[ReubenDunn]

Grandma Mary went to the veterinarians office one morning, carrying her pet parrot ‘Polly’ in her cage. Polly was lying on her back, beak up, stiff as a board.

“Well, Mary,” the vet. said. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Dr., it’s Polly, I woke up this morning and found her like this. She won’t move. What’s wrong with her?”

The vet, knowing full well what was wrong with Polly, and knowing how devoted Grandma Mary was to the bird, took the caged bird, and Grandma into the examination room.

He opened the cage, took the bird out and laid it on the examining table. He took his stethoscope and placed it on the birds chest for a few seconds. Afterwards, he turned to Grandma and said,

“Mary, I’m sorry to have to tell you this but Polly is dead. But be comforted, it looks like there was no pain.”

“Dead?!!” Mary exclaimed? “I don’t believe it!” “I refuse to believe it!” “I want a second opinon!”

The vet. tried to calm Mary down, but Mary continued to insist on getting a second opinion. Heaving a small sigh, the Vet. left Mary and walked out of the examining room.

A few minutes later he came back into the room, carrying a cat in one hand, and, holding a leash that was attached to the collar of a golden Labrador Retriever.

Approaching the table the vet let go of the cat who ran and jumped onto the table, sniffed the still parrot from beak to tail. The cat looked at both the Dr. and at Mary, shook its head from side to side, then jumped off of the table, and ran through a small cat flap in the door leading out of the examination room.

The vet. let go of the leash. The dog trotted up to the table, stood on its hind legs, and, with the front paws leaning on the table, also sniffed the bird from beak to tail. The dog likewise looked at Mary and the Vet, and also shook her head from side to side, pushed her paws off of the table, and went through a dog flap in the same doorway leading out of the room.

“Mary, I’m sorry to say, it’s been confirmed. The bird sadly has died.”

Grandma began to quietly cry, she really was going to miss that bird.

As they were gathering the remains and the cage and were walking out of the room, Mary turned to toward the Vet. and asked how much he was going to charge for the exam.

“$500.00.” was the reply!

“What!??!!” “$500.00 just to tell me that my bird has died?” “THAT”S outrageous!”

“Well Mary,” the vet. said. “Normally the fee for this would be $20.00, but with the Cat scan, and the Lab Tests thrown in.....”