“Dr. Mac’s Veterinary Clinic,” a friendly voice says on the other end of the line. “This is Sunita speaking. How may I help you?”
“Sunita?” I say, finally taking a breath. I’m so relieved it’s her and not Maggie. “It’s me, Jules. From school, with Chewie, the rabbit from Mr. Hart’s class.”
“Of course I remember you, Jules!” Sunita says. “Is Chewie okay?”
“Oh yes, she’s fine. I just want to make an appointment with Dr. Mac to have her spayed. Mr. Hart gave me a coupon and said she was old enough now, so I should get her spayed as soon as possible.”
“Okay,” Sunita says. “But Dr. Mac will want to do a quick checkup a day or two before she does any surgery, and we’ll need to set up a file for Chewie. I can do that for you over the phone if you want. Then I’ll check with Dr. Mac to see when her next available appointment and scheduled surgery days are.”
“Okay,” I say. “But we changed Chewie’s name to Cuddles, so could you please set up her file as Cuddles?”
“Cuddles, what a cute name!” Sunita says. Then she takes down all my info and my parents’ info, too.
“Okay,” Sunita says, “let me check with Dr. Mac.” She puts me on hold, with first a silly duck song playing in the background, then the one about the farmer and his dog.
She’s back on the line a few minutes later. “Guess what?” Sunita says. “David just arrived to help feed the abandoned kittens, and your brother is with him.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and the tiny kittens are so sweet. Oh, and we had a cancellation at five fifteen today. Dr. Mac says you can bring Chew—I mean Cuddles, by for her presurgery checkup then if you want. You live nearby, right?”
“Yes, I’m just down the street,” I say. “Is there anyone else there?”
“Just Dr. Gabe. He’s another vet, but he’s all booked up. You’ll see Dr. Mac.”
I look at the clock. “Okay,” I say. “Thanks, Sunita. I’ll be right over with Cuddles.”
I hang up and tell Mom my plans.
“Jules, I’m glad you’re being a responsible pet owner,” Mom says. “But next time please tell me first before you make any appointments, all right? How much will a checkup cost?”
“Mr. Hart gave me a free coupon to get Cuddles spayed,” I say. “And I think the presurgery checkup is part of the free coupon.”
“Well,” Mom says, “I’d like to go with you, but I need to finish this sign and clean up before dinner.”
“I can handle it,” I say. “I can carry Cuddles in her cage and ask any important questions.”
“All right,” Mom says. “Give me a call if anything comes up.”
“I will,” I say. With any luck, Cuddles can have her checkup, and I can see the kittens and get out of there before Maggie arrives.
Chapter Thirteen
I convince Sophie to stay home and decorate a cardboard box for Cuddles.
“When I get back,” I tell her, “I’ll cut out some windows and doors. I saw some cardboard tubes in the store we could use for tunnels. But you can draw the door and window lines and color some parts in while I’m gone. Use these water-based markers because they’re nontoxic. Don’t use anything else. It might not be safe for Cuddles to chew.”
Sophie reluctantly agrees, tells Cuddles good-bye, and starts to decorate the box.
I carefully scoop up Cuddles, put her in her cage, and latch the door. Then I head down the street to Dr. Mac, Sunita, David, Josh, those adorable tiny kittens, and hopefully not Maggie.
The bell jangles when I enter, and there is Sunita, smiling behind the desk with the big old orange tabby seemingly on guard duty next to her.
“Hi, Jules,” she says to me, and then she gently pets and lifts the big cat. “Down you go, Socrates,” she says as she puts him on the floor. “Now we have room for Cuddles.” Sunita pats the counter for the cage.
“Okay, if you could just check over Cuddles’s new file I set up and make sure all the info is correct, I’ll tell Dr. Mac you’re here,” Sunita says. “And then do you want to see the kittens?”
“Yes, please.” I check over the file, then I follow Sunita. The kittens are in the Dolittle Room again, and so are Josh, David, and a handsome man whose name tag says DR. GABE. Each of them is feeding a tiny towel-wrapped kitten from a little bottle. Three kittens suck their bottles, and two are in the box, mewing.
