Margo's Day At The Vet

French bulldogs are known for being clowns. They were bred to be pets only, with no other purpose in life than to entertain their owners, and they take that seriously. Or as seriously as a clown can do anything. 

Margo is our clown. She's a little too smart for her own good, too. Out of sheer boredom, she learned to let herself out of her crate. She's so proud of herself over this, too. You'd think that after learning this trick, and going through a course of, "I put you in there for a reason, and I expect you to stay," she' know that I wouldn't be happy with her setting herself free at will. She quietly stayed there for months, but has decided that being locked up is for losers. She would greet me at the door every time I came home, and she would be dancing with glee. This baffled me. I know she was that proud of herself, but she also knew that I wanted her to stay in her crate when I put her there. Still, her enthusiasm and sheer joy at figuring out the "problem" was endearing.

I kind of like Margo. Obviously.

So when I let her at the vet's office yesterday, she was in a cage in the main area where the techs and staff walk through frequently. They have that holding area for animals like her, that aren't there with any particular sickness, and then they have the quarantined cages in the back for contagious or very sick animals. Margo was in the temporary holding, knowing I was coming back for her soon. (Or the vet would bring her home, because I'm an idiot and self medicate with something that impairs my vision.) 

Margo couldn't let herself out of that cage, so she developed a new way to entertain herself. She watched people come and go right by her cage all afternoon. She waited patiently. She judged the distance and perfected the timing. And when a victim was directly in front of her cage, she let out one incredibly loud and piercing bark. Heart rates were elevated all afternoon, thanks to Margo's visit to the vet clinic. Exercise was gained as well, with all the faux jumping jacks going on. I didn't see this happen, but heard the account from my vet, who laughed heartily over it. But I know Margo well enough to know that she was grinning (literally) after every scare she induced. That dog is very much a clown. She takes her job in life seriously.


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