Views #709 | Low-Intermediate 4

Rocky Recovers

Lisa talks about taking her pet cat Rocky to the vet and Rocky's attempt to heal from the accident.

Script
Vocab
Quiz


Lisa	Adrienne

Adrienne: What was it like to take her to the vet?

Lisa: Taking her to the vet was incredibly scary because it was obvious that there was something wrong, and it was probably six or seven o'clock in the morning so it was very early. I didn't know where there was an emergency vet, so I called a couple of friends, woke them up, and made them help me, made them help me find an emergency vet that would service us and finally we found one. Took her there, and it happened to be the most expensive vet in the city, so we went into the vet, and they took x-rays and after about two or three hours they said that they were going to hold her for observation, but they said her condition was quite serious and that she would probably need to have an operation. After two days of her staying in the vet, the doctor confirmed that she was going to need and operation, and the operation was going to cost three thousand dollars.

Adrienne: Oh, my goodness.

Lisa: Not only that, those two days in the vet cost fifteen hundred dollars, so at that time I had just moved out. I didn't have a lot of cash, so I went to... I took Rocky to a vet where her friend takes her animals to and he kept her there for observation and said that if the cat is able to eventually go to the bathroom on her own, the cat will recover and heal herself, and there won't be a need for an operation, so I was very concerned that, first of all, she wouldn't be able to go to the bathroom, and if she couldn't then I would have to put her to sleep, so after ten days, she recovered incredibly well, she was trying to start and walk again. It was obvious that she was going to survive and a year later she is a very energetic, slightly crazy, like you can never tell she fell off a balcony four stories.

Adrienne: Four stories she fell.

Lisa: Four stories.

Adrienne: Wow, I wouldn't have guessed it. She looks very healthy now.

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

scary

Taking her to the vet was incredibly scary because it was obvious there was something wrong.

If something is 'scary,' it means that it frightens you. Notice the following:

I do not like scary films.
Getting in a car accident can be a really scary experience.

emergency vet

I made them help me find an emergency vet that would service us and finally we found one.

An 'emergency vet' is a veterinarian who will repoend to animals who are having medical emergencies 24 hours a day. Notice the following:

I needed to call the emergency vet out for my dog last night.
I think they have an emergency vet. I will get you the telephone number.

for observation

They said that they were going to hold her for observation.

When doctors or vets keep a person or a pet 'for observation,' they are keeping him or her at the clinic so they can watch how the patient is responding to treatment or recovering. Doctors will do this when they feel like the patient may not be well enough to leave or they don't know exactly what is wrong. Notice the following:

I am fine really. They are just keeping me in for observation.
I will have the operation on Monday, and then they want to keep me in for observation over the next few days.

going to need

The doctor confirmed that she was going to need an operation.

'Going to need' is a phrase that means you will require something in the near future. Notice the following:

I am going to need to earn more money in order to buy a new car.
Think about what you are going to need to take with you to school and write a list.

put her to sleep

I was very concerned that I would have to put her to sleep.

When an animal is 'put to sleep,' it is given an injection that stops its heart from beating. It is basically a nice way to say that the animal will be medically killed. This is usually done when the animal has severe behavioral problems or a medical condition that can't be fixed. Notice the following:

They had to put my cat to sleep when I was a little girl, and I was very upset.
My dog is very ill, and the vet said that they might have to put her to sleep.

Vocabulary Quiz

scary • emergency • observation
need • to sleep

That is a big cut, and you are probably going to stitches.
It's very that you have started having problems with your hearth when you are still so young and healthy.
She cried for days after they put her childhood dog .
A bone got stuck in my dog's throat, and we had to take him to the vet.
The surgery went well, but they want to keep him for for at least one more day.