ArizonaButterfly

and don’t be fooled by this picture of him! This morning was Luke’s scheduled visit to the vet to have his annual vaccinations. He never got them. We arrived early and after he was unfriendly in the waiting room we were invited to an exam room immediately without being weighed. An emergency came in and the dog who had been injured was very vocal which did not help Luke’s already nervous state. By the time a tech came in an hour later he was fed up and acted berserk. He placed himself between me and the tech growling and carrying on. I knew it was a waste of time to try to get him muzzled this morning and so I took him to the car.

He is my problem “child.”

I went back in to apologize profusely. The techs were very nice. They shared that they had three severely injured dogs brought in about the time we arrived, which explained all the crying we heard. The one tech said dogs they’ve seen before that were also there this morning were “on edge” (her words) which they believed was because of all the goings-on. She also said first thing in the morning is the worst time to bring an already apprehensive dog in, and that she felt Luke thought he needed to protect me based on his stance and behavior. It was nice of them to try to make excuses for him. Even nicer that both Cotton and Lucy go in and have NO ISSUES so at least I’m not being judged on Luke’s behaviors alone.

Next time Luke’s appointment will be for mid-morning after the morning rush is over and the office is generally quieter, again according to the tech. They also have something that I can give him before we go to sedate him just a bit so he remains calmer.

This year, though, I’ll be giving him his vaccinations myself.

I have no idea what makes one dog so accepting of vet visits and car trips and another dog so beserk about them. Each of my three definitely has his or her own personality, but still, I’ve never had a dog act this way every time he has to go to the vet. And he did great on the car ride, looking quietly out the window until he decided to lay down on the back seat. Even on the trip home, after all the carrying on at the vet’s he was fine.

And yet I can’t bring bring myself to be too upset with him because I just don’t know what’s going on, and he’s so affectionate and kind with me. I just wish he could tell me what was upsetting him when we go so I could try to help.