Vets

     I've changed vets three times now since Kevin died.  I have such a strong aversion to going to the vet.  I started at the one here in town that Kevin recommended before he died when Professor was sick and his xray machine was down.  He talked me through it on the phone but they still ended up gouging me for a ton of money.  Kevin kept them from cutting Professor open, though.  So after he died, I called around and ended up at a vet in Wamego.  All vets except Kevin as such shisters!  They did a full exam every time I went in there even if I just wanted a stupid cortizone shot for the dog.  I don't think Kevin did a full exam but maybe once on each dog in their whole lives.  If something was wrong, they got a cortizone shot.  Kevin did save Rex's eyes once, though, by sewing them shut.  I loved the way Kevin neutered the dogs.  Everyone else I knew took their dogs in and left them anywhere from 1-3 days and paid tons of money.  Kevin would walk out into the waiting room, give the dog a shot, and warn you they were going to puke.  The second they puked, Kevin would whisk up the barf with a paper towel.  He'd the poke the dog in the eye.  If he didn't blink, he was ready for surgery.  Kevin took the dog in the other room for like 3 minutes then bring it back to me.  He'd tell me how to roll the dogs legs back and forth to help it wake up.  Then he'd poke it in the eye again and when it blinked, it was time to go home.  He charged next to nothing.
     The vet in Wamego tried to guilt me into doing more for the dogs, for example, he wanted to put them under and clean their teeth--$180!  Kevin just yanked their teeth when they rotted out and said to feed them softer food if they quit eating.  The last time I took Rex to see Kevin, he gave Rex a shot then took him back to pull his tooth and Leah and i heard this crazy, loud moaning sound.  I asked Kevin if I could go back there and he said yes.  He grinned as Rex moaned and said Rex was anesthesia resistant so he gave him another shot.  He ended up pulling 8 teeth.  So I try to explain this to the new vet and I think she thinks I'm slightly insane.
    So yesterday as I was thinking about what I wanted to have done at the new vet (I'm trying out one closer to us)and playing out scenarios in my mind of how to advocate for fewer services (like not bringing in a fecal sample for the recommended intestine test--their intestines are fine!  And if Kevin had any doubt, he'd put a q tip up there and get his own sample!).  As I played these scenarios out in my mind, I was getting more and more worked up and before I knew it, I was in tears.  I felt mad at Kevin for leaving us to have to go through this.  And I felt guilty for taking Kevin for granted all these years.  I miss him.
    The new vet worked out fine.  They didn't guilt me into any extra tests and had a reasonable solution to Professor's itchy skin to try.  She may think I'm slightly crazy, though.  I don't think there are any vets left in the world like Kevin.