Getting Our Vaccinations

16 February 2008 - Both dogs needed a Bordetella vaccine so I took them to the Petco vaccination clinic this afternoon. I have no idea what a Bordetella vaccine is. Sounds like the name of a wine, or an expensive cheese or even a mushroom. But I do know that it is required if you are going to board your dogs and we will be boarding them soon when we go on vacation. So it was time to take them in.

Both dogs were very excited when I got their leashes out. I can just hear their thoughts: "Oh goodie, we get to go somewhere with Momma. I hope we're going someplace fun!"

They eagerly jumped into the car and I headed off to Petco. They soon made their way from the back seat into the front seat where they would have a better view of what was going on. They stood and looked out the windows. They also put their noses to the air vents to sniff them. When we arrived at Petco they began to get very excited. I don't know if they could smell the dogs as we pulled into the shopping center parking lot or not, but they knew something was in the air.

We made our way into the store and were directed to the line for the shots. The dogs were pulling on their leashes the entire time. I had no idea there would be so many other people there. The line was very long and my dogs were very excited and had loudly announced their presence. "Hey everyone we're beagles! Did you know a beagle won best of show at the Westminster Dog Show this year? Well he did and we are beagles too and we are tough!"

We had a very docile pit bull mix in front of us and a quiet German Shepherd behind us. But my dogs were pulling at their leashes the entire time and barking and growling. It was downright embarrassing. It seemed to take forever to get to the front of the line. I held each dog as they got their shot. Thankfully at this point they were very good. Then we had to get into another line to pay for the shots. Thank goodness this line was much shorter.

I made my way out of the store, loaded the dogs into the car and headed for home. The trip home was very different fron the trip out. It was as if they figured the shot was punishment for bad behavior. Chloe was lying down in the front seat and Jack was lying down in the back seat all the way home. I looked back at Jack when we stopped at a light. He looked up at me with those big brown eyes as if to say, "Gee wiz, if you'd told me I'd get a shot if I didn't quiet down I wouldn't have made all that noise in the first place!"

They rushed in the house when we got home, ate their dinner, and are now sleeping soundly on the waterbed like little angels. You would never think they were the same out of control beagles that were at the shot clinic today.