Vets and Pets 2: Jamie and the Horse Show. Helen Brain

nonsense, I’ve treated hundreds of parrots. You’ve just got to handle them right.” She opened the cage door and reached for the parrot. He growled and scuttled away across his perch.

      “Come on, Boy,” she murmured. “Let me look at you.”

      The parrot bent his head and looked at the floor.

      “Do you want tickles?” Arabella asked, reaching out to scratch his head.

      He lunged at her, slicing her hand.

      “Ouch!” she squeaked. “He bit me!”

      Toby got up. “Let me,” he said, pushing his mother aside. He crouched down, murmuring softly. The parrot looked up at him and relaxed his ruffled feathers. Toby cautiously put his hand into the cage.

      “Up,” said Toby. “Up you get.”

      The parrot hopped onto Toby’s hand. Toby drew him out of the cage and held him, stroking his head.

      “We shall never surrender,” squawked the parrot in a deep resonant voice. “We will fight them on the beaches …”

      “What’s his name, Dad?” asked Tick.

      “Dr Horeheck called him after his favourite scientist, Richard Dawkins.”

      “That’s hilarious,” giggled Pan. “Now you’ve got Hawking and Dawkins. And they’ll both be squawking.”

      Dawkins rubbed his head against Toby’s finger. “We will NEVER surrender,” he said happily.

      “If Toby gets a new pet then I want one too,” Jamie said. “About my horse, Mom, Oreo is now for sale …”

      “Jamie, it will be years before you’ve saved enough for a horse,” Arabella said. “Let’s talk about it nearer to the time. Now who wants seconds of the Snotterbel?”

      “Fine,” said Jamie crossly when she and Pan were in her room after dinner. “If she doesn’t want to talk about it, I won’t talk about it. I’ll just sell everything I don’t want anymore and surprise her when I’ve got the full ten thousand rand.”

      “Good idea,” said Pan, opening Jamie’s wardrobe. “Now let’s see what you’ve got in here that we can sell.”

      4

      An unwelcome visitor

      “Jamie,” Arabella called up the stairs a few days later. “Unathi has taken a few days leave. I need someone to help me for a couple of hours.”

      Jamie jumped up eagerly. She was stuck on her maths homework and her drippy cousin, Fifi, commonly known as Fleaflea, was hanging around being annoying. Ever since her aunt got a new job, Fifi had to come over every day after school and Jamie never seemed to be able to get rid of her. But she wasn’t going to let her mother know how much she wanted the job.

      “I might be able to help. Will you pay me?” she called back.

      “Same as I pay you to pack away the dog food, fifty rand an hour,” Arabella said.

      “Sixty,” said Jamie. “And double for overtime. Horses are expensive, Mom.”

      “Thith, Jamie,” Fleaflea said, shaking her head as Jamie ran down the stairs. “You thhouldn’t athk your mommy for money. You thhould be a nithe, helpful girl.”

      Jamie ignored her. A few hours peace from Fleaflea and the chance to earn some money was just what she needed.

      In the surgery Jamie pulled on a white coat, and was soon busy in the animal hospital. Arabella had been spaying dogs that morning, and Jamie’s first job was to check that all the dogs were properly awake from their anaesthetics.

      She was amazed to see that they were all sitting up and wagging their tails. Jamie was sure that she wouldn’t be so cheerful if she had just had surgery. She checked that they hadn’t pulled out their stitches or chewed off their plasters. Finally she gave each a small bowl of water.

      In the last cage was a Labrador puppy. He had eaten something rotten on his walk a few days before and had been very sick when his owner brought him in. He was still on a drip, but was looking much better.

      Jamie rubbed his fuzzy head. “Hello, Spuddy. How are you feeling, Boy?” she murmured. Spuddy wagged his tail and licked her hand. “Mom says you can have a bit of food seeing you’re not vomiting anymore.” Jamie scooped a couple of spoons of a special diet into a bowl and gave it to the puppy. He wolfed it down without stopping to breathe. Obviously his appetite was back.

      A few minutes later the consulting room door opened. “Jamie, can you come and help in here a minute, please?” Arabella called.

      Arabella was in the consulting room with Mrs Van Heerden and Fluffy, a fifty kilogram Rottweiler with a bad attitude and foul smelling breath. He was muzzled but still snarling and growling. His owner was a tiny woman and there was no way she could hold the dog while Arabella examined him.

      “He has an abscess in his mouth,” Arabella told Jamie. “I have to give him an injection of antibiotics. If it doesn’t clear up in a few days, we will have to sedate him and extract the tooth.”

      “Will he be alright, Doc?” Mrs Van Heerden asked. “Is that why he’s been in such a bad mood? Is it dangerous?”

      “Only to me,” Arabella said, looking at the hostile dog and gritting her teeth. She pulled on a glove and extracted liquid from a tiny bottle and into the injection needle. “Right, Jamie, you and Mrs Van Heerden hold his head tight.”

      Jamie grabbed Fluffy’s collar, and Arabella gently inserted the needle into his skin. He gave a roar and jumped free. In a second he had whipped around and knocked Arabella over. He stood over her snarling. Stinky saliva dripped from the sides of his muzzle onto Arabella’s coat.

      “Heel, Fluffy!” shouted Mrs Van Heerden. She grabbed hold of Fluffy’s head and tugged him away. Arabella struggled to her feet and straightened her glasses.

      “Sorry, Doc,” apologised Mrs Van Heerden. “He caught us by surprise. Can you hold him tighter, girlie?”

      “We’ll have one more try,” Arabella said, looking at the big dog dubiously.

      Mrs Van Heerden caught Fluffy in her grip again, and Jamie took his collar and they held their breaths as Arabella had another go. This time she stuck in the needle quickly and injected the medicine. Fluffy whined and shook his head, splattering them all with his disgusting saliva.

      “Gross,” squeaked Jamie.

      “Sorry, Doc,” shrieked Mrs van Heerden.

      “Well, that should do it,” Arabella said, wiping down her glasses with some paper towel. “All in a day’s work. Pop him in the car while I clean up and get him some tablets. Jamie, open the door for Mrs Van Heerden.”

      The waiting room was crowded, and Fluffy couldn’t wait to get out of the surgery. He shoved past a smartly dressed woman and her daughter coming through the door. Jamie’s heart sank. It was the snooty girl from the riding school. Shardonnay.

      “What’s that disgusting smell?” Shardonnay asked, looking Jamie up and down. “Have you trodden in something?”

      Jamie blushed. “It’s nothing. I mean it is something, but it’s not me … I haven’t trodden in anything …”

      “We’re new in town, and my pedigreed Chihuahua will only eat Costalot Premium dog food,” the smart lady said to Ilona, the receptionist. “I’m not sure a small vet practice like this one will stock it, but I need a small bag of the food, and a flea and tick collar …”

      “Costalot?” Ilona said. “We’ve got some in the back. I’ll fetch it.”

      Just then Arabella