I have been trying to think of a really happy rat story for you, but unfortunately the victories tend to be short lived at best. There is one that stands out though, with equal parts kindness and joy.
Once upon a time Dr Ferox returned to the clinic after a horse colic to see the senior vet, and her mentor, hunched over as small body under a surgical drape.
“Whatcha got there?”
“Mostly tumour. Underneath that there’s a rat.”
“Hmm, that almost looks like more tumour than rodent.”
“Yep.”
“And they want surgery now why?”
“The parents brought it in for euthanasia.”
“Parents?”
“Yeah.”
“……And?”
“And this bloody kid asked me if I could save it and said he had saved up $70 in his piggy bank.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“That’s adorable.” She looked at me over the thick rims of her glasses with an exasperated sigh.
“I know! How could I say no to that?”
“Well, I’m not telling the boss.”
“Oh god no, don’t tell the boss.”Fortunately most tumours on rats tend to be benign, so they do quite well with surgery. I don’t know what the parents thought when he got his rat back, but I know the kid was thrilled.
An old story from the earlier days.
I need help reacting to something.
Getting your child a pet they will love and then letting it die needlessly due to lack of treatment is cruel. The kid shouldn’t have hat to pay. If his parents didn’t want to pay for vet treatment, they shouldn’t have got him a pet.
On the other hand, the kid sounds adorable, the vets sound lovely, and it all turned out well?
H1, please!
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Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 