Everyone says hi. Sunita introduces me to Dr. Gabe, who looks right at me, steps forward, and shakes my hand. I was expecting Dr. Gabe to be an older man, not this tall, cute guy, much younger than Dr. Mac. Dr. Gabe’s hand is warm and strong, and I just keep shaking it, staring at his blue, blue eyes. He smiles at me, and I can’t seem to let go or stop shaking hands.
Luckily, one of the kittens mews and that brings me back to my senses. I drop my hands and hold them behind my back. I can’t believe Josh gets to feed one of the kittens. Of course he is good with animals, but I can’t help feeling jealous. I don’t know if he’s an official Vet Volunteer, but I know I’m not. And here he is, looking totally at home, like he’s having a good time with David.
David’s kitten is done with the bottle now and after he holds it up to burp it, he shows Josh how to swab at its rear end with a wet cotton ball to “help it learn how to pee and poop. The mother cat usually does this, really,” he says, making a goofy face.
David’s making jokes about how he’s an “elimination expert” now. “Just call me the Prince of Poop. I know, I know, it’s a thankless job, teaching kittens how to poop and pee, but someone’s got to do it. The Prince of Poop to the rescue, with his sidekick Josh, the Duke of Doody!”
Sunita rolls her eyes and says she’ll be right back once she knows which room Dr. Mac wants to examine Cuddles in. While she’s gone, I look at the clock and wonder what time Maggie will get back. I feel out of place, especially worrying what Maggie will say if she sees me here.
Sunita pops her head back in a few minutes later. “Okay, Dr. Mac is ready in the Herriot Room,” she says.
Josh nods his head to me, silently reminding me to smile with a fake smile of his own. David sets down his cotton ball and gently waves the kitty’s paw at me. “Poo-bye!” David says, wiggling his nose. “Smell you later.”
Sunita helps me with Cuddles’s cage and shows us to the Herriot Room.
“Hello, Jules,” Dr. Mac says. She looks at the chart. “And this must be Cuddles. Oh, we’re going to need your mom’s or dad’s signature before we go much further.”
“I have a coupon,” I say. “Mr. Hart gave it to me.”
“The coupon is fine,” Dr. Mac says. “We just need an adult to sign the consent for veterinary care form.” She holds up a page. “I don’t suppose one of your parents could drop by?”
“Um, they’re both kind of busy today. But I can bring it home and have them sign it, then bring it back the day we have Cuddles spayed,” I say.
“Well, it’d be better if it were signed even before our checkup today. You live nearby, right? Sunita can keep an eye on Cuddles here if you wouldn’t mind running home to get it signed. Then we can proceed. I’ll just look in on my next patient while you’re gone.”
“Okay,” I say, even though I’m thinking, No, no, no. What if Maggie returns?
I take the form and say, “I’ll be right back.” Then I head out the door, looking at the clock. Five twenty-five.
I run home. Five thirty.
Mom signs the form at five thirty-two.
I run back.
Five thirty-seven.
The door jangles as usual when I enter the clinic. But Sunita is nowhere to be found. The doors to the Dolittle Room and the Herriot Room are both closed. Even Socrates, the big orange cat, is gone.
“Hello?” I call. “Sunita? Josh? Dr. Mac?” I guess I should just go kn
ock on the door of the Herriot Room, where I last saw Sunita and Cuddles. But what if Sunita moved Cuddles to another exam room? What if Dr. Mac is seeing a different patient in the Herriot Room? I don’t want to interrupt.
Then I see the big old friendly basset hound lumbering out of the side door. He wags his tail and sniffs at me. “Hey there, Sherlock,” I say, leaning down to pet him. “Where is everybody?”
I sit in one of the chairs to wait for Sunita or whoever comes out first. Sherlock leans against me and wags his tail. I pet him while I wait and look over the consent form one more time. Mom signed it just fine, but oops, no one filled in our address. I walk to the counter where I saw Sunita with a pen earlier. Sherlock trots behind me.
“I know there was a pen here,” I tell Sherlock. I lean over the counter and peek in the open drawer. Yep, pens, paper clips, and uh-oh, an open cash box. They shouldn’t keep cash out in the open like that. I grab a pen and reach over to close the drawer.
