Cody: Doctor Jemisin

"Mom!" Cody yelped. "I can't go to the doctor like this!"

"What do you mean?"

"Like this!"

"You just went to the groomer yesterday and I promise"

"Mom!"

"No! No barking, Cody." She looked at him in the rearview mirror. "Sit still and I'll fix your bows when we get there. I promise Dr. Jemisin will think you're the prettiest poodle."

"Who's Dr. Jemisin?"

"Oh, the appointment was last minute, so I had to get whoever was available."

"I like my usual doctor..." Cody mumbled.

"Sorry, pup. We need to get to the bottom of your itching."

"It's these stupid bows!"

"You love your bows." Cody frowned. Hopefully this doctor would tell Mom she was crazy to insist he wear prissy bows all the time. Even if he was stuck as a pink poodle, he'd take what victories he could get.

"We're here!" Mom said.

"Great..." She got out of the car.

"Stay, Cody. Sit! Let Mommy make you nice for your appointment."

"Mom, c'mon." Cody whined as mom gave him an impromptu brushing in addition to 'fixing' his bows.

"Nearly done. Who's my pretty poodle? Cody is! Yes, he is!" Cody heard a thumping and glared at his tail. Traitor, he thought before it fully sunk in that his tail was wagging. "Alright, pup. Out we come!" Cody hopped out of the car, feeling the harness tug at his chest. How was he already getting used to it? He sighed, but that was all forgotten as he stared at the building in front of them. This wasn't right!

"Mom? Where are we?"

"The doctor. Don't tell me you're pretending you can't read again." Cody looked at the sign as they walked toward the building. Mom was the one who couldn't read. That sign clearly said vet on it.

As they walked inside, Cody realized this might not be so bad. A vet would recognize immediately that this boy was, well, a boy! Not a dog.

He felt like every eye was on him as mom took him up to the receptionist, holding his leash tightly. He eyed the room, half-expecting to see another dog boy like him. The only boy was reading a comic book as his little sister chattered beside him.

"Well, hi there, Cody!" Cody looked up at the receptionist. Why did she sound like she knew him? "I'm Mrs. Rainey, y'know, Dalton's mom?"

"Oh. Hi."

"Cody! He's a little grouchy."

"You got out of school early though!" She smiled down at him. "But I've been saving a treat for a certain special poodle right here." She pulled out a dog treat and held it just out of Cody's reach. He eyed the little brown bone. Was it a cookie? “You know what you gotta do to get it though.” She said in sing-song

“Can I please have the treat?” He asked dutifully.

“Aw, look at the little cutie patootie beg. Can you sit, Cody? Sit!”

Cody sat down on the floor, staring at the poster on the front of the reception desk about some medication. If I gotta be a dog, couldn't I be a dog like that? He thought as he looked at the romping black lab covetously.

"Good boy!" He looked up and got a treat. Glad I didn't have to work for it, he thought.

"Come Cody." Mom said as he chewed. "And stay down. Last thing this waiting room needs is a rambunctious poodle boy running around."

Cody wished no one would look at him as he crawled along beside his mom, but the excited girl had finally gotten her brother to look up and see Cody in all his woolly pink glory.


"Yeah, that's a poodle." He said, uninterested.


"Can we go pet her? Can we? She's soooooo cute."

"Yes, you can go pet the poodle." The girl's dad said. "But make sure you ask first. Even cute little puppies can bite if you startle them." How can I be startled? Cody thought as he sat cross-legged at his mom's feet. I can hear everything you say!

"Hi!" The little girl had skipped over alarmingly fast. "Can I please pet your dog?"


"Sure!" Mom said. "Just be gentle. He's a little nervous about the doctor."


"Cuz it's the vet!" Cody muttered


"Aww! I think she said hi!" The girl rubbed Cody's head, which actually felt good.

"His name is Cody." Mom explained with a smile.


"But he's a poodle!"


"There are boy poodles." The girl considered this and shrugged.


"Ok."


"I'm obviously a boy." Cody muttered.

He shifted slightly, unsure if it was even more obvious than he realized. Well, my fur... He didn't want to finish that thought. I'm at the vet, though, so... Another thought he didn't like the idea of finishing.

"Can I take Cody outside to play?"


"No, sweetie, it's almost his turn to see the doctor."

Almost as if by cue, the receptionist called his mom's name.


"Bye-bye Cody! I love you!" The little girl said.


"Isn't that nice?" Mom said, giving Cody's leash a gentle tug. "Say bye to your fans, Cody. The doctor's waiting."

"This is your last chance." Cody said as they left the waiting room.


"For?" Mom asked. Cody looked up at her, surprised she had actually responded. He realized he was crawling and got up on his feet.


"To realize how weird it is to take your son to the vet. Your human son."

"Get all your grouching out now. The doctor doesn't want to hear it, pup." Mom said. Cody sighed.


"Well, I guess the vet will know I'm human." Why didn't he believe that? With his luck, the vet would... he tried to think of the worst possible thing the vet could do.

He didn't know what he expected, but the vet was not in the room when they arrived. Maybe this is like a human doctor, he thought. Everything else in his life had been a weird blend, right? He tried to decide which alternative he would prefer. How about neither?

"So, do I go up on the table or?" Mom answered by lifting him up on the table. He quickly shifted to sitting like a human and looked around the exam room. Photos of cats and dogs. It -could- be a pediatrician, but he doubted it.

"Here we go." Cody said just before the door opened. His heart raced.


