“Oh,” the receptionist said in surprise to see the blonde in the waiting room. “She is here to see you and that dog she brought in. She paid some on the bill.”
“She paid…?” Fiona asked, puzzled. She’d spoken with the other vets and they had agreed to write this one off since the owners had surrendered it. Fiona’s time wouldn’t be paid for and the clinic would absorb the cost of the supplies she had used.
“Yeah, she brought in two thousand dollars,” the woman snickered conspiratorially.
Royally angered by the woman’s ineptitude and greed, Fiona backed away and went around back into the clinic and came out the door to the waiting room. Calming herself on the way, she looked genuinely glad to see the blonde sitting there.
“Allyssa?” she said brightly and watched as the young woman looked up.
“Hi, Dr. Herriot,” she answered with a smile as she stood up a little stiffly for having sat so long.
“Would you like to see our patient?” she gestured to the door she had just come through. The other people waiting in the room looked on in interest.
“I sure would,” she answered pleasantly and walked by Fiona.
Fiona couldn’t help but notice the fresh smell of the younger woman. She smelled of new spring flowers and like she had showered only recently. Feeling exhausted herself, Fiona couldn’t help but notice how alive the younger woman appeared. “He’s back here,” she showed her to another part of the clinic where the dog had been moved after he came out of the anesthesia. A loud thumping could be heard from the dog’s tail wagging on the plastic inside his cage. Other dogs sat up barking and the noise was intense in the enclosed room, echoing off the walls and the metal cages.
“Wow, how do you hear yourself think?” laughed Allyssa as she covered her ears and then put her fingers through the cage when the dog she was looking for gazed hopefully at her. He reached out his nose to smell her and his tail thumped harder, but he made no effort to get up or greet her.
“Yes, it does get a little LOUD,” she had to increase her voice to be heard over the din. She smiled in return as the dog didn’t appear too excited to see her. His eyes spoke volumes though, he was worried and yet pleased as she gave him attention.
“Did you find out his name?” Allyssa asked, looking at the pillow around the poor dog’s neck and then at the bandaged leg. She thought the pillow made more sense, was softer, and not like the dreaded cone of shame she’d seen on other dogs.
“Yes, the owners called him Thumper,” she grimaced at the name and Allyssa wrinkled her nose in response. It was obvious neither approved of it.
“Well, how is Thumper doing today?” she asked and the dog’s tail wagged, thumping appropriately on the plastic. She could have sworn the dog rolled its eyes at its name too.
“I checked him before I went out today. Would you like to help me take him out to the outside pen for a walk?”
“He can walk?” she asked hopefully.
“Well, we put a sling around the leg and shoulder and help him,” she explained.
Allyssa eagerly agreed and between the two of them they got the large puppy out and down out of the cage and into the sling. The sling didn’t make him happy as he hopped along on the end of the leash the doctor snapped onto his collar. “Maybe you could reassure him? It’s over there that we are headed,” Fiona pointed to a door.
“C’mon Thumper, c’mon,” she encouraged him in her best ‘let’s-be-friends’ voice.
The dog looked at her suspiciously. It was obvious he wasn’t happy, but he attempted a hop, then another, and then another. Slowly, but surely, they got him to the door and out into a play area that was fenced behind the clinic. The long grass seemed to inspire him to squat. He would have lifted his leg, but then he would have been unbalanced and it was obvious he wasn’t about to do that.
“Good boy,” the doctor encouraged him. When Allyssa looked up questioningly she said, “We need to know that things are going through his system okay. If his bowels and kidneys are working, that’s a good sign.”
Allyssa petted the overgrown pup, marveling at the length of his legs. She had looked up Anatolian Shepherds and was amazed at what she had found out about them. She had never heard of them before, but now she could see from the pictures that he looked just like one. “How long until he gets his stitches out?” she asked to make conversation.
“At least two weeks,” Fiona promptly answered, studying the younger woman and her interaction with the dog. It was obvious she wasn’t afraid of him. When some creatures were hurt they lashed out and humans didn’t realize their intention was only to defend themselves from being hurt worse. It didn’t seem to faze the younger woman that this overgrown puppy could hurt her with the adult canines in that row of teeth. He was smelling the grass, looking out over the domain, and attempting to hobble out further into the yard.
“I’m sorry, fella. I didn’t mean to hit you,” Allyssa was telling the dog as she knelt on the grass by him. “I’ll take care of you,” she promised.
“Are you looking to adopt him?”
Allyssa looked up. “I wish I could. My family would never allow it.” She thought about her mother’s pristine house and how horrified she would be if her daughter brought home this dog. “What’s going to happen to him?”
“Well, we have to get him better first. Then we will probably put him up for adoption and look for a good home.” Fiona wasn’t quite sure. They weren’t really set up for adopting out pets, but this was an unusual situation.
“Well, I’ll pay for his room and board,” Allyssa promised.
“You don’t have to do that,” Fiona protested.
“I want to. I feel responsible,” she said miserably, hanging her head as she petted the dog. He didn’t try to get away from her, but he was more interested in the smells in the grass.
