The Veterinarian's Dog Always Has Fleas

My first job was at a small animal clinic. I started two days after my sixteenth birthday; the same day I won my driver's license. I have always been an animal person, and had always wanted to be a veterinarian,  so I was beyond excited.

One of the most important lessons I learned during my years with animals was something the Dr. taught me. One day he told me, "The veterinarian's dog always has fleas." This was about two years before flea control pills were invented, so we still relied on chemical dips and horribly toxic sprays. Ironically, most of the chemicals we used were plant-based, and were deactivated by UV light. As soon as you let Mr. Jingles out in the backyard and the sun shone on his pristine coat,  he was ready for more fleas. This was usually the case after I had spent two hours soaked in chemicals, picking hundreds of biting fleas off of the poor thing.

No, the smell never went away, and I always got funny looks from passers by. As if adolescence weren't hard enough...

The doctor's dog really did support a multi-generational flea society, excluding the glorious fifteen minutes after I bathed her; once a week. One day it hit me. I knew what he meant. I started thinking of all the things that adults let fall by the wayside after they become what they went to school for. Figuratively speaking, the mechanic's car always needs an oil change, the pediatrician's kid always has a cold, the president's kids hate politics, the marriage counselor's wife wants a divorce, the preacher's kids are atheists, and so on.

No matter what we do for a living, or even how noble our motivation for working, something else in our lives will be left wanting if we let it. My family has suffered this through the years. I push myself to exhaustion for them day after day so they don't have to. At the end of the day, they want me, not a worn out grouch -though "me" is often a close cousin to the less desirable "me". My family has had fleas a few times.

The scariest thing is, when we are so consumed by our work, we are unaware of the damage being dealt. The situation plays on itself and creates a cycle of stepping aside. My wife knows my intent, and the reasoning behind my long work hours, so she is more likely to let it slide. Knowing my noble intentions makes her more tolerant of my absence. When she isn't audibly or visibly unhappy, I assume nothing is wrong, when in reality she is letting her needs pass her by. It is similar with my daughters, but they display their displeasure through their behavior when they aren't telling me very plainly that they miss me. Eventually though, if I create the unhealthy cycle, they get used to it and stop trying.

It has taken so many years to get this in perspective, and I still drift in that direction, so instead of the whole thing being on my unsuspecting shoulders, we came up with a system that we already used, just hadn't applied to this situation. Simple, open communication. Yeah, it's ground-breaking I know, but when the family looks to such an imperfect human being for so many things, something important will be skipped. Since I lack the basic intelligence to see this for myself, I asked for help. They just tell me now, and I listen. We manipulated the cycle into something that is actually funny; especially for them.

"Daddy, I have fleas."

"Johnny, I have nearly forgotten your name."

"Daddy, are you going to move back in?"

Just as flea prevention has evolved through research and awareness, so should we. We really have no need for caustic insecticides any more. I will even venture to say that if someone cannot give their family what they need because of a job, and it is beyond their control to change the circumstances of the job, they should find another one. Kids only grow up once, and if you're not raising them, someone else is. Do you think they will turn out liking you if you have never been an influence?

Before this becomes a case for birth control, I will say that if you read this, you now have knowledge of the potential problem. Regret has never been an alternative to living life, so change direction before it becomes part of an unsolvable past.

Also, spay and neuter your pets; homeless orphans make terrible parents.

This is Loki. He doesn't have fleas because I did not become a veterinarian. By the time I finished high school, I learned the business well enough to know that I am not a salesman, and that I love animals more than money.