austraLasia #20

CAT-ASTROPHE

courtesy Eddie Fitzgerald

A woman phoned her doctor one morning and said: "I think my dog is dead. 
Can you come and have a look?" Knowing that she was elderly and alone, 
the doctor decided to make a house call. He found her in a very distressed 
state, so he decided to give the dog the once over. He pushed and prodded 
the dog and there was no movement. Then he took out his stethoscope and 
checked for a heartbeat but found nothing. "I'm terribly sorry," he said, 
"but your dog is dead." "He can't be," wailed the woman. "He was fine 
last night." Sensing her pain, the doctor said: "I'm going to do one final 
test." So he went to his black bag and took out his pet cat and placed 
it in front of the dog. The dog didn't budge. "I'm sorry," he said. "Your 
dog is dead." The woman thanked him and asked him how much she owed him. 
"£250," replied the doctor. "What?," exclaimed the woman. "How can it 
possibly come to that?" "Well," said the doctor, "it's £50 for the house call and 
£200 for the cat scan."