I was on my way back to the clinic when my cell phone rang. The display on the phone in its cradle on my truck dash said "Countryside Veterinary Clinic". That would be Julie, the woman who sat at the front desk and took all my calls. I pushed the button on the spoke of the steering wheel.
"Hi Julie. Whatcha need?"
Her sultry, low alto voice poured out over the speakers in the sound system.
"You mean besides a raise and a new chair?"
I knew Julie was just kidding. She's been like that ever since I'd started working at the clinic. She's not bashful about saying anything to anybody, and she has a great sense of humor. The not bashful part comes in handy when she's calling about an unpaid vet bill or telling a client that he needs to keep his dog on a leash while in the office. Julie doesn't like cleaning up the dog urine from the floor around the potted plants in the office.
She's also a petite little brunette who caught my eye on the first day. Julie doesn't look like much in the scrubs she wears all day, but when she changes to go home, she's pretty sexy in her jeans and tops. I liked Julie from the day we met. She was single, about my age, and if I hadn't been so deep in debt, I'd probably have asked her out right after I'd gotten settled in a little.
"I forgot to ask Rex about your chair, but I'll do that as soon as I get back. As for the raise, I promise as soon as I get mine, I'll talk to Rex about yours."
"Yeah, that's what you always say. I'm not holding my breath. It's Dora Clements again. She wants you to come out and look at Elvira...again."
"She say what's wrong this time?"
"Yeah. Elvira sneezed."
"OK. I'm about half an hour from there. Tell her I'll be there as soon as I can."
}{
"Elvira", was Princess Elvira Elsbeth of Clements Stables, and was a beautiful black Friesian mare owned by Dora Clements. If Elvira had been Dora's only horse, I would have understood her concern, but Dora also owned twenty five other Friesians, one stallion of uncertain breeding named Rex, and a miniature donkey named Sebastian. I didn't think Dora was actually concerned about Elvira because she knew horses very well. Dora was concerned with me and had been since that first call to her stables.
I'd just completed four years of pre-vet that ended with a BS in biology, four years of vet school that gave me a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, and the eight hour exam that let me register with the State of Tennessee as a practicing vet. All that education had pretty much put me in debt up to my eyeballs, so starting a private practice was something to dream about at night over a beer or two.
Dr. Rex Mason needed another vet and I was happy to get the job. Rex Mason's office was located in Dickson, Tennessee so he did a mix of pets and farm animals. He was getting along in years and didn't like wrestling with cows and horses that would rather be left alone, so I started taking the farm calls. Dora Clements was one of my first.
When I pulled my truck into the lane of Clements Stables I had to stop and look for a while. The house and stable were about a quarter of a mile from the highway, and the white painted board fences went as far as I could see down the highway in both directions. Dora later told me it was only three hundred and twenty acres, but that she'd made an offer on another hundred and sixty that bordered on her property.
There were several horses grazing near the huge plantation style house and their solid black coats and long, wavy manes and tails and fetlocks told me they were Friesians. The stable was even bigger than the house and looked more like a mansion with dormers and two turrets. The house, stable, horses, and all that wood fence told me Dora Clements didn't want for money. At that time, the going price for a mediocre Friesian was in the neighborhood of five thousand, and none of these looked mediocre. I figured the six I was looking at had set her back at least a hundred thousand if not more. I couldn't even guess at the cost of the house and stable.
Dora was standing in the drive to the stable when I drove in and parked my truck. She walked up while I was putting on my rubber wellingtons.
"I thought Doc Mason would come out."
I smiled my best making friends with a client smile.
"Doctor Mason was busy with some pets in the office, so I came out instead. I'm Randy Kingsley"
Dora eyed me suspiciously.
"You look pretty young to be a vet."
"I'm twenty six. That's about the age of most new vets."
"You are a vet and everything, aren't you?"
"Yes. I didn't bring my license with me, but I'm a qualified vet. Dr. Mason wouldn't have sent me out here if I wasn't. He said you like your horses a lot. I like Friesians too. They're beautiful animals and they're great to work with because they tend to be pretty laid-back."
Dora smiled.
"You know about Friesians?"
"Yes, I spent some time in residency with a vet in Lexington. There were several Friesians in the area, so I got to work with them on occasion. Your six look to be in great shape. Why did you call us out?"
"Actually, I have twenty seven horses and a miniature donkey all together. The rest are in the back pasture except for Warlock, Azmodeus, and Rowdy. Warlock and Azmodeus are my studs and Rowdy is my teaser. They each have their own pastures. The reason I needed you is Sebastian. He's my miniature donkey and I think he hurt his leg somehow because he's limping."
Dora led me into the stable then. I figured her horses lived better than a lot of people. The building included an indoor arena about sixty feet square. Along each wall were the standard twelve by twelve stalls, eighteen on one side and fourteen on the other. Also on the wall with fourteen stalls were a tack room and a feed room, and two more stalls, one half as large as the rest and the other using the rest of the space. Dora said the big stall was her maternity ward.
Everything was varnished wood with steel pipe fencing and looked cleaner than my kitchen. The lighting in the stall area was chandeliers hung from the ceiling every ten feet or so. I saw bales of hay piled from the stall ceilings to the actual stable ceiling on both sides. Over each stall was the name of a horse and a hook from which hung a halter. I saw two older men cleaning the stalls.
Dora saw me staring at everything.
"Pretty neat, isn't it?"