The front door jangles behind me. I turn, and it’s Maggie. “Hey, what are you doing? Who said you could snoop around the office?” she says.
My mouth goes dry. Now what am I supposed to do? I’m sure she thinks I’m trying to steal something. I stand and look down at Sherlock for a lack of anywhere else to look. He is still wagging his tail, but slower now as he looks back and forth between us, tilting his head, puzzled.
“Come,” Maggie says to Sherlock. He trots over to her and rubs his head against her leg.
“I can explain,” I say. “I was just looking for a pen.”
“A pen?” Maggie repeats.
“Yes. I have an appointment with Dr. Mac,” I say. “A checkup for my rabbit.” I look around, but of course Cuddles and Sunita are still nowhere to be seen. Maggie looks, too, as if she doesn’t believe me, as if she thinks I’m there only to steal stuff and bother her.
“Listen,” I say, “I know we started off on the wrong foot on the bus and in the hallway at school, not to mention in gym class, and I’m sorry about all that, but that doesn’t mean—”
Maggie sighs a big sigh. I look at Sherlock again. His ears are drooping and his tail no longer wags, as if he’s been scolded for doing something wrong. Sherlock didn’t do anything wrong and neither did I.
“Look,” I say. “I’m here to get Dr. Mac to check my rabbit. I just needed to borrow a pen.” I hold up the pen in my hand.
“Fine, get your rabbit taken care of, and then go. And in the future, could you please just stay away from me, my pets, and our office drawers?” Maggie says. “Come on, Sherlock.” Sherlock follows her into the side room.
Wow, I’ve never had anyone dislike and distrust me so much before. Ignore me, yes. Not invite me over, yes. Talk about me behind my back, yes. But out and out tell me to stay away from them? No, that’s never happened before. I feel rotten.
I take a deep breath and try to recover before anyone sees me. But the door jangles again and a girl with a crow on her shoulder walks into the office.
“Hi,” she says. “You’re one of the new twins, right? I’m Brenna Lake.”
This must be the Save-Our-Streams Brenna whom Sunita was talking about.
“Hi, I’m Jules,” I say. “Jules Darrow. I like your bird. What’s his name?”
“Edgar Allan Poe Crow,” she says, as if it’s perfectly normal to have a crow on your shoulder. The crow tilts his head and looks at me, as if he thinks I’m a curious creature, too. “Where is everybody?” Brenna asks.
“I think they’re in the exam rooms,” I say. “I wasn’t sure if I should knock or not, so I’m just waiting.”
A horn honks outside.
“Well, I can’t stay,” Brenna says. “My mom is waiting. I just came to drop off these flyers for our Stream Cleanup Day this Saturday. I hope you can come.”
“I’d like to,” I say.
“Great. We’re starting at nine in the morning. Everyone’s meeting at the wooden bridge behind Quinn’s horse stables. Wear boots and bring work gloves.”
“I’ll be there!”
“Perfect. And please come to the school library at lunchtime on Thursday,” Brenna says. “I’ll explain the cleanup in more detail then. We need all the help we can get.” Brenna smiles a little mischievously now and adjusts her long dark hair behind her ear. “And bring your adorable brother, too. Everyone’s talking about him.”
The horn honks again.
“Gotta go.” She opens the door. “Can you give these flyers to Dr. Mac? Or ask Maggie to tape a flyer in the window for me? I have to run.” And with that, Brenna and Edgar Allan Poe Crow are right back out the door.
Sunita emerges from the Herriot Room. “I heard the door. Who was here?”
“Brenna,” I say, walking away from the waiting room and the open side door, toward Sunita. “She dropped off some flyers for Stream Cleanup Day. She asked if you could tape one in the window.” I figure asking Sunita is better than trying to talk to Maggie.
“Of course,” Sunita says. “Did you get the consent form signed? Dr. Mac is ready for you and Cuddles. Come on in.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dr. Mac makes me nervous, being Maggie’s grandmother and all. Especially after Maggie thinks I was snooping around their office cash box. I’m glad that Sunita is here, too.
“Thanks for getting your mom’s signature on the consent form,” Dr. Mac says.
