I worked at a clinic that I’ve never been at before today. When you enter this clinic you go through a one story entryway that opens into a two story reception area. The walls are lined with pictures of the owner’s show dogs and draft horse teams. But the really cool thing was when you turn around and look over the entry area that you just walked through there is a beautiful horse cart just sitting there over the door being used to hang baskets of plants. I told the staff that it was a shame that they would have to dust that so if that was a burden to them I would be willing to strap it to my car and take it right off their hands for them. Just wanting to make their lives easier of course.

Then they showed me the back. Usually I get a little tour when I go to a new clinic. When they asked if I wanted to see the back I said ok to be polite. I figured I was just going to see the kennels. They took me into a stall area with gorgeous white painted stalls. I should wish for such beautiful stalls. Of course these did not have horses in them full time so that may be why they were so gleaming white. Today one had two dobermans and another had a Newfoundland. In the space in front of the stalls in what was supposed to be the equine examination area there was a full dog agility course. Very cool. If I worked here all the time I would have to be playing on that myself.

This is in a fairly rural area. They had the radio on all day. There were regular local newsreports but the problem was that there was no news. The morning started out with detailed explanations of what happened at the fair board meeting last night. Detailed – there was time to fill. By about three o’clock they were bored with repeating the fairboard news so they added in, “The 4-H newsletters were mailed out today. So if you don’t get your’s soon call the office.” That cracked me up. I mean I am a 4-H person so I understand the relative importance of fair boards and newsletters but it was literally the only local news.

The other weird thing that happened today was that during the whole introduction phase they asked what kind of dog I had. I said I have a Pomeranian. They said that I just missed one that they discharged yesterday. They said that it had been hit by a car in some other town they couldn’t remember. I impressed them by naming all its injuries. I should have claimed that I had amazing psychic ability. But the truth is that I had seen that dog in another clinic (30 miles away) earlier in the week. They guy who was going to take care of the dog was from the town I was in today and wanted to take her back to his vet after we got her stabilized. Same dog. Now I’ll be able to let the other vet that worked on her in the first clinic know that she is doing fine.