Episode 3

 

               It was a hot humid day and I was put in this large pet carrier. I was by myself in that huge space and Miss Sandy picked it up and brought me to that big thing that moved. I learned it was called a car.   I found myself going bumpity-bump-bump again. It was a long drive and I couldn’t see anything except the inside of the car. It was boring so I dozed off after a while. When I woke from my kitten nap we were still driving along, and along and some more along.

“Are we there yet!” I wondered.

Finally, we stopped. Miss Sandy took me out of the car and as she walked towards a building I could see through the slots in the carrier a sign that read SNIPPET Clinic. I wondered what a clinic was? It seemed familiar and I think I had been there before, but I must have been very little and don’t remember.

Miss Sandy took me inside. There were all kinds of different sounds in there, mostly dogs making a ruckus with all their barking! My poor little eardrums felt as if they would shatter! There was a strange smell, too, which I couldn’t figure out.

When we got inside, Miss Sandy patted me goodbye.

“It was fun having you even if you were a curious live wire! Hope you have a good life”, and with that she walked out the door.

Why was she saying goodbye?   I didn’t want to leave her! I was only 11 weeks old. What was I going to do? What was happening?

Someone else in a uniform took my carrier and we went down a long corridor. Her badge said her name was Miss Melissa, LVT. It sounded important! She brought me into a room and took me out. She was nice and I liked the soothing way she talked to me.

She put me on this shiny square thing which went down when she let me go. It had numbers which said 2 lbs.

“So that’s how much I weighed”, I thought.

Then she put me on a table and checked my ears and eyes and nose. She had this round thingy which she put on this long cylinder gadget. Then she opened my mouth, inserted the cylinder and I heard a weak pop as I felt something going down my throat. It didn’t hurt.

“That’s a pill that’ll help you grow up healthy,’ she said softly to me.

I decided I didn’t mind taking pills.

Next she got this long thing with a shiny point and stuck it in my skin.

” Mewouch! That hurt!”

Then she did another one!

“Mewouch! Meowoch!” I yelled in my pipsqueak voice.

“Okay, enough is enough! Mew, Mew! I want out of here!”

With my tiny little nails I started pulling away and stretching to get out of the towel she had wrapped around me.

Miss Melissa pet me gently and with a soothing voice calmed me down.

“Don’t be afraid, Nina, these shots are to protect you,” she said. There’s just one more thing to do and it will all be over.”

I tried hard not to be afraid. She got another thing that sort of looked like the other shiny cylinder and touched my neck with it. I hardly felt anything that time.

“There you go,” she said in a reassuring voice. “That was a chip I just inserted in your neck.”

“What’s a chip?” I thought.

She must have read my mind as she continued, “Now if you ever get lost another Vet or Rescue can read it and make sure you get back home. It’s an ID number under your skin”.

I liked the sound of that, not that I ever expected to get lost, of course.

She put me in a holding cage and went off to tend other animals. There was some food, but I had no appetite. So much had occurred I just wanted to lay down and think about it.

“Why did Miss Sandy say goodbye? Was I never going to see her again?” I wondered. She took such good care of me I wanted to stay with her. I thought that was my home.

“Boy, those dogs are sure noisy and there’s a big cat  screeching in here, too. What’s wrong with them? I can’t think! I need ear plugs!” I joined in with my little mew.

At the end of the day Miss Melissa came and got me. She put me in another carrier and took me out to her car. I was off again.

It was a much shorter drive this time. She turned in front of a sign that said East Texas SPCA and parked.

“Well, here we are,” she told me as she took out the pet carrier and brought me inside.

It was strange but, I had the weird sensation I had been here before. Suddenly, I distinctly recognized a smell.

“Miss Megan!” I mewed out in recognition. She’s the one who had cuddled me and given me my first bottle of kitten formula.

“Hi there, little cutie. My you’ve grown a bit.”

She held me and I just mewed and purred.

“Oh how great it is to be with you again. And now I can see you, too!” I mewed happily with wide open eyes.

” Goodness, I’m just as happy to see you too!” she laughed at the reception she got.

She started talking to Miss Melissa, who turned out to be her sister, saying something about me and tomorrow.

I just heard a few snatches like, “She’s coming at 10….” “…specifically asked for Nina…”       “… therapy…”.

They walked together and put me into a holding cage. There was some food and water in it and a soft blanket.

“I guess that’s it. Everyone is fed and watered, cleaned and comfy in their cages. Time to call it a day.”

Then they turned out most of the lights and left.

I was alone and it was so quiet and peaceful after all the racket at SNIPPET. I munched a little and drank some water. The appetite just wasn’t there.

“What a long day this has been. At least now I know what a ‘clinic’ is. Not that I ever want to go back there again!”

I padded around on the blanket and lay down. I put my little head on my paw and as my eyes drooped I started to think about what I had heard them talking.

“I wonder what tomorrow will bring… .”