Vet Among the Pigeons (20 page)

The computer screen flashed to advise me that I had a new client waiting. In the presenting problem box were the words: ‘difficulty in urinating since last Wednesday’. The clinical history reminded me of Monty and I laughed to think of my difference in fortune today. I couldn’t believe it when the door opened to admit the same Monty, followed by Derek. His eyes narrowed as he looked as me and then around my auspicious surroundings.

‘It is you, isn’t it?’ he enquired cautiously, as though I were an illusion.

‘It’s me, all right,’ I agreed cheerfully. ‘Back in the day job,’ I continued, knowing he wouldn’t have any idea where I worked normally.

It seemed that Monty had done well on the day after my intervention at the clinic – so well that Derek had ignored my advice to take him to a local clinic for further treatment. However, since Saturday morning, Monty had only been
dribbling urine and was almost as blocked as the first night.

Before beginning my shift in the emergency clinic, I had been given instruction in relation to the standard protocol for various conditions. I laboriously typed the clinical
history
into the computer and in the treatments box ticked the sections for sedation, catheterisation and urinalysis, and put question marks over the blood testing and ultra sound examination – all considered ‘best practice’ for what can potentially be a very dangerous condition. Derek readily signed the consent form as I explained the reason for the various treatments. Before he left, he handed over the urine sample which appeared not to have left his pocket since the previous Wednesday night. I cringed as I pressed the discharge button which would send the computer
generated
bill through to reception and ushered Derek out the door while Monty was whisked off by one of the nurses. I couldn’t help thinking about the fiver casually thrown in the box on the previous Wednesday. I could just about make out the efficient muted tones of the nurse in
reception
as she printed out the bill and read out the bottom line.

There was a brief silence before a bellow erupted from Derek: ‘
How much
to see Dr Hick? But sure, I saw her on Wednesday night and it only cost me a fiver!!’

GILLIAN HICK was born in Dublin and qualified as a vet there. She has practised for the past eleven years in both Dublin and Wicklow. She now lives with her husband and three children in County Wicklow where she runs her own veterinary practice.
Vet among the Pigeons
is her second book. Her first is
Vet on the Loose
.

THE BLUE CROSS

The Irish Blue Cross is one of Ireland’s busiest and longest established animal welfare charities. The charity first began to provide its popular mobile clinic dispensary service in the mid-1950s. The small-animal
services
are provided for pet owners unable to afford private veterinary fees. The intervening years have seen the service grow and expand to the present-day ten weekly Dublin destinations. In 2009, 18,211 check-ups, treatments, vaccinations and procedures were delivered to the most needy pets attending its Dublin-based mobile clinics and newly
established
small-animal clinic at Inchicore. In addition, Blue Cross-trained horse ambulance staff provided a total of 399 service days at race
meetings
and equine events throughout Ireland, north and south. Funding for services and equipment is provided through the generosity of the
general
public, central and local government and the horse-racing sector.

Read Gillian’s account of her years as a veterinary student and her earliest experiences on the job.

About Vet on the Loose:

‘Ireland looks set to get its very own James Herriot … full of anecdotes and funny incidents’  

Irish Farmer’s Journal

‘It’s an exciting account of the situations she encounters where the humans are often more problematic than the animals, particularly the guys who want to know: Where is the real vet?’  

Irish Independent

‘Very well written in an easy-flowing style’
Irish Farmer’s Journal

‘Gillian is a young vet with a lively sense of humour and a pleasant, easy-going
writing
style … animal lovers will be well pleased with her pacy anecdotes’

Irish Examiner

Michael Kelly once worked in the city, then he and his wife decided to change their lifestyle. When they moved to a somewhat leaky country cottage in Dunmore East, they began to grow a few
vegetables
– and even started to keep hens and pigs! This book tells of the first shaky steps away from the old life into the new, described with humour and affection.

ISBN 978–1–84717–070–5

Five years on – an invaluable and timely guide to self-sufficiency at home: growing your own food, cooking, storing, keeping
animals
, and lots more, dispensed with humour and tales of the author’s own successes and
failures
. Perfect for the novice grower, with tips and plans to take you through the year. Full of suggestions and encouragement.

ISBN 978–1–84717–168–9

There are Irish families for whom horseracing truly is in the blood. Families of jockeys and trainers like the Walshes and Geraghtys, families who photograph racing, commentate and take bets, like the O’Hehirs, Healys and
Grahams
. And, of course, there are the star horses.
Lavishly illustrated with over a hundred photographs.

ISBN 978–1–84717–180–1

The Aintree Grand National is the world’s most famous horserace and from its earliest years Irish horses, jockeys, trainers and breeders have been prominent there.
A wonderfully illustrated and compulsively readable account of a beloved institution.

ISBN 978–1–84717–074–3

A marvellous collection of over seventy biographies, detailing the lives of extraordinary women from Ireland’s past – from pirates to patriots, warriors to writers, mistresses to male impersonators.

ISBN 978–0–86278–780–6

TV presenter Darryl Grimason conveys the passion for fishing that has inspired him since
boyhood
. From angling for wild brown trout on Lough Corrib to the capture of a giant bluefin tuna off the Donegal coast, his
enthusiasm
for the subject is infectious.

ISBN 978–0–86278–914–5