Work is ongoing for the big party on Saturday.  Mother really got into it.  She was in charge of putting new wet color on the walls and managed to color herself too.

 The smell from that color makes you feel funny in your head.  The smell was the reason that I thought I was seeing double today. 

We had two Shelties come in, that looked just like my Aunt Mona.  One I knew pretty well, her name is Alice.  She's been here a lot, usually with her little brother Taco,  attached to her hip.  Today her hip was hurting so she left Taco at home.  Alice had lots of black and white pictures taken to find exactly what was bothering her. "Nothing broken" mother concluded "but Alice has some pretty bad arthritis".  "We're not surprised to hear that" Alice's mother offered "she was abused as a puppy.  She was kept in the basement in her former home, and little kids would ride on her back." Mother was shocked to hear how such a sweet little dog could be so mistreated. 

But she was not nearly as shocked as I was.  At the very same time that Alice was being discussed, I was listening to the sad beginnings of the other sheltie. He had been in the clinic overnight for bringing up his kibbles.  His name was Ubu.  "I've lived a good long life" he started "although it didn't start off so good.  I was kept in the basement for the first 6 months of my life.  Finally I was rescued by my human parents.  Since then I've lived a life of luxury, but my time in the darkness has never left me.  I only really come alive at night.  My parents like to say I'm 'nocturnal', whatever that means."  Listening to Alice's story, and then to Ubu's I couldn't help but wonder if they shared the same basement at some point in time. 
I didn't even know what a basement was until Bea explained it to me.  Apparently it's part of a house that is under ground; usually cool, dark and with the comforting smell of earth.  But neither of the sheltie's stories sounded comforting.  No wonder they are both such tolerant patients; compared to life 'in the basement' time spent in our clinic is a walk in the park.