Just been to the vet for Maggie’s final puppy vaccination.
Thought I might not make it as I was called into the hospital overnight for some poor car crash victim who needed brain surgery, but luckily I was back in bed at 4:30 so got enough sleep. ( I suppose that last bit might be the most interesting part of this post for some people, which on balance I think I’d agree with, however there’s not much I’m free to say about it except wear your seatbelts, people! Anyhoo… )
Poor Maggie is still super timid but not aggressive with it (so far??) so she patiently submitted to the vet’s exam. While that was happening, I heard the sound that washing machines make when they’re unbalanced and need you to come and rearrange your wet clothes so it can go on with its job. It’s hard to describe – a short series of escalating bips – but you’d recognize it if you heard it. I mentioned it to the vet – I remember multiple loads of washing as part of the job when I had a summer job at a vet practice in my teens. But the vet said, no that was actually a rainbow lorikeet making that noise. Unbelievable! I would have bet any amount of money that that sound did not come from a living creature. And apparently, that is it’s only party trick. The only other recognizable thing it says is “hello!”, but otherwise it’s just bird chirps.
I took the opportunity to ask the vet about BARF, the raw food diet. She was very anti – well of course, duh! she’s been paid off by big dog food! She said the expensive dog biscuits, especially the top two brands which she unconditionally recommends and are also, coincidentally, available for sale at the clinic, are a complete diet in themselves. She made the connection with Paleo diets, too, that I think is now regarded as fringe by the majority of the population (hope I’m not wrong there). She said if people feed their dogs BARF to nourish the inner wolf, then they should also themselves be on Paleo to feed the inner caveman, so as not to be hypocritical. I can see the flaws in that argument as well, but on balance, I think I’m going to follow her advice. Much easier and less messy, for a start.