It's one of many life lessons I may or may not have remembered to teach them but they've certainly heard this at least a hundred times.
While I firmly believe in second, sometimes even third chances, it's that first impression thing I felt so strongly about and wanted to drill into them.
It can make or break a relationship, a future and a memory.
She explained that she wasn't in on Wednesday so didn't know the reason behind the doctor's request that she call me with the offer (yeah, right) which I promptly refused.
"Not interested", I said. "Would you like to know why?"
"Yes, actually", she replied.
I'd scheduled an appointment the week before for Boomer to be groomed and both dogs needed their Leptospirosis vaccinations. Abby had also started shaking her head excessively and was scratching at her ear so I wanted the vet to examine her.
Admittedly, I didn't do a ton of research on the office but they had a decent looking website and the dozen or so reviews I was able to find were all rave.
I had already made the conscious decision not to use the vet my Florida family has been using for a variety of reasons that I won't go into here.
I arrived promptly at 9:00 am with both dogs, checked in and then sat there for about 30 minutes as several other customers arrived. Two dogs that arrived were there to see the vet, the others were all there for grooming.
I soon learned that the practice had just been sold and the vet and many of the staff were new. It was chaotic and the receptionist appeared to have no idea what was going on.
The five dogs scheduled for grooming services who arrived after us, were greeted by the groomer who spoke with their owners and then escorted the dogs to the back. Four were scheduled for baths and one for a bath and full groom.
Boomer, Abby and I continued to sit there, feeling invisible.
Finally, the groomer returned, gushed about how adorable Boomer was, asked what I wanted done for him (bath, brush, nails and minor trim around his face, ears and paws), told me to return at 3:00 and as she carried him to the back promised to call if he was done earlier.
I was then escorted to the exam room where Abby was checked out by the vet, diagnosed with a yeast infection in her ears, given ear wash and drops we were to use for two weeks and given her Lepto shot. He was nice enough and seemed to be thorough. I paid Abby's bill and we left.
I busied myself for the rest of the day before returning to the office at 3:00 to pick up Boomer.
I'd been nervous leaving him so long. He's so young and it was only his second visit to a groomer, the first being to the wonderful shop in Boulder I've been taking our dogs to for the last 12 years or so.
But I've never had to leave a dog for more than 4 hours. I thought 6 was excessive, especially for a pup.
The woman at the reception desk that morning was not at the desk when I returned but the friendly vet tech who assisted with Abby earlier, was. She winced when she informed me that Boomer was not ready yet.
When I asked how much longer it would be she said, "Let me check" and called to the back.
When she got off the phone, she asked if I could come back in two hours, at 5:00.
"No," I said. "I've got to be somewhere at 5:00."
Then I asked if he'd at least been bathed, thinking I could just take him as is and not worry about the nails and trim.
"No," she said, and my jaw dropped.
My face must have reddened and I know my decibel level increased as I asked, "Do you mean to tell me my 5 month old puppy has been sitting in a cage for the last 6 hours and she hasn't even started on him?"
She couldn't even look me in the eye.
Soon the groomer came out and after mumbling one feeble excuse after another that I clearly was not interested in, lowered her head and disappeared. She never even offered an apology although the sweet vet tech did - several times - but I assured her I knew it was not her fault.
The vet walked by, smiled and uttered something about it being a "hectic day," "two emergencies," blah, blah, blah. Whatever!
I wondered what that had to do with the groomer leaving my pup in a cage all day while she attended to the 5 adult dogs that arrived after we did.
I wasn't amused and I certainly wasn't buying their crap so I asked that they "please bring me my dog so I can get out of here."
I then asked if Boomer had even had his Lepto shot since he'd been sitting around in a cage all day.
"No, but we'll take care of that right now" was the reply.
They did. I paid for the shot. I left.
Any bets on whether I'll be going back?
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