Bentley's Biz: The Lady in Blue and Her Friend the Dentist

I sensed my boy's anxiety level start to sky rocket the minute we stepped through the door. We were hit by weird smells and sounds, and there were kids everywhere. Carter scrunched up his face and jumped up and down. His arms flailed. His mom sat down on one of the chairs and tried to talk to him.

I sat beside her, but Carter wouldn't sit. He was too upset. My boy was pacing the room like a pup during a thunderstorm. The toys and the TV distracted him for a bit, but then like a rumble of thunder the noise in the waiting room would bring him back and he'd remember where he was and what was about to happen.

I got comfy on the cool floor and had a nap; a 35 minute nap. That's how long it was before they called for Carter. Carter's mom was not happy about it. My guy was nervous enough without having the extra long wait.

A lady dressed in blue lead us down a hallway to a little room. Smack in the middle of that room was a long, narrow chair. I picked up a whiff of cherries and bubble gum.

Then I watched as Carter's mom and the lady in blue tried to convince Carter to come into the room and sit in the chair. Carter was having none of it. He cried and planted his paws firm as his mom half dragged, half carried him into the room and over to the chair.

That's when I sensed anxiety, but it wasn't just coming from Carter this time. His mom was tense too. She had to sit with Carter and hold him in the chair so he couldn't get up. I wish I could've crawled up into that chair with them to try and make them feel better.

The lady in blue kept talking to Carter like he was a two year old. That made me want to nip at her ankles. My boy may not be able to talk, but that doesn't mean you should treat him like a pup.

There was a TV on the ceiling and that helped distract my pal for a while. He actually calmed down for a bit, even when the lady was sticking things in his mouth.

The worst was when the lady left and said she was going to get her 'friend, the dentist.' This dentist person was going to come back and count Carter's teeth. So, she left and Carter's mom stayed sitting with Carter so that he couldn't get up (I watched knowing that if he got out of that chair getting him back in would be like trying to push a cat into a dog house).

But, the lady in blue didn't come back right away. Carter started getting more and more upset because his mom wouldn't let him out of the chair. And his mom kept trying to explain that first the dentist would come look in his mouth and then we could leave. Carter's mom told him that she didn't know where the dentist was or why it was taking so long. Then I heard her say something like, 'Where are they?' and 'ridiculous.'

When the lady in blue finally came in with the dentist she explained that they'd been 'discussing how they might go about getting an x-ray of Carter's mouth.' That's when the tension vibes that Carter's mom had been giving off turned into anger vibes.

Why couldn't the lady in blue and her friend the dentist talk about all that stuff after they were finished with Carter? What's with these humans anyway? Dogs would never be so cruel. We might do weird stuff like sniff each others' butts, but we'd never purposely keep a fellow canine in distress like that.

Carter's mom told the dentist she didn't think it would be possible to get x-rays because that would require Carter to sit still and he obviously wasn't going to do that. The conversation went back and forth until finally Carter's mom agreed to bring Carter back in a month so they could try doing an x-ray then (I think she just said that so that we could get out of there).


But, poor Carter. I guess he'll be seeing the lady in blue and her friend, the dentist again soon. Makes me want to howl  just thinking about it.