One of my little girls, Kiwi, had terrible allergies, and we tried so many things to control them including me giving her shots with allergy serum and also Chinese herbs. As much as my vet hated the use of steroids (he didn't want Kiwi to have them daily), he gave her a cortisone shot every six weeks because she would have suffered otherwise. Kiwi loved going to the vet, and her face would completely light up when she was going there. She loved the hour long roundtrip ride to go there, alone with her mom in the car, and she loved seeing the doctor who was so gentle and would put her at ease and make her feel safe. She knew that she was going to feel better after going to see the doctor. She ran into the office each time, loved seeing the office staff who made a big fuss over her, and enjoyed saying hello to all of the other people in the waiting room. It has been nine years since Kiwi passed away, but there are still people at the vet who bring her up to me when they see me. Kiwi always loved going for rides in the car and seeing people, but there was something very different about going to the vet. The sparkle in her eyes, her smile and almost whimsical look on her face, and the way she ran from the car into the office were all clear indicators that Kiwi was thrilled to be going to see the doctor who helped her immensely whenever she was sick. |