Today's word is xanthous

xanthous \ZAN-thuhs\, adjective:yellow; yellowish

Wow, what a word. What could I possibly come up with. Work shall inspire today's blog.

Working in a veterinary clinic, it seems just when you think you have seen everything, something else pops up. Or should I say out. One of the technicians brought in a tiny, tiny kitten she found along the road. It was all beat up. You couldn't tell if it had been hit by a car, attacked by another animal, or just abandoned.

The poor little thing was crying. He, later to be named Taggom, was full of gravel, fleas, and little "xanthous" looking spots. He didn't even weigh 2 pounds. Renee gave 3 gentle baths and cleaned him up the best she could. I was holding him on the counter as she was picking through his tiny paws. I spread his toes apart and she was wiping stuff away. All of a sudden one of those "xanthous" pockets popped open. The poor thing had, prepare yourself, maggots. I almost threw up. I had to leave the little guy on the counter.

Little Taggom recovered well. He went home to live with Renee. The girls in my clinic can't seem to spell, and had named him Taggom, thinking it was maggot backwards. Hmmm TAGGOM should really be called TOGGAM.

Moral of the story, beware of "xanthous" looking pockets on animals. You never know what could pop out.