BiJae turned in to a fine looking dog. He was beautiful and I wanted to keep him intact for a breeding later in his life. However, being unaltered he was prone to wander. At a year and a half, he was already showing those tendencies. He would be a mile or better up the road when I got home from class at the college. I lived on a busy highway and grew more and more nervous about his wandering. So I made the call to Dr. Ordway's office to schedule the procedure.

Dr. Ordway had been our family vet for years. He treated my parakeet when I was eleven years old and had nursed all our dogs when they fell ill. Not only that, he was one of my landscaping clients. I worked on his yard one day a week doing odd projects that he didn't have time for. It worked well for me, helping me to pay my bills while attending school. Over the years Dr. Ordway and I had become friends. He was the only one I would trust to put my baby boy under the knife.

The day of the surgery came and I was a nervous wreck. In the time that BiJae and I had been together we'd already grown so close. Doc assured me that everything would be fine and I could call and check on him if I needed to. I left BiJae at the Vet Clinic that morning and went to work. I was installing an automated sprinkler system for Dr. Ordway. I worked most the day without spending to much time thinking about how he was doing. I managed to make it past lunch without calling and asking.

As luck would have it I had to get Doc's opinion on some thing on the project around two in the afternoon. I also needed to pick up some supplies at the hardware store. The hardware store was just around the corner from the clinic, so why not pop in and ask Doc about the landscape design. I arrived to the office and snuck back to see Dr. Ordway. I tried to act as though I wasn't there to see BiJae. Doc, however, could see right through me.

"He's awake now if you'd like to go see him," Doc said. Molly, the lead vet tech was standing with us. "I've got an appointment, but Molly can take you back there. You can take him back to the house with you if you want. He's recovered just fine." I began to protest that I was there for work only and could come back to get him after work. The protest fell on deaf ears.

Molly took me back to the kennel where BiJae was recovering. "You've really been working with BiJae." Molly said as we walked down the hall.

"I'm sorry?" I said, not sure what Molly was talking about.

"Doc has told me how good a dog BiJae was. All I've been hearing about is BiJae this, BiJae that what a great dog he is and how well behaved he is. Doc has been going on about him for some time. I was kind of excited to get the chance to meet him."

Finally knowing where the conversation was going, I replied, "Thank you."

Molly continued, "When he got here this morning I put him through a little test to see how he'd do. He followed every command perfectly. When it was time to prep him for surgery he jumped right on the table. He let me shave him and seemed to give me his arm when it was time for the IV. You've got an incredible dog here." I thank her again as we walked in to the surgery room.

I spotted BiJae's kennel and walked over to him. It was on the ground floor and he laid there quietly. I called his name. He picked up his head and looked at me. I could tell that he was still under the influence of the anesthesia. There was a look in his eye that told me the thoughts were slow in coming. I opened the kennel. BiJae rose to a sitting position and gave a very sickly, "Aaarroorrooorroooo." Oh yeah, he was still clearly drunk! I could tell by the way he talked! He stood up and followed me out of the surgery room.

As we walked, Molly continued to tell me about her visit with BiJae and her experience with dogs in general. "I've worked with a lot of dogs. I used to train them. I can tell you've spent a lot of time working with BiJae. I had a hard time believing Doc when he said it was one of the best trained dogs he's seen. But after our visit today, I would have to agree." I was like a proud papa! My baby was the best damn dog in the world! Little did I know at that time, we'd have nearly eleven more years to prove it!

BiJae and I bid our good-bye's to Molly and the other office workers. I was elated to have my boy by my side again. It was very odd for me to be working and not have him with me. I was extremely happy that I was able to take him home early. Not thinking I walked up to the truck and opened the door, saying "Shotgun!" Shotgun was the code word for get in the truck and in your seat… he always got to ride shotgun. What I forgot was he was still drunk from the anesthesia and his judgment was a little impaired. He missed the floorboard of the truck by a good six to eight inches falling backward to the ground. I felt awful!

I quickly scooped him up in my arms and apologized profusely for thinking he could make it in his current condition. I lifted him up to the drivers seat, gave him a kiss and let him gently walk over to the passenger side of the bench seat. I loaded myself in the truck and started it up. BiJae stood up and walked over to the center of the bench seat. He laid down beside me, placing his head on my lap. Before we were out of the driveway, BiJae was asleep, glad to be back with his papa. Content I drove back to work with my boy!