Clinic Chaos

“C’mon, Rex!” Kyle called as he ran down the street toward his mom’s veterinary clinic Friday afternoon.

Rex, Kyle’s yellow Labrador retriever, ran beside him, leaping and turning in circles. Rex could sense that Kyle was excited, so he was excited, too.

Kyle yanked open the front door of Dr. Blake’s Veterinary Clinic and hurried inside. Practically bursting with excitement, he pulled a paper out of his pocket. He couldn’t wait to show his mom how well he’d done on his math test.

Behind the counter, Lillian, the clinic’s receptionist, smiled at him. “You look like you’re in a good mood,” she said.

“I am,” Kyle said. “I got a hundred percent on my math test!”

“Congrat—” Lillian started to say. But just then, Rex came charging past Kyle into the waiting room.

“Look out!” Lillian shouted.

Rex’s leash got tangled around Kyle’s feet, making him lose his balance. Kyle fell against the magazine rack, knocking it to the ground with a loud CRASH! Papers scattered across the floor. Rex yelped with surprise and jumped away, knocking into a cat carrier on the floor. The cat inside hissed angrily.

Across the room, a small poodle was waiting with its owner. The dog pulled against his leash and yapped at the cat. His front feet came off the floor when he barked, and he squeaked when he landed.

Angry hisses continued to come from inside the cat carrier. Finally, the cat’s owner picked up the carrier and put it on his lap. He shot an irritated glance at Kyle and Rex.

The little poodle continued yapping and tugging at his leash to get free.

“Bailey, no!” the poodle’s owner said, pulling the little dog away.

Everything seemed to be calming down a bit . . . then Rex started barking. The poodle immediately looked at Rex and jumped out of its owner’s lap. Rex dropped into a play bow on his front end.

“Bailey! Get away from that animal right now!” the woman holding the poodle’s leash hollered.

“Sorry!” Kyle said, grabbing Rex by the collar. “He won’t hurt him. He just wants to play.”

The poodle suddenly seemed to realize that Rex was bigger. The little dog turned tail and scrambled to safety between his owner’s feet.

Rex thought the poodle was playing. He jumped toward the little dog.

“Get away!” Bailey’s owner hollered again.

Lillian came out from behind the front desk to stand between the two dogs. “It’s okay, Mrs. Stone. Rex won’t hurt Bailey,” she said. She glared at Kyle. “But he’s being a very bad dog today!”

Kyle tried to pull Rex back. “Stop it, Rex!” he said firmly. “Come here.”

But Rex wanted to play with his new poodle pal. He didn’t budge.

Just then, Kyle’s mom came walking into the waiting room. “What is going on out here?” she demanded.

“That dog attacked Bailey,” the poodle’s owner said, pointing at Rex.

“No, he didn’t!” Kyle protested. “He just wanted to play!”

“Outside, Kyle,” Dr. Blake said. She pointed to the front door and gave her son an irritated look. “Now!”

Bailey started yapping all over again, and Kyle had to drag Rex out the front door. His mom followed, closing the door behind her. The noise in the waiting room immediately quieted.

“Now what happened?” Dr. Blake asked.

“It wasn’t Rex’s fault, Mom,” Kyle said. “I knocked over the magazine rack. And the cat started hissing, and the poodle started barking, and Rex wouldn’t shut up. But he wasn’t trying to hurt that dog. He just wanted to play.”

Dr. Blake sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Kyle, we’ve talked about this. What are the Rex rules?” she asked.

Kyle’s shoulders sagged and he looked at the ground. “That Rex has to behave when he’s in the clinic,” he mumbled.

“All the time,” his mom said. “No exceptions. That means no barking and no playing with the patients. I can’t have him upsetting people.”

Kyle nodded. “I know,” he said. “Sorry, Mom.”

“I think it might be a good idea if Rex stays away from the clinic for a while,” Dr. Blake said. “If there’s another incident like this, he won’t be allowed in the clinic at all.”

Dr. Blake went back inside the clinic, and Kyle turned to walk next door to their house. Rex trailed along next to him quietly. He seemed to sense he was in trouble.

As they walked into the kitchen, Kyle remembered his perfect math test. He was still holding the paper, but it didn’t seem that exciting anymore. Rex was in big trouble with Mom. And that meant Kyle was, too.