A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she lay her
pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's
chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so
sorry, your pet has passed away."
The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure? "Yes, I'm sure. The duck is
dead," he replied. "How can you be so sure", she protested. "I mean, you haven't
done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."
The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few
moments later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in
amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the
examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at the vet
with sad eyes and shook his head.
The vet patted the dog and took it out and returned a few moments later with
a beautiful cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed the bird
from its beak to its tail and back again. The cat sat back on its haunches,
shook
its head, meowed softly, jumped down and strolled out of the room.
The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most
definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck." Then the vet turned to his
computer terminal, hit a few keys, and produced a bill, which he handed to the
woman.
The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried.
"$150 just to tell me my duck is dead?!!"
The vet shrugged. "I'm sorry. If you'd taken my word for it, the bill
would have been $20. But what with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it all
adds up."