“Well, why don’t you come by frequently and help him like this?” Fiona asked, indicating that Allyssa should take the sling.
“Oh, can I?” she asked, sounding enthused.
Fiona showed her how to hold the leg and shoulder up, but not out of alignment with the body. “If you pull on that he’s going to feel pain,” she explained. She showed the younger woman how to hold both the leash and the sling independent of each other. “He takes a long time at this, but if you are patient he will go both poop and pee, and that’s what we want at least twice a day.”
“When will he be able to go out on his own?” she wondered, watching him take an interest in a butterfly that happened along.
“Well, he will think he can do anything in about two to three weeks, but this is going to probably take at least eight weeks to heal,” she confided.
“Oh wow, eight weeks,” she mused, feeling horrible for causing such a grievous injury to an animal. She had never been allowed to have animals and she loved them. It was why she enjoyed the classes she was taking at college that weren’t business-related.
“Yeah and with him still being a puppy and growing, we have to make sure it heals right so he isn’t lame.”
“It’s hard to believe a puppy is this big. He’s the size of most dogs.”
“Well, Anatolians get large.”
Allyssa agreed, nodding. “I looked them up and they are amazing.”
Fiona had looked them up too and had to agree with her that they were an interesting breed.
They stayed outside for a good half hour, but Thumper showed no signs of wanting to poop, so they slowly guided him back inside, Allyssa taking the sling and the lead carefully so as not to hurt him.
“Let me quickly clean out his cage here,” Fiona said when they arrived back and the other dogs who wanted out of their cages set up a cacophony of barks, whines, and even one or two baying. Fiona quickly wiped down the walls and the floor of the cage with antiseptic, refilled his water dish, and gave him fresh food. She marked a chart on the outside of his cage and between the two of them they got the large pup back inside. He didn’t look happy at the idea, but s
ettled back down on a towel they had inside for him.
“Wouldn’t a blanket or bed be better?” Allyssa asked worriedly.
“Yes, and if we had one we’d use it; however, we don’t, so this will have to do,” Fiona replied.
Allyssa squatted down and put her fingers through the bars of the cage, “I’ll be back, Thumper. We have got to get you a different name. I promise to think about it and ask you tomorrow, okay?” He looked at her and thumped his tail in response.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. I don’t think he likes that name,” Fiona laughed with the girl as she got up and stood beside the shorter doctor.
Allyssa looked around at the menagerie of animals in this back room. She hadn’t heard them from the waiting room and wondered at the doors and walls that separated them from the exam rooms and the waiting room. “You’ve got so many patients,” she said wonderingly.
“Well, I’m not the only vet here.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot you told me that the other night.”
Fiona escorted her out and Allyssa promised to be back tomorrow. The doctor watched her leave in the Volvo and wondered at the younger woman and her story. As she glanced at the bubble gum-chewing receptionist she headed determinedly back to her bosses’ office to find them both there.
“Hey, Chuck. Hey, Bruce. You got a minute?” she asked as she came in the room.
“Hey, Fey. What’s up?” Dr. Chuck Robinson asked pleasantly.
Fiona closed the door determinedly, so no one could hear their conversation. “I want to talk to you about Marissa.”
“Marissa?” Bruce asked, concerned. “Now, what’s she done?” He sounded exasperated.
“She took two thousand dollars from the girl who hit that shepherd I worked on,” she explained.
“Marissa did that? Good for her!” Chuck exclaimed, laughing. “We can use more patients like that!”
“No, you don’t get it. We agreed that was a gratis patient. The girl came in feeling guilty over hitting the poor dog and paid that money. It should be refunded to her.” She leaned back against the door, folding her arms.
“It’s not every day that an owner surrenders a dog we don’t have to put down and someone else pays the bill for its surgery. Hell, we should be getting even more if we can,” Chuck explained.
“It’s not right and you know it,” she pointed out and waited, staring him down. She didn’t even care if he was the owner along with Bruce, it just wasn’t right.
“Well, if she doesn’t know…” he began.
“And, another thing. Marissa doesn’t know her place. She’s too informal and that’s disrespectful, even in front of the patients’ owners. She was blowing bubble gum and that is unprofessional. Think of how that looks to the people bringing in our patients.”
That hit a sore spot. Chuck always wanted to be professional. They had white coats like regular doctors and surgical scrubs to wear around the patients and their owners. He wanted to keep his small animal practice at the height of technology and service. “I’ll talk to her…” he began, but Fiona interrupted.
“Look, I know I’m only an assistant here….”
“You’re a valued member of our team,” he insisted.
“But I see things you don’t as the owners,” she glanced at them both. “You know we need professional people on our staff and Marissa has been talked to many times. Hell, I’ve even mentioned it a time or two and she blows it off. I think it’s time, and the taking of this money is just the tip of the iceberg. She needs to be replaced.”
“She does a good job…” Bruce began in her defense, but this time Chuck shook his head.
“I caught her watching television on that phone of hers. You’re right. But where are we going to get a receptionist? We actually need to hire two since we are open longer hours, the second one could help out back in the kennels and cages.”
