Dear friends, my name is Roxy, I am six months old and I'm owned by two lovely humans - Mr & Mrs Aspell.

I decided to write about my experience at the vets, so that other pets like me will realise that although it seems scary at first, it's not really all that bad.  Our owners want to repay us for our love and loyalty, and the way they do that is by letting the veterinary people do things to us that will keep us healthy and help us to live longer.

I've been very honest about the way I felt during the day of the operation, and some of it may frighten you a little bit, but if you read it to the end, you will understand why I'm feeling great now and why I'm so happy I chose these owners - I wouldn't change them for the world.

I'd heard rumours about "the vets" - some dogs say it's a place where only bad things happen.  A friend of mine even said that when her owners took her there, she was feeling fine on the way in, but when she left she had a sore, stinging sensation around her bottom...The thing is, I don't like to judge anything based on rumours - I prefer to make my own decisions.  SInce I generally love everyone and everything, I wasn't too worried about going in.

The first visit was pretty brief, I think my owners were a bit nervous, because they kept telling me to calm down.  I tried to assure them that the vet people didn't mind when I jumped on them and licked them, but they continued to tell me to calm down regardless.  I tried my best to comply to keep them happy, but it wasn't easy.  I remember the vet putting something cold on my chest and the other end of the cold thing was in her ears, like she was trying to listen to something.  Then she told my owners that my heart was fine - I didn't know what that meant, but they seemed happy about it.

She listened to my breathing, looked in my mouth and felt all around my body.  Finally, and the only part that shocked me a bit, was when she put something up my bottom.  I panicked for a minute and started to think that what my friend had told me about the stinging sensation was true.  But then something beeped and the thing was pulled out, and I didn't feel any pain at all, so I think my friend must have been exaggerating.  Then something was said about my temperature being normal and that I was fit and healthy (well...I knew that already, but who knows why the humans like to confirm these things all the time).

The vet then started to talk to my owners about an operation that she was recommending for me.  She said I should be "spayed", to avoid cancer, false pregnancies, unplanned puppies and a few other things that I didn't quite understand, but my owners seemed to agree that these were all very important things to think about.  To cut a long story short, the operation was booked.

The Day of the Operation

It was a bad start to the day when my owners forgot to give me any breakfast.  I tried to let them know thay had forgotten, but they didn't seem to understand - they kept saying something about the operation and me not being allowed to eat.  However, I was convinced they were just confused.  I forgave them because I love them unconditionally, but it's a painful memory.

When I arrived at the vets, we went though the same routine all over again.  The vet did all the same checks as the last time (the humans obviously needed reassurance again...so repetitive) and I was given a clean bill of health as usual.  However, then something unexpected happened...my owners left me.  I was expecting them to stay - this caught me off guard a little and I wasn't sure how to react.  When I was taken into the hospital area, I was so distracted by all the interesting smells and sounds that I temporarily forgot my owners had deserted me.  I was placed on some scales, as they wanted to know my weight (so nosey these humans, they want to know everything).

Then I heard them say I was going to get a "sedation injection" - I had no idea what that meant, but it was fun because the nurses held me and kept telling me that I was a good girl, they kept repeating "good girl, good girl, good girl" and making lots of funny noises and stroking me over and over again.  I enjoyed it so much that I never did find out what a "sedation injection" was because I was too busy enjoying all the fuss.  I guess I should have paid more attention.

Then they put me in a small room called a "cage" - there was plenty of space for me to mve around had I wanted to, but for some reason I started to feel a bit sleepy.  The room had a bed with something soft and warm on it, so after a few minutes I decided to lie down and rest for a while.  I was feeling a little overwhelmed, but very relaxed at the same time.

Lovely Noises

A short while later one of the nurses returned and asked me to get up and go with her.  To be honest , I was so comfy and sleepy that I couldn't really be bothered to move, but she started making all those lovely noises again and calling me a good girl, so I followed her because it would have been rude not to, since she was being so nice.

I told you I was going to be honest, so I won't pretend this part wasn't a little scary.  I was lifted on to a table, and the nurse holding me was telling me I was a good girl again, but this time she added "stay still, stay still".  As mentioned earlier, staying still or calm down is not one of my strong points.  I tried, but on reflection I think could have tried a little harder.  Anyway, at the same time, the vet was putting something called a "catheter" in my front leg.  I have to admit, I panicked for about two seconds when I felt a little sting in my vein, but I couldn't pull my leg away because the nurse had a good grip.  Suddenly, it didn't sting any more, so I relaxed.  This time I wasn't just a good girl, but I was a "brave girl, brave girl, brave girl" as well.  Then the vet put something called "anaesthetic" into the catheter and the strangest thing happened...I started to fall asleep.  This was the last thing I wanted, as I was realy enjoying the fuss and the praise from the nurses.  I tried really hard to not close my eyes, because I also really wanted to see the operation.

I must have been so tired, because I fell asleep and the next thing I knew, I was waking up and was back in that warm, comfy cage, with the nurse right next to me speaking to me in her funny high-pitched voice again.  Therefore, I have to apologise, because I can't really tell you anything about the "operation", as I missed the whole thing.  I knew I'd had it done, because when I woke up I had a strange feeling on my belly - it didn't hurt, but it felt a little bit tight.  A while after I woke up though, that wonderful nurse gave me a plate of food.  I was so hungry due to my owner's unfortunate mistake earlier, so I gobbled it down and it was delicious.

Now, despite the trust I had built up with the nurses, there are some occasions when humans do things that us animals will just never understand.  Once I had eaten, the nurse placed a very strange object around my neck - it didn't hurt or anything, but it stopped me from being able to reach my belly, which was really irritating because I just wanted to lick it where it felt funny.  However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it, so rather than try to understand this, I just accepted it and stopped trying.

After a while, I was reunited with my owners - I was very happy to see them. I was trying to tell them everything that had happened, but they weren't paying attention, they were far too excited to see me.  I'd only been separated from them for a few hours, but sometimes I think humans have no sense of time.  My owners were happy and relieved that everything had gone well.

The thing around my neck was left there for a few days.  It was a bit disorientating at first, and I tried really hard to remove it myself because my owners didn't seem to notice it - otherwise I'm sure they would have helped me - but I got used to it eventually, and kind of forgot it was there.  The humans kept referring to me as a "lamp shade" - I wasn't really sure what that meant.  A few days later, they finally noticed and took it off me, which was a relief.

Well, that's pretty much all I can remember.  I hope my story has helped all those fellow pets out there to understand that veterinary practices aren't such bad places after all.  Even if you don't always understand them, trust in your humans - they just want what is best for you.

I am happy and healthy, and admittedly sometimes a little bit mad.  Thankfully, I don't have to worry about all the nasty things that could have happened to me if my owners hadn't put their faith in the vets and nurses.

Yours faithfully,

Roxy Aspell.