All creatures great and small
The medical drama
As many of you know, we have three cats.
One norm that surprised me about London is that people mostly let their cats roam around the neighbourhood. (They also rarely leash dogs.) No petitions to save the songbirds or public service announcements describing the 47 gruesome ways your cat can meet his or her untimely end as a free-range pet.
So our cats hang out with the other fauna in the neighbourhood—dogs, foxes, pigeons, squirrels, and mon dieu, other cats.
The other day, Jack Jack and Rex stumbled home like a set of spitting drunks bearing the scars of a recent battle, most likely with a bully of a Bengal a few gardens over. And while they’ve recovered nicely since, certainly appetite-wise, Jack Jack is limping slightly and Rex still has a bit of a scratch on his ear.
Isaac is very concerned. So, like an over-enthusiastic personal assistant, Isaac took it on himself during his lunch break to book an appointment for both Jack Jack and Rex.
He helpfully texted me the appointment time and an Apple Maps link. . . . which showed a practice on the other side of London.
Now, it’s generally wise to take Isaac’s word with a heavy dose of salt, so I waited until he came home from college.
He broached the topic as soon as he walked in the door.
“Mom! I made an appointment to take Jack Jack and Rex to the vet.”
“Did you really?”
“Yeah. It’s for 4:45pm. We need to go.”
“Um, can I look at your phone, please?”
Sure enough, there was a helpful SMS message from the practice confirming an appointment for today made by Isaac Sandler, along with a phone number, etc.
Naturally, I called them and explained the situation, apologising profusely.
The woman who answered was incredibly understanding, and even sounded a bit relieved.
She said, “He did sound a bit young, but when he told me that Jack Jack had trouble breathing and that Rex has lost part of his ear, I thought it best to suggest they come in for a look.”
So I learned a few things today:
Isaac now has enough agency and tools to act on his dramatic interpretation of a mostly benign situation.
People are almost always wonderful, gracious, and kind.
With enough guardrails and training, Isaac may yet make a fine executive assistant.
