After an early morning walk and a few bites of kibble (for Maggie, not me) it was off to the vets for a much needed pedicure. Maggie hates to go to the animal hospital for any reason. I don’t know how she knew where we were going, but she was trembling all over before we got to the end of the driveway. Usually, she stands on a pillow on the passenger seat with her nose out the window, anticipating the walking trail at the end of the drive, but not today. Since I can drive to the vet on back roads, and since she was so upset, I broke my own rule and let her sit on my lap.
When we pulled up in front of the clinic, she stuck her head under my arm in her classic, “If I can’t see them, they can’t see maneuver.” Even getting her on the scale for a weight check was traumatic. (What girl wants to be weighed in a public place?) She was her usual svelte 11.20 pounds/ounces. The vet tech retrieved the nail clippers and eight clicks later Maggie was finished. I’ve learned if I hold her in a dangling position during the nail trim, as opposed to having her sit on the table, she doesn’t put up such a fuss. With her attitude, it’s a good thing she’s not a Great Dane or a German Shepherd.
The tech offered Maggie a treat, but she declined. She wasn’t about to let down her guard. No telling what those people would want to do to her next. On the way out, I stopped at the dog biscuit jar and picked out one tiny biscuit in each color for her to have once she was back in her usual good humor. The bill was 11.50. I could get my nails polished for less.
Next we went through the McDonald’s drive through for a bacon-cheese-egg biscuit and a diet cola. I’d brought the morning newspaper in anticipation of reading while I ate. After driving to the park, I unfolded the paper and enjoyed my breakfast while Maggie nosed around for the biscuits I hid under her car-seat pillow. As soon as she had polished off her treats, she climbed back in my lap. It’s hard to read the paper through a dog, so we took a nice walk instead. Midway around the trail, I could hear a rooster crowing. If Maggie could hear, I’m sure she would have enjoyed finding that rooster.
Now, while I work, Maggie is curled up in her bed taking a well deserved nap. I am grateful for Maggie. She’s a great big dog in a small dog body. She is willful and spunky and does things her way. But, she’s also fiercely loyal and very loving—unless you’re a vet with nail clippers in your pocket.
If you like to read about writing or know someone who does, the following book would be a terrific Christmas gift. C.J. is a friend of mine. She also won the Christian Writers Guild 1st Novel Contest.
112 Christian Authors and Publishing Professionals Share Their Best Advice for Novelists.
On Amazon for your KINDLE: http://ow.ly/flxhF
On B&N for your NOOK: http://www.ow.ly/flyAC
C.J. Darlington
TitleTrakk.com Co-founder / Family Fiction Magazine Contributor / NovelCrossing.com Contributor
http://www.cjdarlington.com
Don’t we love our canine characters! Skye (Australian shepherd) will NOT let her nails be trimmed, so we have to throw the ball for her to grind her nails down on the sidewalk or the basement cement. She figured that one out!