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This story concerns a young vet in his clinic around Christmas time some years ago

This story concerns a young vet in his clinic around Christmas time some years ago, and is really a type of pipe dream. Not one word of this is true gentle readers, oh dear me no, of course not!

It is normally quiet with us vets in the few days around Christmas but that year a vicar came to the surgery on an emergency basis with his cat which had a very badly broken leg. After X-rays were taken the young vet had to tell the vicar that a referral to an orthopaedic specialist was all that would save the cat’s leg. His response was that he was short of funds and could not afford the £ 350.00 the specialist had quoted. The young vet replied that he would send the cat anyway and the vicar could pay £30.00 per month until the bill was cleared. The vicar stated somewhat sanctimoniously that he had his three children to think of and he still could not afford it and the cat should be put down. On seeing the expression on the young vets face he said “ When I found the cat in the gutter what should I have done? Left it to suffer or brought it to you? The young vet retorted “ Did you ever hear the parable of the good flipping Samaritan? “ At that the vicar became somewhat irate “ Don’t preach at me! and don’t use coarse language in my presence! ” he almost shouted and then red in the face the vicar stamped from the building muttering “ I will blacken your name everywhere “, ” flip off ” said the young vet was then left with his usual sinking feeling that he had handled things all wrong again, but he had a nurse take the cat to the orthopaedic specialist in Epping anyway.

Later that day the young vet drove on his rounds to the quarantine kennels in Crays Hill he then had to visit each day, his mood was sombre as he had lost faith somewhat in human nature. In the quarantine kennels was a new arrival, the owner was a large belligerent looking chap with many tattoos, a mean stare, and a skinhead haircut, “ Oh dear” the young vet thought to himself “ more trouble! “ His mood changed when he saw the animal, it was a young frightened mongrel dog with three legs and other apparent injuries. The owner explained he was an oil worker just back from the Middle East, he had found the dog starving near his work place and three locals were trying to kill it by stoning, hence the lost leg. “ But I gave them Arabs a flipping good slap each and took the dog home “ the owner said, smiling albeit grimly for the first time. The young vet did a quick mental calculation, it was going to cost in excess of £4000.00 to keep the dog in quarantine and tend to its injuries, it did not seem right that the oil worker should have to foot the bill after having done such a good deed. “ Look I have a lady friend who is a producer for the Hear and Now program on TV, she is a real animal lover, if she does a story on you I am sure you will get donations to help cover the cost “ said the young vet. The oil worker scowled “ Lets get one thing straight, I flipping pay my way, I need no flipping charity from anyone, least of all you “ he forcibly said. “ And another thing, if this flipping dog is not flipping well cared for you will have me to contend with.” The young vet smiled inwardly his faith in human nature was being restored.

That evening the young vet was having a pint in the Shepherd and Dog at Crays Hill with his new found burley friend, carol singers could be faintly heard in the distance outside. “ Flipping racket! “ scowled the oil worker, who was not such a hard man inside as he would have had you believe.

All stories have an end, and what was the end of this one? What became of the cat? Well the orthopaedic consultant who was a friend of the young vet laughed so much at the unabridged version of this story that he only charged £50.00 to cover the cost of the metal implants. This cost was met from a small fund of donations left by clients and friends of the clinic. The vicar never showed is face again so the cat was placed in a new home where it recovered and is called Woody by his new owners. He is a very old cat now but still is brought to the surgery each year for his vaccinations. The oil worker’s dog recovered, left quarantine and has now died of old age but had a happy life over here in the UK. And did the vicar try to blacken the young vet’s character as he said he would? Well I think he might have tried to, because about once a year, even now new clients come to the now older vet’s clinic and say “ Are you the vet who treated the vicar’s cat? “ Well I cannot comment on that “ replies the older vet. “ We heard you paid £2000.00 of you own money “ say the new clients respectfully. This always makes the older vet smile inwardly, and sometimes even a little outwardly and makes him think of Christmas past and why you should never judge people by appearances.