I’m picking up a prescription for Lightning at the vet . . . the new girl, Lauren, is at the desk.
“It’s a little different this time,” Lauren says. “We didn’t have the Prednisone 5mg, so we’re giving you Prednisone 10mg, and instead of giving him half a tablet, you’ll give him a quarter of a tablet. I already cut them.”
“Oh gosh, thanks! Did you cut them on the lines?” Lauren is new so she hasn’t heard this one yet.
“To the best of my ability.”
“That’s good. Lightning doesn’t like it when they’re not cut on the lines.”
She’s not getting the joke but that’s okay. I’ll help her out by taking it completely into the realm of the absurd.
“He feels like it doesn’t show attention to detail,” I say.
“I’ll make a note of that for next time.”
“Yes, you should do that. Go ahead and write it on his chart.”
Pet owners — I know this from spending a lot of time at dog parks — are likely to attribute all sorts of human thoughts and emotions to their animals, so I guess if you work in a veterinary clinic, you can’t assume that customers are joking just because what they’re saying is totally irrational . . .