Once we are back home, we settle in to a regular daily routine. The days are hot, so I only get to play out on my lead first thing in the morning. In the afternoon Mom and Dad change clothes and go outside without us. I ask Fred where they are going. He says they are going swimming. He then goes on to explain that they climb into the water for exercise. I ask if it is like a bath. He says it is a little but without soap. I don’t think that I would like that kind of a bath any more than I did the one Mom gave me months ago. I decide Mom and Dad really aren’t as smart as I thought they might be.

The days start to get cooler, and Mom says it is time to close up the pool. Fred explains that the pool is that box in the backyard where they go swimming. He says they will put a cover over the water and turn off the pump that sometimes is making noise when we go for a walk. I like the idea of the backyard being quieter. There are also a lot of leaves that fall off the tree and pile in the grass. It is fun to chase them as they fall.

One day Mom picks me up, and tells me how big I’ve gotten. She also says it is time for another trip to the vet. Fred rolls his eyes at this, and says that I’m not going to like it. He says he remembers when he made that kind of trip to the vet, and that his whole view of the world changed once he stopped hurting. I ask if it will hurt me. He says that I am younger than he was, so it shouldn’t be as bad. I ask if they’ll poke me with a needle. He said it would be a quick jab and then I would be sleepy. He said I would sleep through the surgery, and will still be sleepy when Mom picks me up to come home. I don’t like the sounds of this, but I decide I’m not even going to yell at Mom or that lady that puts the tubes in her ears. I think she is the veterinarian. Fred has explained that she is our doctor.

That night Mom picks up my food bowl and even Fred’s after he has his dinner. Before bed she actually takes away the water bowl! In the morning neither of us get breakfast. Fred says I’ll get to eat after I come back from the vet, but I may not feel like it. This whole thing is sounding worse with every passing minute. After she takes Fred for a walk, Mom comes back to push me into that box she calls a cat carrier. At the vet’s office she tells me to be good as she hands the cat carrier to the girls at the desk. They move me from the carrier to a cage, and Mom leaves. I’m scared. One of the girls takes me out of that cage a little while later. She takes me to a table, and just like Fred said, the vet lady gives me a shot. The girl pets me as I go to sleep. It seems like only a minute before the girl takes me out of the cage I don’t remember being in, and hands me to Dad. Mom talks to the woman at the counter while Dad and I go out to the car. I really have a headache, but Dad says I will feel better soon. I really hope he is right.