More Adventures of the Horse Doctor's Husband by Justin B. Long

Author:Justin B. Long
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adventures of the horse doctor's husbad, horse, equine, veterinary, horse care
Publisher: Springhill Media
Published: 2020-02-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

I’m Not Crazy, You’re Crazy

I get to meet an incredible variety of people doing what I do. Not unlike paramedics and police, I often meet people at a really bad time for them, which I totally understand. When your horse is trying to maim itself, or your donkey has found a way to break into the feed room and eat a whole bag of grain, you are under a tremendous amount of stress. We all handle that stress in our own way, and I don’t expect people to be at their best when I show up at their home with the veterinarian. I wouldn’t be at my best in those situations either.

Sometimes, though, we meet people who really raise the eyebrows. I mean really, really raise them, way up high. Sometimes it’s the eclectic collection of strange things in their yard. Sometimes it’s the number and variety of animals they have, or their ideas on how they’re going to get rich from selling this or that. And sometimes, you meet a person who’s just plain nuts.

One day a woman opened the door of the clinic and walked in. She was in her mid-fifties with short red hair and a bright flower-print blouse. She was holding a dog carrier, which she set up on the counter.

“I’ve got a fox. I think something’s wrong with it.” She looked around at us, as if waiting for someone to point out that we are an equine veterinary clinic. No one did. Dr. Russel was back in the lab, undoubtedly listening to what was being said up front. Jessica was her tech that day, and she happened to be sitting at the front desk, talking to Amy and me when the woman walked in.

“What’s he doing that’s strange?” Amy asked, bending down to peer inside the container. Amy used to be the practice manager for a small animal clinic, before she took over our office. She would know better than me if a small animal clinic would see a fox, or if it would need to go someplace like the vet school in Gainesville. People have all kinds of crazy pets and finding the appropriate veterinarian can be a challenge.

“Well, he let us walk up and pet him,” the woman said. “That seems kind of weird.”

It took a moment for that statement to sink in. The moment that it did was crystal clear, as Jessica slid the chair back against the wall behind her, and Amy backed away to the pharmacy door.

“This isn’t your pet, then?” Amy asked.

The woman looked at her like she was crazy. “Pet? Hell no, who has a fox for a pet? This thing just walked up into my yard. My grandkids were playing with it.”

In my head, a quarantine list was forming. Dr. Russel came around the corner and said what everyone else was thinking.

“That’s probably rabies. Nobody touch it.”

The woman looked down the hall as Dr. Russel approached. “Rabies? Are you serious? It didn’t bite anyone.”

“Everybody out back to the sink, right now.

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