UDCFR

Chapter 5

The veterinarian's office is full today with dogs and other pets. The AC runs all the time, leaving the air cold. The vet finishes his examination by weighing Chase on the scale.

"Two punds." The veterinarian says, "A full pound more than birth." The vet writes down Chase's weight on the clipboard. He is an older man, black with a head of white hair.

"Shouldn't he be six to eight pounds by now?" Jeff asks the vet. The vet adjusts his glasses.

"He should be," The vet says, "And I think I know why. I must put this data away. I'll be back." The vet leaves the room.

After a few silent minutes, Roxy says, "I hope nothing is wrong with my boy."

Jeff looks at her, "It will be okay, Roxy. Dr. Williams is the best veterinarian in the county. He will solve whatever Chase has."

As soon as Jeff stops talking, Dr. Williams steps back into the room, "Alright. Do you all want the short explanation or the long one?"

Jeff looks at the dogs for a decision.

"Long one, please." Roxy says.

"Honey!" Max exclaims with mild annoyance, "Chase is going to be fine."

"I want to know why my son's not growing."

Jeff intervenes before an argument starts, "It's okay, Max, we don't have anywhere else to be today."
Jeff gives his attention to the veterinarian, "We'll take the long explanation."

Dr. Williams takes off his glasses and takes a deep breath before beginning, "Well, unlike normal non-talking dogs, talking dogs aren't natural. They were genetically modified by German scientists near the end of WWII. Within tampering the canine DNA, dogs became smarter and started to speak human languages, starting to have willpower, imaginations, consciousness, and so forth. However, a load of health problems began to appear once these smart dogs started multiplying. None of the problems are life threatening, but they are still a hindrance to smart dogs none-the-less. Soon, dogs are born growing at a slower pace than their siblings, sometimes taking 15 years to grow to full size, which is what I think is happening to your little pup."

Everyone looks at Chase, sleeping on the examination table. After hearing Chase's condition isn't life threatening, Roxy relaxed a bit.

The vet continues, "The opposite can also happen. I had a cocker spaniel in my office, which was full-size in three months. And not just physical aging,  body proportions and bone structure are deformed as well. All smart dogs have a similar bone structure to that of a human but are more than capable of walking on all fours as well. Some smart dogs can be born with longer, shorter, bigger, or smaller body parts such as longer or shorter neck, legs, ears, tail, torso, snout, and even teeth can be elongated"
Dr. Williams pulls out a picture of a grey great Dane. Hunter didn't see anything abnormal, except for the dogs mouth. Its canine teeth were long and protruding out from under his lip.

"It makes him look like a vampire." Max says.

The vet nods his head, "Yes. That is why it is called the vampire defect." The vet puts the picture away, "The body parts that can be bigger or smaller are head, torso, paws, muzzle, ears, tail, tongue, and mouth."

The vet turns to Jeff, "There is no cure for Chase's condition other than time. He will reach full size. Other than that, he is a healthy little puppy."

Jeff shakes the vets hand, and Jeff and the dogs head to the car. Inside the car, a sigh escapes Roxy.

"I told you he is okay." Max says to Roxy, "Nothing to worry about."

Hunter sits behind Jeff as Jeff starts the car, "What will we do with Chase Jeff?"

The Tahoe rolls forward as Jeff steers the car out of the parking lot, "I don't know. I guess I can talk Wendy into keeping Chase."

"Her max is two dogs in the house." Max says.

"Yes, it is." Jeff says, keeping his eyes on the road, "Let's see if I can talk her into an exception."
The car accelerates on the highway, heading home.

Hunter, Wendy, Dr. Williams, and the talking dog origin idea belongs to me.
Jeff, Max, and Roxy belong to ThreadyRumble.
Chase belongs to spinmasters.