The Tiger and the Tortoise by Mike Hardwich

Author:Mike Hardwich
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Published: 2014-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

CURVE BALLS

She was new to the clinic, an attractive lady albeit in a strange way. She was tall and well built, and athletic looking, but her most striking feature was her smile. Also, she had a very attractive foreign accent. Perhaps it was Canadian or from the northern states of the USA. Her blonde hair was nearly shoulder length, shiny and very thick.

The first time I met Melinda she brought in a little Jack Russell terrier for its first vaccination. The boisterous puppy was in fine fettle and although a recent addition to the family, had obviously endeared itself to Melinda, as these pets often do. Either a person is an avid fan of the breed or they are not – there are seldom shades of grey with them. Jack Russells are typical terriers who never look in the mirror to see just how small they really are. They’ll see a Rottweiler as a good sparring partner and they will kill anything they can get hold of, from a gecko, the neighbour’s pet bunny or a garden chicken, and woe betide any rat or mouse that decides to move about at night, or to seek refuge under the fridge or cooker. In all likelihood the appliance will have all its electrical insides torn out when the dog tries to catch any poor rodent seeking refuge behind it.

Melinda and her little dog, Jake, became fairly regular visitors to my practice. The pet was always exuberant and full of life. All his vaccinations were carried out on time. Then the matter of his castration was broached. I had never met Melinda’s husband before but she told me that he was not keen on the idea. Was it perhaps a male thing?

We discussed the pros and cons and agreed that the procedure was not necessary at this time as the dog had shown no reason for it to be done. He had not marked the furniture or shown any negative behaviour.

About a year later Melinda came in again for Jake’s booster vaccinations. She was looking awful, not her normal self at all. I was concerned about her but as a vet I did not feel I could pry into her personal life. I purposely did not ask her how she was. My opinion on things like rabies, mite infection, snakebite and ringworm was frequently sought and I felt comfortable about giving advice on that sort of thing. There were times when I was surprised by what I was told, however.

Unprompted by me, Melinda proceeded to tell me all about her troubles. She’d been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, she confided, and was due to start with chemotherapy treatment the following Monday, which would be followed by radiotherapy.

Although cancer is a fairly common illness, this news still came as a shock to me. Melinda was such a healthy, robust, lively and young woman.

‘These trials come whether we are ready or not,’ she continued calmly while I was struggling to find adequate words to say.

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