Mallards

 

Time for Whip's annual trip to the vet.  The vet's office had given me the option of just picking up her shots and administering them myself.  I asked instead to have a vet give her the once over.  I'm not an expert on dogs and having someone who is take a look once a year is probably a good idea.  In prep, yesterday I took Whip into town w/ me.  We stopped off at McD's for her cheeseburger and Dairy Queen gave me a 'pup cup' (ice cream) cementing in her mind that car rides are enjoyable.   This morning I kept her active in order to take the edge off of her energy before we met the vet.  The vet came into the examination room and first off asked if I planned on boarding her soon.  When I replied I didn't, he suggested not giving her the shot required by most kennels.  "If you change your mind, you can pick it up here and administer it yourself."   He got down on one knee to be at Whip's level.  He listened to her heart, ran a practiced hand over her back, smelled her ears, gazed into her eyes, and pulled back her muzzle for a look at her teeth.  He gave her a Lyme's shot and asked me if she limped - no, nervous issues - no, any other problems - none I knew of.  The bill for the shots and checkup was less than when I get my teeth cleaned and far less than my own annual checkup (though now when I think of it, my doc does pretty much the same things the vet does).