Supriya looks very uncomfortable. “I thought you knew.”
“Of course I didn’t know!”
“Look, it’s no big deal.”
“Doc was barfing up all over the clinic. I beg to differ.” In a hushed voice she points to Cory Schultz’s dog, Dutchess. “Look at her! He bought Swampwater Taffy too. If he finds out I could lose my license!”
Supriya sighs. “Okay, the Swampwater Taffy and the Stinkinator and a couple of the others are not good, but they’re not all bad. Besides it’s like catnip or madnip. Most everyone knows it’s not great for the cat, but they’ll still give it to their pet.”
“You’re telling me everyone knows that if they give their pet the Cooler than Liquid Nitrogen Nutrition Bar they run the risk of that animal getting a killer case of Slurry Fur?”
“It’s complicated.”
Alysanne thinks about all the work she’s put into her house, the time she’s had to spend away from Summer and Balerion, and all her dreams. “I love animals and all this time I was making money off stuff that was hurting them.”
“Look, we’ll talk about it after work. It’ll be fine.”
Alysanne can see Mr. Schultz getting testier at having to wait. For some strange reason, he insists on bringing Dutchess to her instead of Brindleton Pawspital. “Tell me this much. Which of the treats are not causing the animals pain?”
“Age up, Age down, Ambrosia, Wellness. There’s controversy about the poop randomizer.”
Alysanne comes to a decision. “For now, only wellness treats, okay? And we are definitely talking about this when the day’s done.”
Mr. Schultz is a jerk as always although Alysanne does note that he seems to love his dog. “You’re good with her,” he admits grudgingly.
All her new good feeling toward him vanishes when he gives her a 2 star review.
It’s an awful day, though. Every animal that walks in seems to be vomiting uncontrollably and even with the Roomba, Alysanne and Supriya cannot keep up with the cleaning as well as the animals.
“You charge way too much,” one woman says. “This place is always filthy too.”
She's not wrong, but all Alysanne can do is offer a discount and promise that changes are in the offing.
They’re bone tired at the end of the shift, but true to her word, Supriya stays and explains everything.
It turns out to be less dire than Alysanne feared. The treats can induce mild cases only. Supriya makes a good case for the others. “All right,” Alysanne says slowly at the end of the discussion. “We are going to restrict ourselves to the ones we were making today. I want an informational poster up on the risks on the other stuff. I don’t care if Brindleton Pawspital is making bank on Swampwater Taffy. This is not why I became a vet.”
“There’s something else,” Supriya says.
“What?”
“I think you need to start taking care of yourself.” She gestures to Alysanne who has changed out of her scrubs. “You’re a stick. You need to start eating better. You’re working all the time. It’s not good for you and it’s not good for your animals. Take the next few days off. And at least one of those days—you need to take some time just for you!”
Alysanne decides her friend is right. Changes need to be made.
