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Following behind Sassy as she trotted gleefully in her new pink harness and halter, Birdie’s mind spun in circles.  Nothing at the Pemberely Pet Shop made sense. The more Percy revealed, the more questions she had.  Lost in thought, she absently walked the few blocks to the vet as the afternoon sun began to set.  Holding the door open for Sassy, she stepped inside the darkened vet office.

“We’re closed!” a rickety voice snarled.

Birdie glanced at the clock over the counter.  “It’s not yet four.”

“We’re closed!” the voice repeated, louder.

Birdie said nothing.  Propping her elbows on the counter, she waited.

“I said we’re closed!” the voice bellowed.  A tiny man with a large red nose and a half circle of black hair that stuck straight out around the bald crown of his head barreled through the doorway, his tiny dark eyes barely glaring over the edge of the counter.  Looking up at Birdie, he beamed.  “Ah, Birdie, why didn’t you say it was you?”

“You didn’t seem to be in a listening mood,” Birdie replied diplomatically.  “I know it’s late, Mr. Hendricks, but could you take a look at an animal for me?  Just a first check up.”

“For you, of course,” the tiny man cooed, his minute eyes glittering as he hopped up and down, eager to see what was on the other side of the counter.  “What do you have for me today, Birdie?  A bird?  A rat?  A mouse?  Maybe a raccoon or a squirell or…”  Birdie sat Sassy on the counter and the vet pouted.  “A dog?” he sighed.  “I was hoping for something much more exciting than a dog.”

Sassy frowned, curling her lip at the insolent vet.

“I found her when I was walking home yesterday,” Birdie continued, determined to keep the tiny vet’s interest.  “She had PPS on a collar and I traced her back from the Pemberely Pet Shop.”

“The Pemberely Pet Shop!” the vet shuddered, his ruddy face fading to a pale pink.  “You must never go there, Birdie!  It’s a very dangerous place!”  He climbed up a stepstool and climbed onto the counter, holding a stethoscope to Sassy’s chest.  Sassy peered up at him, less than amused.

“How is it dangerous?” Birdie demanded.  “I mean, I know it’s weird–all the animals running around without being in cages…it can’t be very sanitary, now that I think about it.  And Percy is a nut job.  But how is it dangerous?”

The vet stared at her, the stethoscope still on Sassy’s chest.  “There are animals in the store?  I never saw any animals.”  He twisted the stethoscope cord, his tiny face pinched.  “Oh no.  This is worse, much worse, than I thought.”

“What is much worse?” Birdie roared, exasperation boiling in her veins.  “Mr. Hendricks, I must know what’s going on!  First Frankie’s dad tells me he sees an elephant in the store, then Sassy acts like she’s scared of the store and once we get inside has a field day with other animals.  Then there’s a strange man in the back who everyone’s afraid of”–

“Mr. Pemberely,” Mr. Hendricks whispered, his head bobbing up and down as a shudder ran through his tiny frame.  “A terrifying man.”

“What’s so terrifying about him?”  Birdie asked, trying to keep her voice calm. “And why does everyone keep saying there is an elephant in the back room?”

“There probably is,” the vet replied grimly, peering in Sassy’s ears and lifting her tail.  Sassy was more than mildly offended.  “There’s no telling what’s in that back room.  Probably creatures we’ve never even heard of, or a dolphin in a bathtub or something.  There’s no telling with Mr. Pemberely.”

“How do you know Mr. Pemberely?” Birdie asked, resting her chin on her palm as she leaned on her elbows over the counter.  “How do you know all this?”

Mr. Hendricks shook his head and sighed.  “We were in college together, I’m ashamed to say.  Mr. Pemberely was studying to be a zoologist.  He was fascinated with the idea of creating a living zoo, with all animals living in harmony.”  Mr. Hendricks snorted.  “Of course, we thought he was nuts.  He wasn’t popular at all with teachers and constantly got in trouble for sneaking into the lab to do all sorts of weird experiments.”

“What kind of experiments?” Birdie asked.   The hair on the back of her neck began to prick and Sassy whimpered.

“I don’t know for sure,” Mr. Hendricks admitted, “Because I never saw him do them.  The rumors were that he was trying to create a race of intelligent animals.  Most animals act off instinct and learned behavior.  But Mr. Pemberely was determined to, as some would say, give animals soul and thought.  He believed animals could act as humans could, they just hadn’t been given the opportunity.”  He eyed Birdie with a crooked grin.  “One time in Biology 405 he did a presentation on how a flamingo could choose it’s own dinner: a choice of seeds or fruit.  He was laughed out of the department.”

“It’s a nice idea, though, don’t you think?” Birdie asked.  “The idea that animals won’t kill each other just out of survival instinct, that they can have a deeper connection with each other and humans?”

Mr. Hendricks shook his head.  “If animals had feelings, they would starve to death,” he lectured, returning to Sassy’s check up.  “A snake wouldn’t eat a rat because the rat would inform him how many children he had at home and how many little rat mouths to feed.  A owl wouldn’t eat the snake because the snake would whine about how hard his life had been since the rat started talking.  A cougar wouldn’t eat the owl because the owl would convince her to try soy meat instead.  The entire circle of life would grind to a stop; over population and famine would run wild; extinction would occur.  It’s ridiculous.”

“But how is he dangerous?” Birdie asked, who didn’t think the idea was entirely ridiculous.

“Because, if he actually succeeds with this crackpot idea, than humans are in danger!” Mr. Hendricks replied, pulling off his stethoscope and sliding back onto his small ladder.

“Can you imagine your cat arguing with you about what it wanted to watch on television, or your dog yammering in your ear about wanting you to throw the ball?   Can you imagine a bird shouting to the worms outside about how hungry he is and how they need to come out, or a homeless dog begging you for scraps?  It would be the end of the world as we know it!  We would lose all control to our pets!  Animals would run the world! Animals should stay animals and people should stay people!”

His face beet red, he mumbled under his breath as he scurried towards the back office.  “A few shots and some heartworm medicine and flea pills and she’ll be good to go.”

As Sassy whimpered, Birdie patted her absently.  Glancing out the window at the setting sun, she bit her lip. “I’m going to find out what’s really going on at that shop,” she whispered.  “And I’m going to find out tomorrow.”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  Tomorrow we have a new tasty recipe and Friday, a new Dallas Jean!  Stay tuned!