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 wer...