“No, ma’am.I guess you couldn’t.It’s always good when a pet picks the owner.”
“Well, I consider myself well and truly selected.Thank you, doctor.You’re very good at your job.”
She turned to leave, and Kent stayed by the counter until the outer door closed.Then he bent and pounded his forehead gently against the countertop.
“I will love all customers.I will love all my customers.My clients are great.”
“You okay?Doing any damage?Need me to call someone?”Jock stared at Kent, who was now bent over and resting his head on the countertop.
“She means well, she really does.But I’d bet you ten to one that she’ll either call or come back in tomorrow for what will amount to the same examination.”Kent straightened and turned.“Who’s my favorite puppy in the whole world?”Maynard went to him willingly, and Kent stroked his head and ears while the dog’s tail whipped back and forth.“I don’t have to ask how he’s doing.I can see how much better he is just days out.Excellent.Let’s get him up on a table, and I’ll see if there’s anything I need to work on.”
Tank chose that moment to sidle up to Kent and lean.
“Can’t forget about my other favorite puppy, can I?Hey, Tankster, how are you, man?”Tank groaned in response, then snuffled at both of Kent’s hands.“You smell precious, don’t you?”
Jock laughed. “Well, he hasn’t had a bath in a week or so, but I wouldn’t say he smells precious.”
Kent shook his head.“Precious is the kitten’s name.”
Chuckling, Jock bent and picked up Maynard.“Which room do you want?”
“Oh, straight through there.”Kent followed Jock and the two dogs into the room.Kent seemed locked in on Maynard, watching every movement and flinch.“He’s looking really good.”
“He’s moving a lot better.Surprising.”
“Dogs are resilient, especially when they’re loved.”Kent deftly removed Maynard’s pajamas and stroked down the dog’s sides and legs.“So much better.”He bent closer and pointed to a wound on Maynard’s flank.“Need to work on that one.”As if to illustrate the need, Maynard suddenly curved into a bean shape and attempted to lick the spot.“That would be a mistake, my dude.”Kent redirected the dog’s head back to Jock, who held the collar this time.“Okay, I see three I need to work on and treat.Are you good being in here, Jock?”
“Yeah, I’m surprisingly good too.”
Kent got started working, and Jock found it easier to talk to the man’s back.“We went to a dog park before we came here, the one over on Central.I’d hoped it would be less busy, and I picked either a good day or a good time of day, because there was just one other guy there.He had a lab, really pretty chocolate.”
“Oh?”Kent’s voice was noncommittal, and Maynard was standing still for the treatment, so Jock kept talking.
“Yeah.We stayed on our own side for a while, then Maynard decided Daddy needed to make a friend, so he initiated contact.The lab wasn’t the happiest at first, knocked Maynard pretty hard, but our boy didn’t react or retaliate.And that’s the story of how I met someone at the park and talked to them.Handful of words, but still.A stranger, you know?”
“Yeah.”Kent’s hands stilled.“It can be hard when the way our brain reacts doesn’t line up with reality.”
“You know it.”Tank had been sitting in the heel position, leaning on Jock, and took this moment to move into a reclining position, all while letting out the longest, loudest, and stinkiest fart in all the world.
“Oh my god,” Kent coughed, waving his hand.“Out, Tank.Get out.”He straightened and looked at the mastiff.“Where there’s one of those, there’s always more.Out, Tank.”
Jock laughed as the mastiff slunk slowly out of the room.He was only a few feet away when he let loose with another gut goblin, that maybe, impossibly, smelled fouler.
“Oh my god, that’s so bad.”Kent pretended to gag, and Jock grinned at him.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad.We’ve got Silly to thank for it.We’ll be going back to straight kibble starting tonight.”
“Oh, soft food?What brand?”
“Well, that’s the thing, see.There was an article about fresh food being really good, another article that sang the praises of organ meat, and a woman named Silly who loves Tank beyond belief.”
“Oh, man.Chopping up raw meat?”
“Bought a food processor, just for that task.She didn’t like the mystery ingredients of the stuff we bought from the store.”Jock gave Maynard a series of rubs, trying to stem his laughter.“I’m never going to tell her that it caused the vet to puke, but the bag of minced meat is going in the trash tonight.”
“Yeah, best idea.If you’re hooked on adding fresh food to their diet, pick up one of the brands in the coolers at the pet store, mystery ingredients or not.They’re developed specifically for dog guts.If you’re lucky, the farts will be the worst of the lesson.”
“I don’t even want to think about the alternative.”Jock had barely stopped laughing when he heard Tank rip another fart.It took a minute for the smell to make it back to them, but it found them with deadly aim.“Holy hell, that is a stinky-ass dog.Silly doesn’t get to make any more decisions about our dogs.”
