be calm and tried to distract him from the next horrible shot. That one made him flinch but he was OK.
We couldn't get out of there quick enough.
I am so glad we opted out of bringing bony little Malcolm today. That douchebag would have stabbed the needle right into one of Malcolm's internal organs for sure.
Right now, everyone is fine and no one is bleeding or being a bad dog in any way. The only thing that's happening is I am once more using my blog as a platform to bitch about stuff. :)
4 comments:
How frustrating! Any way of finding out who that guy "worked" for?
Way to take it like a champ, Hailie, even though you shouldn't have had to. Good for Indy, too! Very well-behaved, both of them!
I had a dog named Buffy as a kid, too!
Well, 'ello! That's why you HAVE a blog. I wondered what Santa got up to during the off season... Maybe he needs to lay off whatever he's been smoking; it seems to be making him a cranky jerk.
Jen-- I'm not sure how to find out, but I could always write a complaint letter to that Petco manager. I might look into it. And yes, we are very proud of our good dogs in that time of crisis. :) Buffy was an incredible dog, and I think it's partly because of her awesome temperment I became such a huge animal person.
Fraulein -- You're right. The blogs are for personal expression. I guess that it's just that recently, I have found out that comments made on blogs can be really hurtful-- and not just to the actual parties I criticized. I won't get into it more than that, but it did make me realize that there are more people than just our little group of bloggers reading this stuff. It's SO WEIRD. I want this to be a vacuum, of sorts, y'know? At the same time, I don't want to censor myself because I might offend someone... I just want to say what I want to say. Maybe I should try being a little more positive once in awhile, MAYBE. That's a big maybe.
And I would say this Santa fellow has been into the Frontline. It's not just for repelling ticks and fleas anymore. I bet his unorthodox marriage to that raggedy old poodle mix is on the rocks. Their litter of child-pups won't even speak to him anymore. It can all make a man a little edgy.
Cruel Shoes:
Maybe the Santa Claus "vet" was the same phychiatrist in "Running with Scissors" who had the mastrabatorium.
Petco sucks. When I took my Shih Tzu puppy there for his first haircut, I got a dressing down from the groomer about what a bad dog he was. I go elsewhere now, and they love him.
If you have kids, it is more of the same kind of mother bear-stuff you're feeling. When my daughter was a newborn, I had a doctor who would stick her with all her shots at once, so she would get the shots over at the same moment. I switched doctors, and asked them to utilize this process and they balked, and jabbed her one-by-one. I was hormonal so I cried along with my daughter, and I never went back.
Poor puppies. I hope they're comfortable now.
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