"Hi everybody. I’m home. How was your day, cats? Did you sleep all day long?"

"Hi", said Carmen. "There’s some mail for you on the table".

"Something seems strange…it’s very quiet. Where’s Wally? How come he didn’t come to the door, running and barking, like he does everyday? "Where is he?", I said.

"He didn’t come down when I got home either. He’s upstairs on the bed and he seems very sad. Also, he hasn’t eaten any of his food all day", Carmen said. "You know, that’s not like him at all".

"No, it’s not. Remember, he got sick yesterday…you know, he had those bad poops", I said.

"Well, it happened again today…in the house, right on the rug", said Carmen.

Uh oh, something’s definitely wrong.

When we got upstairs, Wally was lying on the bed, all curled up in a little ball. He looked up when we walked into the room, wagged his tail a little, but didn’t get up.

"What’s wrong, buddy? Don’t you feel good?", Carmen said.

"I don’t think he’s going to answer you", I said.

"He’s answering me right now. He looks so sad, like something’s bothering him. And do you hear those gurgling sounds coming from his little pink belly? It sounds like bubbles in his belly".

"I think I should call Dr. Teri and bring him in to be checked".

When we got to Dr. Teri’s office, everybody was happy to see Wally.

"Hi Wally", said Janette.

Hey, Wally, my man", said Michelle. "How are you doing"?

"He doesn’t seem to be feeling too well. That’s why we’re here today. He’s just not himself", I said.

"Well, he’s come to the right place. I’m sure Dr. Teri can help him to feel better", said Janette.

Dr. Teri is Wally’s doctor. She’s a veterinarian, a special doctor for animals. She loves animals very much and spent a long time going to a special school to learn to take care of them. Her patients are dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, hamsters…and even snakes and ferrets!!! Wally likes her very much because he knows that she wants him to feel good and be happy and healthy.

"Hi Wally", said Dr. Teri. "I hear you’re not feeling well".

We told Dr. Teri about how quiet Wally’s been, about his not eating…and even about his bad poops!!

"Well", Dr. Teri said, "Let’s see what the problem is".

She examined him, took his temperature, listened to the sounds his heart makes…and even to the sounds in his belly. We told her everything about Wally’s behavior when he feels good and about what he eats every day. We even told her about how tiny he was when we first got him.

"Well, there could be a few things wrong with him, but to
be sure, I’d like him to come back here tomorrow for some tests of his stomach", Dr. Teri said. "I’d like to take pictures of his stomach after he’s swallowed some special medicine and see if everything is working okay".

"Will it hurt him?", Carmen asked.

"Not at all", Dr. Teri said. "But, he will have to stay here all day. We’ll take very good care of him and give him lots of attention. You can pick him up right after work".

The next day, we took Wally back to the vet’s office. We left him there in the very good care of Dr. Teri and her staff. They even let him have a couple of his favorite toys to keep him company during the day.

When we went back to pick him up later, he looked fine and was very happy to see us…running and jumping and barking, just like normal.

"He seems fine", I said. "What did you do??"

"Well", Dr. Teri said, "I know what his problem is. He’s fine now because the medicine we gave him so that we could do the test made him feel better, for today. But, he is a sick little puppy and he has a very sensitive stomach".

"Will he be okay?", we asked.

"Yes, I think he will. But, only if you both take very good care of him. We’ll have to work together to get him better so that he doesn’t feel sick anymore. And, we’ll have to put him on medicine every day and change the food he eats. And, no more people food! Do you think you can do that?"

"Absolutely", said Carmen. "We’ve had him since he was a tin, tiny little baby and we want to keep him healthy and make sure that he has a good life".

"That’s right", I said. "We really love having Wally in our family and we’ll do everything we have to do to make sure he gets better. And, we won’t give him any people food", I said.

"That’s great", Dr. Teri said. "Now, let’s talk about what we need to do".

When we left Dr. Teri’s office that day, we had lots of medicine for Wally, new food and even new dog biscuits. He loves all of it…even his medicine!! Dr. Teri asked us to call her anytime we had a question or if Wally seemed to have a belly ache again. And, we take him back to see her for his check-ups as often as we need to.

Wally is much happier now and much healthier, too. When we come home from work, it’s NEVER quiet when we open the door, because Wally is always there, running and barking, telling us every day how happy he is to feel good, again.

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