Animal Attractions by Ladies in Waiting

Chapter One: Chaser's Down

Animal Attractions

Chapter One: Chaser's Down

Written by ShadyMinion

Kagome blinked, trying in vain to unglue her eyelids from themselves. Something had woken her up, and in her sleep-induced blindness, she groped about for the cause. It was loud...and right next to her. Ah! A phone! Reaching out, she fumbled with the receiver a bit before grasping it up and bringing it to her face.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "Kagome speak-"

She was cut off as a loud voice on the other side shrieked in panic, "Kagome! Something's wrong with one of my puppies! He got sick earlier today, but I just thought it was something he ate, so I kept him indoors all day and regulated his meals and water! But he just got worse suddenly, and I don't know what to do!" The man babbled.

"Kouga?" Kagome questioned, instantly awake. "What's wrong? Which one is it?"

"It's Chaser! He's not doing too good! Kagome! AH! His breathing's just slowed down! Can you come over?! Please?!"

"Yeah. I'll be right over. Just hang tight! Have you called the vet?"

"I did, but no one answered. Hurry!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Kagome slammed down the receiver. She ran to her closet, grabbing the first thing her fingers came into contact with threw it on. Snatching up her coat and keys, she flew out of her house and was on the road to her friend's house.

Something was wrong with Chaser? Kagome frowned. Chaser was such a sweet dog. He was a pure white Siberian Husky with dual colored eyes; one green, one blue. He was a gorgeous dog, standing twenty-three inches at the shoulder and weighing sixty-two pounds. He wasn't exactly a puppy anymore, but Kouga's affection for his dogs wouldn't allow him to view them as anything less than his babies.

With a half-smile on her lips, Kagome quickly pulled into Kouga's driveway. The lights were on, but for a dog-breeder's house, it was unusually quiet. Worried, Kagome ran to the house, not bothering to knock, and knowing that the door would already be unlocked.

She found Kouga in the living room, Chaser laying on his side beside him, his head in Kouga's lap. She frowned. Chaser seemed thinner than normal, his normally luminous coat was dull, his eyes closed, and his breathing labored. She knelt down. "How is he?" She asked quietly.

Kouga didn't look up from stroking the dog. "Not too good." He murmured. "He's been like this for a while. I can't get a hold of the veterinarian though. I'm considering just driving down there, but I don't wanna move Chaser if I don't have to."

Kagome nodded. She understood, until they knew what was wrong with him, they shouldn't move Chaser unnecessarily. She shifted to make herself more comfortable. "I'll stay right here with you until the clinic opens. We'll go together. Two more hands should make it easier in transporting him, right?" She smiled warmly.

"Thanks Kagome." He murmured. After a few breaths he looked up. "Look Kagome, I know that I was scheduled to come over and train your Dobes today. I'm really sorry about this. I just want to take a break from training until I figure out what's going on with Chaser." He said apoligetically.

While Kouga bred only Siberian Huskies, Kagome bred Doberman Pinchers and German Sheppards to be sold as guard dogs. As her trainer, Kouga was a regular visitor at her home. Even though it was just a side thing for Kagome, her dogs were considered some of the best in the Eastern hemisphere. Her main income came from Pedigree Plus Magazine, where she was a regular appearing journalist. She loved her job. It gave her the opportunity to work from home and travel a little.

"It'll be no problem. I'll call in a favor from Sango. She can handle them for a day." She replied, smiling. "Don't worry about anything else. Just focus on Chaser for now."

Kouga's tired face broke out into a smile. "Thanks Kagome. Means a lot."

"Not at all." Settling in next to him, Kagome rested her head on his shoulder, placing one hand on Chaser's side. "Get better, boy." She murmured affectionately.

-:- -:- -:-

"He has what?" Kouga questioned, disbelievingly. The white-haired man was getting on his nerves. At first the vet wouldn't even give him an answer that was not composed of a single incomprehensible grunt. Then he just took his puppy from him and put him on the table without a word. If he hadn't run through the doors before they were locked, he would still be sitting outside the exam room, twiddling his fingers without knowing what was going on.

He had to get up at the crack of dawn to drive to this clinic and get there as soon as possible! If it weren't for Kagome, the drive over would have been a lot messier than necessary! After an hour of calling the clinic Kouga normally visited, Kagome had suggested another clinic that was run by a friend of hers. Slightly uneasy about going to a new clinic, Kouga hesitated for a moment, but he trusted in his friend's judgement. Who knew that the vet would be such an ass.

Now the man had the gall to tell him that his puppy had a condition that was found in less than 11% of all huskies! Impossible! Kouga bred huskies for a living! There was no way that he could have overlooked that genetic strain! All of his babies were perfect!

