"What took you so long to get here! Our patient's been waiting nearly half an hour past its due prep time!" 

  Dr. Brenant's stern voice still rose from the back storage room, making Sky grimace and hurry to pull her blue scrubs over her clothing. Then, tugging on her boots she turned and approached one of the clinic's prep rooms. 
  it was a small white walled space, with a tall stainless steel table in the middle for the smaller animals to lay on while the assistant's prepped them for treatment. Cabinets and shelves filled with tools and different liquids or medications lined the walls.  

  Reaching up to re-braid her brown hair Sky called out to her employer, "I'm sorry Dr......I was held up at home." 

As she moved to set things up for her assigned patient his angry voice replied. The man wasn't mean......he just got really tense when his animal patients were effected in any bad way, as Sky often did in similar situations. 

  "Please ensure that you arrive ON TIME tomorrow! The last thing I need around here is for you all to disappear; we've lost enough employees already." 

  The vet clinic......Sky couldn't say that it was in financial trouble.......more like willing workers trouble. 
Over the past months they had lost multiple employees; due to some moving, retiring, and some younger teenagers just plain not enjoying the job. Too many were put off by the blood and gore often associated with animals. They sometimes got hurt alot worse than you would think. 

  Reaching up and grabbing a bottle of disinfectant wash, cotton rags, and a portable hair clipper, Sky hurried to set up her station. 
Organizing it all on a stand next to the table she nodded, then moved away to retrieve her patient. 

  Sky walked out of the prep room down the back hall, to where the barks and occasional soft wines could be heard from the dogs in the back rooms. 
 Entering one, she came to view of a line of stainless steel dog cages; filled with patients already tended to from the day before, patients recovering from medical attention, and patients yet to be operated on or given medication. 
  Sky's sight rested on one of the lower cages and she sighed gently, "Alright Mesa; time to get that tumor looked at." 

Bending down she looked through the front bars at an older female blood hound with white and brown splotches covering her body. The hairs around her eyes were greying with age and her face seemed to melt in some places. But what was very out of place, was the softball sized tumor on her left side. 
 Located under the skin it had to be very uncomfortable, and Sky winced before unlocking the cage and calling to the poor dog, "Come on." 
   She knew Mesa from many visits in the past, and knew she was a sweet cooperating canine. 

The hound looked up at her with those sad eyes, then whined and stepped foreword out of the cage. 
  Sky wrapped her arms around her, careful of the tumor, and lifted the heavy dog into her arms before lugging her off towards the prep room. 

 Once inside, she gave Mesa a sedative and placed her on the prep table to sleep, while she disinfected the area on and around the bulbous tumor. Then, using the hair clippers, she cleaned all of the hair off and again disinfected the area. 
  Mesa was ready for surgery.......and Sky was sure Dr. Brenant was ready as well. 

 Moving the patient into the back room she took in a long breath; wrinkling her nose at the smell of rubbing alcohol and other fumes from the various liquids in the clinic. Here's to hoping the operation went well......for both her and Mesa.