We had another full house today. Thankfully, everyone was on their best behavior. We had the visiting Sheltie twins – Drew and Carrie, in for their teeth cleaning. The twins were very well behaved and quietly huddled together while they panted and worried about the pinches to come. Each took their pokes in stride, and woke up with clean teeth and fresh breath. Neither one made so much as a whine either, until their parents came to get them, and then they made sure they weren't going to get left behind.

In addition to the twins, a young girl Border Collie named Coco came in to get her spay done. She was as sweet as could be and until she left at the end of the day, I'd forgotten she was even at the clinic she had been so quiet.

The one loud visitor was a scrawny old man dog named Reggie. Reggie is a 14 year old Shih-tzu, “living on borrowed kidneys” as mother would say. He went to the all night clinic last night because, “He just can't get comfortable” Reggie's mom pleaded. “They said the shot they gave him would make him sleep all night, but he didn't get one minute of sleep and neither did I” she added. Reggie is one of mother's favorite patients, and the worried look on her face told me that Reggie might have to get the permanent sleep. But mother took her time, carried Reggie outside to watch him walk and gingerly moved each of the creaky body parts to see which was the painful part. “I think it's his neck” she finally declared. Reggie then got a series of pinches that made him go from the quiet whimpers of “nobody touch me” to the throw-the-head-back howls of “I can move, I can move, get me my mom, I want to go home!”. I overheard mother discussing her findings with Reggie's mom, “The x-rays came back clear, no signs of tumor or infection. I think he's pinched a nerve in his neck. I've given him medicine, including morphine, and put a special patch on his back to help with pain. You should all be able to get some sleep tonight, and in a few days, Reggie should be back to his old self.” Reggie's mother was surely relieved A perceptive pooch like me could tell that Reggie's mom knew her time with Reggie was coming to an end, but she was just not ready to have it come today.

Mixed in with our day visitors mother saw a French bulldog with a torn thumbnail, a cat having fits that made him bit himself repeatedly, a Yorkie with a red ear, a German shepherd with a red tail and some pets for their regular poking visits. By the end of the day, I was so tired from announcing everyone's arrival that I just curled up in the back of the villa and let two people go to the bathroom without so much as a peep! I sure hope that Reggie gets a good nights' sleep tonight, I'm sure I will!