“This is not good, Lizzie, not good at all.” Kita is sitting next to me in the backseat of the car, and she looks really worried. What is wrong with her? Is she seeing ghosts or something? In my opinion everything is parfait. For all I know we may be heading to a playground or a dog park. “I know where we are going,” she hisses, “and I don’t like what I’m seeing.”
The longer the drive, the more nervous she gets. She rattles on about her Grandpa Lennox. She claims he went to some ‘Rainbow Bridge’ long before I arrived, a week ago. “He warned me about how troublesome the Green Clothes are,” she gasps. I don’t understand… What is she talking about? This just seems another fun ride to me. Il n’y a pas de souci!
Every day is une aventure, you know, in this new home and with these awfully nice people who care for me now. Why worry? I’m only starting to get settled in my promising situation! Kita continuously wants to warn me about things, though, which is annoying because – well, vous savez – “she ‘knows’…” Frankly, I think it spoils it a bit for me, n’est-ce pas?
Anyway, we seem to be arriving at our destination. Dad drives into a sinister underground parking area. It is somewhat spooky, I must admit, but is this really giving Kita the creeps? “No, no!” she whispers. “This is the easy part. Wait and see.” Mum and Dad take us both into a well illuminated hallway full of doggie accessories. You see? On va s’amuser!
Kita doesn’t even seem to notice the bags of dogfood and the doggie toys. Mum talks to a few people behind a counter, while Dad sits on a bench and starts cuddling me. So far, so good, I’d say! Moreover, all the people behind the counter are wearing… blue clothes! Kita must really be suffering from hallucinations. I myself am beginning to enjoy this trip!
Enters a Tall Man… in Green Clothes!
Dad immediately jumps up, Mum takes whining Kita with her, and all together we follow the man to… to… I know what this is! It is very similar to a place where I went in my homeland –je suis française, vous savez – and… it’s a vet’s cabinet! Je comprends: Kita needs some treatment for her hallucinations! Or maybe something else is wrong with her?
The Tall Man points at me, however, and he is talking to… me! I don’t understand a word he says. He sounds nice, but then again: in Dutch they all do! Dad picks me up and puts me on a high table. Je deviens folle! I freeze and keep perfectly still, while the Tall Man performs a thorough medical examination. Oh, oh, I don’t like this anymore, I want to get out of here!
[A few hours later]
Eh bien, after all it was just a piece of cake, vous savez. Kita underwent an examination too, and as I gather the situation, nothing is wrong with either of us. I’m “in heat”, if I heard that properly. I don’t know what that means but I don’t seem to be suffering from anything, so… I didn’t quite get the “sterilization” part, but that won’t be a problem either, n’est-ce pas?
Sissie Lizzie
Every day an airedale: Kita 