Care, Compassion and Competence Plus a Quirky Sense of Humor with a Canine Skeleton

Shoot where you are.  Still Columbus. Actually, Galena, OH on Monday afternoon.

Took Murphy to the Vet down the road as he broke a toenail on his hind leg and was limping around.  The family had swim championships and so Maura and I drove him up to Cheshire Road just before Sticky Fingers Ice Cream. (Isn’t that a terrific landmark?)

We were welcomed and Murphy was remembered from his last visit. Received a compliment on his good manners. He’s a popular guy.  One of the women had an Airedale at home and seemed to enjoy talking with Murphy and trying to find his favorite scratching spots. He weighed in at 71.9 pounds.

We were invited right into an examination room, past the cats in the carriers and another dog with the same malady.  Not much time waiting in the waiting room. Hooray.

Once in the exam room,  I looked up and there on top of the cabinets, I saw this Canine Skeleton dressed for the Fourth of July.  You know with a birthday on the 4th, one has an eye for Patriotic decor.  This one was a stand out.  I asked for permission to photograph it as I thought it illustrated a good sense of humor. Told them I had a blog. You know I’ll tell that to anyone who will listen.  Ha!

I was told this is the first time the skeleton has been dressed in female attire!

One of the techs told me they change the costume for the different holidays when I asked about the decoration.  She said I should see it at Easter.  The teaching skeleton gets a lot of comments from what I hear.  Reminded me of the Museum of Natural History.  I looked it up and a dog has on average 319 bones. Obviously there is a wide range in dog breeds from Chihuahua to Mastiff.   No one knew the origin of this skeletal model but you can purchase anatomical sets (I saw on the google search)  I am including a link to a canine quiz about dog anatomy and the three skeletal systems, sponsored by Ohio State University.  You know how teachers like to learn stuff and share. I didn’t even know there were three skeletal systems.  It’s pretty interesting.

Murphy did well and he’s sporting a bandage that will come off tomorrow.

Thanks to Dr. Carrie St. Clair at Don R Mann, DVM, Inc. for such excellent care.