Healthy Cats

Mobile Veterinary Service for Dogs and Cats

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So I agreed to go over. I place the cat carrier on end, go over to the cat, wiggle my fingers at him, pick him up by the scruff of the neck and put him in the carrier. They all just stood there looking at me, incredulous. The cat was just freaked out by all the strange people in his house.

Q: Do you have an interesting dog story, too?

A: I once cared for a Rottweiler named Shooter that belonged to one of the Boston Celtics players. He was a big Rottweiler and really nice, but like many Rottweilers, he didn’t take much he didn’t like. He’d give me a warning growl, or back off, if he didn’t like what I was doing.

One day I got a call from his boarding facility because the owner was out of town. They said he was pawing at his mouth and it really seemed to be bothering him. So I went over and sat on the floor with him for a while. I told them I was letting Shooter decide what I could do. They said I was nuts, but after about 10 minutes Shooter came over, sat next to me and put his paw on my leg. I thought, “OK, you want me to help you out.” So I lifted up one of his lips and I saw that he had a cracked tooth just dangling. Then he walked back across the room and sat down.

He waited about 10 minutes, than he came back and sat next to me again and touched my knee again with his paw. So I reached up with a tool and just pulled the tooth out. Then he walked back to the other side of the room and sat down.

What was interesting to me was that he knew he needed my help and he came to me, let me know what he needed, then let me help him.