Fiona suddenly thought of Allyssa and wondered what her schedule was like and if she had a job. “I may have someone for the afternoon or evening shift. Why don’t you not tell Marissa you are getting rid of her?” she said it as though it had been completely decided. “She can train the new girl or guy that you get and when we get the second one you can let her go?”
They agreed on the plan of action and Chuck promised to put up an ad in the paper the following day.
“I’d suggest you also put it up on the internet too,” Fiona recommended.
“I have no idea how to do that,” he admitted.
“Well, ask Marissa. I bet she knows how to work social media. Hell, I’ve caught her on those sites often enough. Tell her you want her ‘assistant’,” she made quotation marks in the air to emphasize what she was saying, “to be social media savvy and that she will be training her. If she thinks she’s getting an assistant it will go to her head and work to our benefit.”
“You’re evil,” Bruce said admiringly.
“Well, we don’t get much work out of her, so we might as well use what we got.”
They went over a few other details including their individual cases they had worked on and how they were progressing, so that any one of the three doctors could take over if necessary. There was a fourth doctor, but he only came in on Fridays and weekends.
Chapter Six
Allyssa dreaded the coming weekend. She’d have to confess to her parents about the accident and show them the dent in the Volvo. No amount of kicking or pulling had straightened it out much more. She wondered if she had an adrenalin surge the other night that had allowed her to pull it away from the tire so it didn’t rub. She had completely forgotten about the sorority and had several messages from her mother and her sister regarding it. She sighed. She’d have to face that music too. It hadn’t been a good week. Still, she had a couple more days to avoid them with ‘schoolwork’ and other things they might think she was up to. She made sure she called them back when she knew they would be out during the day, leaving them brief and unsatisfying messages. At least that would keep them until she went home.
Allyssa was astonished when Doctor Harriet asked her if she had a job. When she admitted she hadn’t been able to get one this year, the doctor offered her a receptionist job in the afternoons and evenings. She explained she would also have to clean cages and help in the back if necessary. “I’ll get paid to do that? I can help take care of Rex?”
“Rex, is it?”
“It means king,” she explained. “He’s going to be so majestic when he gets his full growth.”
“Well, if you can get him to answer to Rex instead of Thumper I approve. Now, about the job?”
“I’ll take it!” she said quickly, eagerly.
“You don’t even know what it pays!”
“I don’t care. I couldn’t get a job this semester because of rush week and I didn’t even get that! I’d love to work with the animals.”
Fiona blinked. It had been a long time since the days of sororities and fraternities and partying. She couldn’t imagine this young woman being a part of that. She wanted to ask why she hadn’t gotten in, but felt it would be prying. “Well then, if you want it that bad it’s yours. Report here tomorrow afternoon after your classes and Marissa will show you how we do things.”
“Oh, Marissa,” she answered, trying not to sound dejected, but in a tone of voice that nearly had Fiona laughing.
“Yes, she will show you what to do, but your position will encompass much more than hers,” she explained.
“Sounds good. I’ll be here!” she enthused.
She was as good as her word. She couldn’t wait for her classes to be over for the day so she could rush back to the clinic and take Thumper, now Rex for his afternoon hobble. Today, she got him to poop, and then picked up after him and cleaned his cage before being formally introduced to Marissa for training. The other girl was a bit snooty about her new ‘assistant,’ but Allyssa ignored it and learned avidly. She could see it didn’t take much. Answering the phones, making appointments, learning the computer system, taking
in payments, and making out receipts. She took messages when the doctors weren’t in the office and told the people on the phone when she didn’t know an answer. She refused to give out any medical advice because, as she admitted honestly, she had no degree and no idea; that was the doctor’s job. The patients loved her, their owners appreciated her kind candor, and the doctors were all pleased with her. By the end of the week she was alone in the office as Marissa went home.
“How’s it going? Third day and already taking over?” Fiona teased when she saw her.
“I think I’m going to enjoy this,” she admitted as the phone rang. “Hello, Robinson Clinic. How may I direct your call?” She listened for a while, taking notes. “Could you please hold?” she asked politely before pushing the button. Looking up at a waiting and amused Fiona she asked, “Would you like to take a call about a woman who had her cat spayed and it is now swelling up?”
“Sure, which line?”
She glanced down at the blinking phone to make sure of the line and answered, “Line three.” She handed the note to Fiona with the name of the client, the name of their pet, and its illness.
Fiona was impressed. Allyssa had handled that like a pro.
* * * * *
Allyssa headed back to Regal Crest Gardens in a good mood despite all she had waiting for her with her family. She knew they were going to be disappointed with her, but she was determined to stand up to them. The job at the clinic was the first positive thing for her in a while and she was going to guard it with her life. Dr. Bruce had given her the two thousand back and it was already in her bank account. He had explained that Marissa hadn’t known that they had taken the case gratis and now, with her working there and helping with the dog they couldn’t possibly keep it.
As she parked the Volvo, she made sure to pull close to the far side of the driveway so that no one would see the dent before she was ready. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to broach the subject. It would lead to the position at the clinic and she was certain her parents wouldn’t like that either. The subject of the sorority was a sore enough topic.
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