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The vet looked up from his examination. "I didn't say I was certain. We have to wait for the blood tests to come back from the lab. But I'm saying, it's possible for your dog to have hypothyroidism, okay? It's uncommon in huskies, especially a late-onset variety, but it's possible, okay? Also, I never said that it was due to genetics. It could be late-onset. Listen already!" The doctor huffed, apparently wearied already. He raised a hand and rubbed at his face tiredly. A mirthless laugh escaped his lips. "So god-damned ironic." He muttered.

Scribbling some notes down onto his clipboard, he tore off a sheet. "Here." He handed the sheet to the irate and worried man. "I don't specialize in cases like this, and I'm kind of a stand-in for the guy who does. Go visit my brother. He'll be in room 312 in the recovery wing of West Hospital. After he looks over the file he should be able to tell you better than I can whether it's hypothyroidism. Once he signs off on it I can get you the necessary documents and stuff for treatment."

Kouga stared at the vet incredulous. "Your brother. In the hospital. Papers..." He said haltingly.

Inuyasha frowned. Was what he said so difficult to understand? "Yes, my brother. He knows more about this stuff than I do. And, it's already been cleared through the hospital that he could receive visitors from this clinic. He'll be able to tell you better about this stuff than I can." He said, as he used his clipboard to shoo the man away from the exam table. "Now go away, I wanna finish running a few more tests." With that, Kouga was forcefully pushed out the door. As the doors swung shut, Inuyasha locked them.

"Goddamned prude of a brother always gets what he wants." He complained once all others were out of earshot. Inuyasha grumbled. "Stupid Sesshoumaru." He had just come back from a late night of visiting his brother to find two people already waiting outside the clinic. Inwardly grimacing about never getting a break, he let them in and began to examine his patient.

What would have been a normally healthy Siberian Husky, had symptoms he had found nauseatingly familiar. He would rather deal with an animal that ran into an accident or something, than another one of these cases. He sighed. But it couldn't be helped. He looked at the ill dog on his table. It was painfully obvious to him, without the need of further tests, what was wrong with him. He could prescribe some drugs to lessen the symptoms until he got his brother's okay on some harder stuff. Sighing again, he made some checks on the document.

He patted the dog in between the ears. Poor guy, it was only gonna get rougher from here on out.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome waited patiently in the visitors' area in the front of the office. She looked at the doors when the shouting began. Apparently Kouga was yelling about not wanting to dope up his dog, and the vet was saying that it was necessary to lessen the symptoms of lethargy and anemia. She frowned. They were fighting like children, what was going on in there?

Just as she about to stand to see what the shouting match was about, the double door burst open, both men engaged in a full-out brawl. What the HELL? This was a veterinary clinic!

"Hey!" She shouted. "Stop that, this is a clinic! Don't you have patients to worry about?!" She quit when she quickly realized neither men were listening to her. She spotted a vase with some dead flowers in it.

"AH!" The men yelped and quickly parted from their strangle-holds on each other. They both were now dripping in old, dirty plant-water. Kagome stood glaring over them, an upturned vase in one hand, a bunch of withered flowers in the other.

"Mature bunch you guys are! What the hell is your problem?" She glared at them some more. Stuffing the deceased flora back into the vase, she slammed it onto the counter.

Inuyasha stood huffing, crossing his arms haughtily. "Damn fool refuses to allow me to drug his dog. I need the owner's consent, but it's in Chaser's best interest." He said in his defense, glad that he had taken the moment to skim Chaser's documents for his name. He eyed the vase. He really should have changed those flowers about two weeks ago...

Kouga sat on the floor pouting. "Kagome, why'd you dump water on me too?" Then he glared at the doctor. "And I am not a 'damn fool.' I just think that there's a better way than jamming a giant needle into his throat! I don't like needles much, ya know!" He yelled.

"It wasn't that big! It's a standard size needle for dogs in your weight group!" Inuyasha shouted back.

Rubbing her temples, Kagome groaned inwardly. They were exactly like children. What the hell. How was Chaser doing? "How big is the needle?" She asked, wondering why that escaped her lips instead of a more intelligent inquiry. She chalked it up to lack of sleep.

Inuyasha flashed her a surprised look, then retreated to the back. He returned a few moments later, a syringe grasped carefully in one hand. Kagome's eyes widened. 'Standard size??' The needle itself was four inches long! "What are you planning to inject him with!?"

"A mild stimulant." Was Inuyasha's calm reply. "Until I get the official from my bro and the lab results back, this is one of the few things I can do. Among Chaser's more obvious symptoms, I can only treat his lethargy and anemia. Believe me, this will help him." He said earnestly.

Kagome turned to her friend. "Your call, Kouga. It might help him get better you know." She said softly, knowing of Kouga's belonephobia (fear of needles) and his distrust of drugs. "He said that it was in Chaser's best interest..."

"What would he know about Chaser that I wouldn't..." He muttered stubbornly, but already aware that he had lost the fight. "Fine! But if anything is wrong with Chaser afterwards, I'm suing your ass into the ground!"

Patting him on the shoulder, Kagome grinned looking up. Inuyasha had already gone to the exam room to administer the stimulant to Chaser. He came back some moments later.

