SCARED E. CAT

It was a quiet fire station.
We could hardly hear a sound.
Chief said, “Has anyone seen our young Dalmatian?”
But Gus was nowhere to be found.

Tick ... tock ... tick ... tock ...
As the silence grew and grew.
Scritch ... scratch ... scritch ... scratch ...
“Aaahhh ... aaahhh ... aaahhh ... cat-ch-t-t-tooo!!!”


Sherman spotted him on the snorkel
Above the ladder way up top.
Chief cracked and grin and started chuckling,
“He knows it’s time to get his shots!”

On the double we got up,
But before our first foot hit the floor,
Down dove that spotted pup
To make a beeline for the door.


We sprinted through the station,
It was a most exhausting race,
But couldn’t catch that quick Dalmatian,
As he matched our every pace.

He dodged us by the doorway
And did a dog-leg through the gate.
Then he darted down the driveway,
And he doggone near escaped.


“Look! It’s Schmitty! The search and rescue cat!”
And as Gus glanced behind his back,
“Gotcha!”
He took the bait and that was that.

Preston put him in the pumper,
And Sherman strapped him to a net.
Then our diesel engine thundered,
And we drove him to the vet.


Tick ... tock ... tick ... tock ...
As we sat there in that room.
Scritch ... scratch ... scritch ... scratch ...
“Aaahhh ... aaahhh... aaahhh ... cat-ch-t-t-tooo!!!”

The waiting seen eternal,
And we all got really bored.
So we grabbed a stack of journals
From the rack along the door.


“Sherman, what the heck’s a Sputnik,
And why do the Russians want to scare us?”
“Preston! Have you seen this week’s statistics?
The Yankees have this guy named Maris.”

“Chief, check out these fancy wheels ---
A brand new ’58 Bel Air!
For just two grand? Are they for real?
You know these cars are really rare!”


“And our ships have just been sunk.
Did you know we’ve gone to war?
And we won a battle on some mount ---
Hey! This flag’s a few stars short!”

Chief said, “What on earth have you exhumed?
Those magazines are more like fossils!”
Then as the nurse stepped in the room,
“It’s time for Gus to see the doctor.”


Thump … thump … thump … thump …
As she listened to his chest.
Rumble … rumble … rumble … rumble …
“You’d think this dog was never fed ...”

“C … A … T …”
As Gus read some letters from a chart.
“B … E … G …”
“Why, this dog is rather smart!”


The she took our doggie’s vitals,
And on a sheet she wrote some stats.
Then, “I’m going to step outside now ...
I’ll get the doc and be right back.”

Tick ... tock ... tick ... tock ...
As we waited in Room 1.
Scritch ... scratch ... scritch ... scratch ...
“Do you think he’ll ever come?”


Gus’s eyes were dripping,
And he couldn’t smell a thing.
Chief was tired of waiting,
And his patience pushed the brink.

Then Dr. Rockwell knocked
And finally walked into the room.
But as that doc began to talk,
We knew that we were doomed.


“This dog seems somewhat stressed,
And he’s got these funny spots.
I think I’ll order up some tests,
And then we’ll give this guy a shot.”

Tick ... tock ... tick ... tock ...
As we as we waited for those tests.
Scritch ... scratch ... scritch ... scratch ...
“Aaahhh ... Aaahhh…” --- and then a nasty mess!!!


“Do you think I’ll get an X-ray?”
Gus turned to ask Chief Dan.
“No, I think they’ve got a new way,
Something called a PET-scan.”

They took him for his tests
While we waited in that room.
And when another hour’d passed,
The doctor shared the news.


“These results are somewhat baffling,
I don’t know what to do ...
To stop that dog from scratching,
Have you tried a new shampoo?

And his nose is damp and freezing,
And his cheeks are rather puffy.
Has this dog at all been sneezing?
Because he’s sounding sort of stuffy.”


“Enoughy!” yelled Chief,
“I think we need a new opinion!”
Then he dropped in disbelief
As that doctor kept on driveling.

“Well, it could be the yellow flu,”
As Gus turned white as a ghost,
“Or it could be the gangrene, too ...
Now that’s what I’d fear the most!”


When it was time for Gus’s shot,
He slithered ’cross the floor.
But the nurses had him caught
Before he slipped beneath the door.

As the doctor held him down,
He said, “This really shouldn’t hurt …”
But that panicked patchy hound
Prepared for pain the worst.


Then his knees began to wobble,
As the room began to spin.
And then a teeter and a totter,
But the patient never felt a thing.

“Chief Dan, you can let go of your tummy,
For this completes your vaccination.
Would you like a band aid with a bunny,
Or 101 Dalmatians?”


When I woke up from my dream,
I was sickened by my sin,
A horrible disease,
A fight I couldn’t win.

Then came the great Physician,
And on his arms He took my shots,
To put an end to my condition
When my immunity He bought.


David J Allen
September 30, 2007


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