To the vet we go

I took both our cat and dog to the vet today. They are required to be micro chipped if they live in base housing. Our cat also had stitches that need to be removed, from when we got her fixed. I already knew that Nina (cat), was going to be a bad patient. She does not adjust well to strange environments, and people who are in the new environment.

They decided to micro chip Nina first. She was barely out of her cage, and she was already growling and hissing. The tech thought he could remove her stitches with just me and him, and I thought I'd humor him. He got one stitch out, before he realized he wasn't wearing his glasses, and thought it would be better for him to leave, get the glasses, and then return to finish with the other 2 stitches. This time he brought another tech in, to help hold Nina down. She was very unhappy with the new addition in the room. Out came the claws and I do believe, every single one of us got a nice new band-aid. The new tech had to break out the dog fighting gloves. You know, the gloves that the dog trainers wear, when training a dog how to attack. Or the gloves and trainer wears, who is holding a hawk. After fighting with Nina for another 5 minutes, another tech came in to help implant the micro chip. If you have never seen a micro chip needle, they are fairly wide. With all the squirming and all the hands and arms, it looked like a deadly game of twister. Finally we heard Nina scream, and the tech said, "it's in!" Everyone looked relieved. Now they just need to remove the stitches. I think Nina was worn out, or just over come with all the activity, that she just laid there while they removed the other 2 stitches. She was supposed to get a check from the vet, but the techs thought it would be in everyone's best interest, to just put her back in her cage, and leave her there.

Now it was Coda's (black lab) turn. Coda loves people. He loves new places. He loves other animals. He just loves everything, whether it is alive or not. He has this thing where, he just sits and licks random things. Most often our carpet or couch. But if you let him, he will lick you all day. So while Nina was getting her micro chip, he was walking around the room licking people and objects. Coda needed to get a heart worm test and that requires blood. I knew from other experiences, that he would happily let them take all his blood, as long as someone was petting him. And I was right. He was so excited that two new people were so close to him, and petting him, he didn't even care or notice the needle. With the micro chip, he did yelp little, but was still very excited to be on a table with people paying attention to him.

Then the vet came in, and peeked at Nina in her cage, who was now complaining nonstop, and said she had nice white teeth, but wasn't about to stick her hand in there. Next was Coda's check up, and Coda has always been big. And I know it's because he is big boned. But after they weighed him at 107 lbs, I wasn't to surprised. The vet said he should lose 30 lbs, but after feeling his ribs, she said, "Well, maybe only 20 lbs, he has big bones." I knew I was right! But now Coda has to go on a diet. I'm sure he will love it, because even though we are cutting back on his food, he is allowed to have a can of green beans along with his 3 cups of food. I know he will love it. He will eat almost anything if you get him excited enough. I have to take him back in a month to weigh him again. Wish him luck on his new diet. What a day at the vet.