“Sure,” I say.
“Hello there, Cuddles,” she says. Then she asks me to take Cuddles out of her cage.
I put Cuddles on the exam table, which is covered with a towel.
“I like the way you carry her, Jules. Rabbits like to be supported and held close like that.”
Soon Dr. Mac puts me at ease, too. She is great with Cuddles. She begins her exam, looking at Cuddles’s eyes and in her ears as she talks.
“Cuddles’s eyes are bright and clear. No discharge or inflamed eye tissue. Her fur is soft and shiny. Both are a good signs she’s healthy. I see no skin irritations or fur mites.” Dr. Mac looks up and tells me, “Rabbits shed their fur a few times each year, so be sure to brush her periodically.”
“I did last night,” I say.
“Great,” says Dr. Mac. She uses a small light to look in Cuddles’s ears. “No ear mites, dirt, or waxy buildup,” she says.
“What if her ears do get wax?” I ask.
“As long as there is no dark crusty material, which could indicate mites, she should be fine. If her ears are just a little dirty, you can use gauze or cotton dipped in warm water to gently wipe them out. Rabbits are very good at grooming themselves most of the time.”
She checks Cuddles’s nose and chin next. “Her nose is clear, that’s good,” she says. “Some rabbits are prone to snuffles and other respiratory infections, so keep an eye out for sneezing and a runny nose. And don’t use clay cat litter in her litter box. Some rabbits like to eat it, and that can really harm them. I see you’re using shredded newspaper. Just be sure it’s soy-based ink. That’s fine.”
“That’s what Mr. Hart used,” I say.
“Mr. Hart, the middle school science teacher?” Dr. Mac asks. “I thought Cuddles looked familiar.”
“Her name used to be Chewie,” I say. “Mr. Hart is letting my family and me adopt her because she doesn’t like living in a classroom with so many students.”
“I see,” Dr. Mac says. “I think we might already have a file on Cuddles, formerly known as Chewie. Sunita, let’s check after the exam and we can combine the two files.”
“Okay,” Sunita says.
Dr. Mac tells me about how rabbits have a scent gland under their chins, then she pulls Cuddles’s upper and lower lips back to check her teeth and gums. “Her teeth look good, too,” she says. “Be sure she gets lots of timothy hay every day and hard things to chew because rabbits’ teeth ar
e constantly growing, and they need to chew to wear them down. If her teeth get too long, it could cause serious problems, like making it difficult for her to eat. So far, everything looks a-okay.”
Sunita smiles. Cuddles does not seem to mind being examined by Dr. Mac, and I am glad the vet is so thorough. Next she looks at each of Cuddles’s paws and legs. “I’m glad you put a sheet of wood covered with changeable cardboard in the bottom of her cage,” Dr. Mac says, “and you’re using a litter box instead of just a wire-bottomed cage with a litter pan below.”
“Mr. Hart set it up that way,” I say.
“Good idea to keep using that technique, especially if Cuddles likes to use her litter box,” she says. “Rabbits are prone to sore feet and possible infection if they have to sit on wire caging all day.”
I’m glad Mr. Hart put the wood in the bottom of her cage.
“Cuddles’s nails are a little long,” Dr. Mac says. “Sunita, clippers, please.”
Sunita hands her the small clippers, and Dr. Mac trims the nails on one of Cuddles’s front feet. “Rabbits in the wild wear down their nails naturally, but pet rabbits need their nails trimmed periodically so they don’t get too long, become ingrown, or cause injury if they catch on something.”
“How often should I trim her nails?” I ask.
“Oh, about once a month should do it. Come closer, I’ll show you how.” Dr. Mac shows me how to hold each paw to extend the nails. “Just trim the white part of the nail, like I’m doing,” Dr. Mac says. “Not the pink part. That’s the quick, and it contains the nerve and blood supply.”
“Okay, your turn, Jules.” Dr. Mac hands me the clippers and nods as I give it a try.
“I used to help trim the cats’ nails at the shelter in Pittsburgh,” I say.
“That’s it,” she says. “Looks like you know what you’re doing. Best to trim just a little each time, like you’re doing.”
New Beginnings Page 7