"It will take about two hours for full affect. Until then, I recommend that you keep him hydrated and feed him moist foods. Also, if it's possible that I'm correct, give him these if he shows signs of seizing. One tablet down his throat, dry. Okay?" He said softly, pressing the small bottle of pills into Kouga's hand.

Cobalt eyes stared wide. Seizing? Was it that bad that it could cause his puppy seizures? "Chaser..." Kouga thought morosely. He stared blankly at the bottle in his hand. He realized that the vet was doing him a favor by giving him the pills beforehand. He began to wonder how much about the condition he was unaware of. Sure he had read the pamphlets and researched possible disorders in huskies, but hypothyroidism had seemed unlikely, and more of a human disorder. This vet seemed to have a good understanding and a strong grasp on the subject. Had he already had a patient with the same disorder?

Kouga frowned. He blindly signed the standard documents for Chaser, and moved his puppy to the car, his mind focused on finding out how to make Chaser better.

Kagome stood with Inuyasha. "Thanks Inuyasha..." She trailed off, rubbing her temples. "I think I'm kinda glad that Kouga took his dogs to another clinic before. If all of his visits are going to be this volatile, I think it'd be better if Sango treated his dogs." She looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. Sango was her best friend and an assistant at the Taisho clinic, but even she could get violent sometimes...

Inuyasha grunted. "He's just an idiot." He slumped into a chair. "Kami! I'm just so tired...I was up all night at my brother's, checking in on him at the hospital. The damn prick wanted to know everything that was going on here, even if we had no patients."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Hn, that reminds me. I don't know if that idiot will remember but here." He handed Kagome a copy of the paper he had given Kouga earlier. "Room 312, recovery ward, West Hospital. My brother will be there. You can get clearance from him and he should be able to provide you with a much clearer diagnosis than me."

"But..."

"My brother's a genius at what he does. This subject is also his specialty. Just visit him sometime, today would be best. The sooner I get these signed by him, the sooner we can get Chaser treated." He handed her a file of documents.

Kagome looked at them briefly and flashed him another smile. "Thanks so much." She held out a hand.

Inuyasha took her hand, shaking it once. "No problem."

Kouga beeped impatiently from outside.

"Ah! That's my cue to leave!" She bowed hastily and ran out, a sheaf of papers clutched in one hand. "Bye!" She waved brightly.

"Bye..." Inuyasha gave a small smile, waving back.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome leapt into the car, Kouga already strapped into the driver seat, and the engine running. She knew he was in a hurry to get home with Chaser. "He'll be fine." Kagome assured the man. "He just needs rest and fluids." She reminded, knowing that Kouga had already planned out a treatment plan for Chaser, in his mind, until Chaser's diagnosis was confirmed.

Driving hurriedly, yet carefully, he made it home and rushed his baby indoors. Kagome smiled, that boy had a one-track mind when it came to his puppies. Sighing, she decided that the best thing she could do at the moment would be to visit Inuyasha's brother. Saying goodbye to her friend, and letting him know that she was going to get the documents signed on his behalf, she made it to her car and pulled out of the driveway.

Kagome had already called Sango over to her house so her pups would be alright for the day. Stopping at a red light, she looked at the messily scrawled map on the paper and frowned. This...was indistinguishable. She probably should have asked Kouga where West Hospital was before she left.

About an hour, and many wrong turns later, she made it to West Hospital. Dancing a victory dance in her head, she parked and walked triumphantly into the hospital. She quickly realized that, never being to this hospital before, she had no idea where the recovery ward was. She flagged down a nurse. "Excuse me, could you please tell me where the recovery ward is?" She asked.

The nurse looked her up and down and sniffed. "Third floor, West Wing." She replied neatly before walking away.

Kagome frowned, what was her problem. Then she realized, Kagome hadn't changed since Kouga had called her at 2 am that morning. She probably looked like a wreck. Well, might as well try to make a better first impression on Inuyasha's brother. Quickly she headed toward the bathroom.

Ahhh...that was the problem. Kagome was dressed in an oversized aquamarine, v-neck, blouse and light blue pajama bottoms. She still appeared as disheveled as she had when she had rolled out of bed, and red-eyes and bags under her eyes from lack of sleep didn't compliment her appearance either. Sighing, she gave her face a quick rinse, and ties her hair back with a spare scrunchy she wore around her wrist. Thinking that she couldn't look any better without going home, she tucked the sheaf of papers under her arm and made her way to the recovery ward.

-:- -:- -:-

Sesshoumaru was awoken by a light tapping on his door. Lazily, his eyes rolled toward his clock. It was 10:30 am. So late...he must still be drugged, he concluded. His door swung open, and the messiest nurse he had ever seen walked in. Was she new? He didn't recognize her. Well, he would figure out what she wanted in due course.

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Next up is Pseudomonas! Good Luck Pseudomonas!