"Good afternoon." The doctor said, studying the clipboard. "My name is Dr. Jamisin and..." The clipboard came down. "And this must be Cody."

"Sure am." Cody said, nervously.


"Aww, it's ok, pup. I'm just here to make sure you're a healthy poodle for years to come." The doctor pushed a few buttons on the table Cody sat on. "Let's get you all the way up so we can check your weight. Can you stand on the table for me?"

Despite asking, Dr. Jamisin grabbed Cody's sides and put him on his hands and knees on the table.


"Try not to move. Good boy. These are some cool bows!"


"He does love his bows." Mom remarked from the chair. "Those are his school bows."


"I'm sure your classmates were disappointed their pretty poodle buddy had to leave early."


"Not really."


"Actually," mom laughed. "Cody thought we were going to the groomers. We just went yesterday!" Both adults laughed.


"I was gonna say, this looks like a new haircut!"

"Uh, thanks?" Cody felt very embarrassed, but at least that earned him a scratch behind the ears.


"Keep holding still. I'm just going to measure your height."

Cody tried to get up off his hands and knees, but Dr. Jamisin very gently returned him to all fours, measuring from his hand to his shoulder.


"You're checking my arm length?" The doctor just laughed.

"Height and weight look good. Let's see... Oh, we still have him in our system listed as brown." Dr. Jamisin looked over at Cody and then his mom. "Are we planning to keep him pink?"


"No!" Cody protested.

"Cody, shh. Mommy's talking. He looks so nice like this. I even started a silly little Instagram account for him." Cody glared as out came mom's phone to show the vet. "So I'd say he'll be pink for a while."


"That's good enough for me."

"I always wanted a pink poodle growing up." Mom sighed happily.


"Well, you have a son." Cody muttered, watching as the vet updated the records to officially medically declare him a prissy pink poodle pup.

"Records updated." Dr. Jamisin said. "I see Cody's due for a few immunizations."


"Whole reason I made the appointment."


"But before we get to that, Cody's getting to a certain age, isn't he? So we need to have the talk."

"What kind of talk?" Cody asked.


"Cody's getting to that age where puppies start to" Dr. Jamisin gestured. "Act on certain urges."


"Mhm." Mom said as if she knew exactly what the vet meant. Maybe she did, but the poodle boy on the exam table did not.

"What urges?" Cody asked.


"Shh, no barking." Mom said.


"Now there's no pressure, but he's getting to the age where it's best to do it, if you want to, that is."

"I'll talk it over with his dad." Mom said. "For now, let's just"


"Move on to shots, got it." Dr. Jamisin said with a chuckle.


"Shots?"


"To help you be a healthy pup."


"I feel healthy."


"They're just in case, Cody." Mom said. "Be a brave little poodle pup."

"What kinda shots are they?" Could dog shots hurt him?


"They're to help your body fight diseases." The doctor explained. "It's no fun being sick, is it?"


"No." Cody had to admit.


"So you'll just feel a few pricky pokes in your back and we'll be all done."

"What kind of shots though?"


"It's just a few small needles and this one bigger one."


"Why's that one bigger?" Dr. Jamisin seemed to glance at his mom.


"Oh, I'm not sure. I think it comes from the manufacturer like that."

"Here," mom said. "If you hold still for the doctor, I'll give you a treat, kay?" Cody watched her dig in her bag and pull out a candy bar. An actual candy bar, not a dog treat! His eyes widened and he felt his tail wag.


"I think that's a yes." Dr. Jamisin chuckled.

"How many shots is it?"


"What a brave pup. What a good boy!" Dr. Jamisin said. Cody was a little annoyed he was being ignored, but being told how good he was made up for it.

"Nearly done." Dr. Jamisin said. Even with Cody unable to see the shots, he felt every one, but tried not to yelp.

Every sound echoed in here and his yelp was hardly manly. The people out in the waiting room can't see my pink poodlyness, he thought, and I'm not yelping like some sissy poodle.

"Alright, pup. Last one. Saved the best for last." Best? Cody thought. "Mom? How 'bout you come hold him?"


"Uh, why?"


"Shh," mom cooed. "You're being so good! Such a good boy"

This time, Cody yelped like the prissiest poodle, but he didn't care. That hurt! At least Mom seemed apologetic as she alternated between rubbing his ears and straighting his dumb bows.

"And now we're all done! What a brave poodle you are!" Put that in my record, Cody thought. With his luck, the doctor would put 'yelps like a wimp' in there.


"Thank Dr. Jemisin for making sure you're healthy, Cody."

"Thanks, I guess." He mumbled.


"Cody!"


"Don't worry about that! Vets are used to surly patients."

With the visit done, Cody soon found himself back in the car, buckled in like a human boy, despite Mom taking a moment to adjust his bows and woolly fur. He chose to ignore her murmurs about him being a prissy poodle.


"My back itches." He tried to reach between his shoulders.

"It'll be a little sensitive cuz of your shots, pup." Mom said as she came around to release him from the car with a head pat. "But I bet you feel healthier already."


"I feel the same." He mumbled.


"Well!" Mom laughed. "Trust me. Those shots will keep you healthy and safe."

Cody jumped out of the car, wiggling a bit until he realized he looked like a dog shaking off. Plus the bows! He shuddered.

Who knows what dog shots will do to me? He thought as he headed inside. He looked down at the furry doughnut around his wrist and shrugged inwardly. Could it really get any worse?