The Cone of Shame

I have been on a three month long waiting list to get Rufio neutered. On December 1, 2010, the first available appointment wasn't until March 8, 2011. Lucky for Rufio. So, I saved the date for his impending doom, and patiently waited to take him into the vet.

This last Monday, I figured it would be best to call ahead to make sure we were set for his surgery, and to finalize any details that I may need to know. I pulled out my brightly colored, printed appointment slip signed by the clinic with all the information and dialed the number.

"Salt Lake Clinic, this is Sharon, how can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Jenica Schulz and I was just calling to make sure my appointment for Rufio was all set for next week."

"What day were you scheduled to come in?"

"Tuesday, March 8. I made the appointment in December."

"And this is Jenica Schulz with Rufio? And you said next Tuesday the 8th?"

"Yep."

"Hmm....will you hold for just a minute?"

"Sure."
...
...
...
...

"Jenica, I'm looking at your file, and you were scheduled to come in on January 5th, not March the 8th."

"Well, that's strange because I'm holding my receipt that says 'Your scheduled appointment is March 8th. Please be at the clinic between 7 and 8:30 to drop off your pet.'"

"And your paper says you're scheduled to come on the 8th?"

(I don't understand at this point how I could be any clearer)

"Yes."

"Hold please."
...
...
...

"Jenica, would you be willing to come in tomorrow for surgery? Also bring the sheet that says your original schedule so we can see who made the error."

"Erm, ok that will work, see you then."

Seriously, if you make an appointment 3 months in advance, you still better call ahead cause they'll lose your reservation! Anyways, I dropped off poor Rufio before work yesterday and met with the doctor before I left. He gave me his pain meds and told me that he would try to "convince" me that he could NOT walk with the cone on his head, but that he was lying.

The doctor was right. As soon as you set Rufio on the ground, he becomes immobile and still. Completely petrified! He tried telling me his story yesterday when I picked him up, but as we all know, dogs don't speak English. He tried his best, but when he finished, this was the picture I took...