Mrs. McAllister had a pet DUCK, Henry, that she was very very fond of. One morning when she went to take Henry his breakfast she found him laying in his pen not moving. In a near panic she carried him to her car then rushed to the local veterinary hospital. She carefully carried Henry inside and although his regular Dr. was on vacation she insisted on seeing someone immediately and was shown into an exam room. In a very few moments a young, apparently fresh from college vet came in, took a brief look at Henry and turning to Mrs. McAllister said, Im very sorry Maam but your duck is dead.

Mrs. McAllister had a fit, asking this young whippersnapper how he could possibly say Henry was dead when he had done virtually nothing as an exam, not even checking for a heartbeat or taking his temperature. When the Dr. tried to explain she just got more hysterical so finally he gave in and said he would do something.

Stepping out of the room briefly he returned with a Cat and set it down on the exam table next to Henry. The cat sniffed at Henry, sat down and looking at the Dr. meowed mournfully. Taking the Cat out of the room the Dr. returned with a Labrador Retriever. The Lab stood up on the edge of the table, sniffing carefully at Henry. After a few moments he sat down and looking at the Dr. whined quietly while shaking his head. The Dr. led the dog out of the room and returned. Again he very quietly and with a sympathetic tone told Mrs. McAllister that Henry was dead, there was nothing more he could do. Having had a few moments to calm down she said thank you and asked what her bill was.

The Dr. said $150.00. This sent Mrs. McAllister into another fit, how could it be $150.00, you did virtually nothing,,,, When she finally paused in her tirade to take a breath the Dr. took the opportunity to reply

Mrs. McAllister, I am very sorry about Henry and if you had accepted my initial diagnosis your bill would have been $25.00. But you insisted I do more so with the Cat Scan and Lab tests it is $150.00