The Doggie Doctor

Our dog, Rayo, has his yearly veterinarian visit today. I can't help but think back to the first time I brought Rayo to the vet, by myself, with 2 small children. Connor was close to 10 months and Aidan was 4. We had recently moved back to Pittsfield and I was still in my 'super mom' phase, convinced I could do anything and everything!

When I leave the house with the kids to complete specific tasks, I talk to them about what we are doing and the behavior I expect from them while we are out. Aidan and I spoke about bringing Rayo to the doctor and how I needed him to be an especially good boy. It would be no easy task taking Rayo to the vet with a 10 month old. Rayo is very scared of baby carriages and will not walk near one. This meant I had to carry Connor while holding onto Rayo's leash. At this point Connor was way too heavy to carry in his car seat!!!

As I have mentioned before Aidan is a very inquisitive child. This trip was no different when it came to his questions. He was very curious to know what types of animals the vet cared for. I explained to him that vets take care of all animals and we would probably see lots of dogs and cats. Aidan was worried about horses being there, but I assured him that vets would go to the barn to see any large animals.

Our visit was fairly uneventful. As Rayo typically does, he peed on the floor. But he handled his shots well and was more then ready to go when the appointment had finished.

As I wrote out the check, I heard whimpering from behind me followed by outraged yelling and tears. I turned around to see Aidan having a complete temper tantrum. I knelt down to ask him what was going on. Unfortunately it took awhile for me to understand Aidan between the tears and the yelling and that only added to his frustrations. Finally he very clearly and very loudly yelled " I AM NOT LEAVING. I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY MONKEYS YET!!!!"

Thankfully the receptionist was very helpful and brought Rayo out to the car for me while I carried a confused Connor and a very very angry Aidan. As I buckled him into the car seat I made a mental note, the vet does not take care of all animals. The vet only takes care of dogs and cats.