Trick or Deadly Treat by Livia J. Washburn Read Free Book Online

on a little table, and opened the gate of a stall to herd the goat back inside. Then he closed the gate and turned to Phyllis and Carolyn with a smile.
    â€œI appreciate your patience,” he told them. “I didn’t want to get distracted while I was doing that. I let go of a thermometer once when I was taking a goat’s temperature, and it, uh, sort of slipped farther in than it should have.”
    â€œThat’s terrible,” Carolyn said. “What did you do?”
    â€œWell, I had to go in and get it, of course. Luckily, the problem didn’t require surgery, just determination on my part and tolerance on the part of the goat.”
    Phyllis had to laugh. She said, “That’s a very cute goat. Is it a baby?”
    â€œNope, full-grown. That’s a Nigerian dwarf goat. They don’t get very big. At least, the ones that are fit to be show goats don’t. Now, what can I do for you ladies?”
    â€œI’m Phyllis Newsom, and this is my friend Carolyn Wilbarger. I was here several days ago with my other friend Sam Fletcher and his dog Buck.”
    â€œSure, Buck, with the broken leg,” Baxter said, nodding. “How’s he doing? No problems, I hope?”
    â€œNo, he’s fine, other than a run-in with a skunk.”
    â€œOoh. Sorry. That’ll happen. Buck didn’t get bit, did he? Skunks are notorious carriers of rabies.”
    â€œNo. The skunk just sprayed him a little.”
    â€œI’m glad to hear it. No problem with the cast?”
    â€œNot so far.”
    Baxter nodded. He looked like he was starting to get puzzled.
    Phyllis went on. “The reason we’re here is that I saw the sign in your clinic about the Halloween party next week.”
    â€œYeah, that’s something we do every year,” Baxter said, smiling again. “I don’t know how much the animals really appreciate it, but the owners and their families get a big kick out of it. We hold it late enough during the afternoon that kids can come after school. People love to take pictures of their pets dressed up in costumes and see all the other pets, too.”
    â€œAnd it’s a good way to advertise the dog biscuits you give out, too, I suppose,” Carolyn said.
    â€œWhat?” Baxter shook his head and waved off that idea. “Nah. I don’t care about that. It’s just for people to have fun. You know, most of the time when people bring their pets to a vet clinic, it’s because of a problem. Usually the animals have something wrong with them, sometimes something serious, and so they’re scared and upset and their owners are, too, and those are the feelings they associate with the clinic. I want ’em to come on Halloween just to enjoy themselves and see that it’s not so bad here, at least not all the time.”
    â€œThat’s an excellent idea,” Phyllis said. “Carolyn and I were talking about homemade dog treats, and we got the idea we’d like to make some and bring them over for the party.”
    â€œReally?” Baxter seemed surprised by the idea. He thought it over for a moment with a look of concentration on his face before he began to nod. “Well, that sounds like something we might be able to do. What sort of ingredients were you thinking about putting in them? They’d have to be healthy.”
    â€œOf course. I was going to make some with sweet potato and peanut butter.”
    Baxter chuckled and said, “A couple of things that dogs really like. What about you, Ms. Wilbarger?”
    Carolyn hesitated, and Phyllis knew that her competitive nature made her want to keep her recipe a secret. She couldn’t very well do that, though, if they wanted Baxter to go along with the idea, so she said, “I was thinking of using pumpkin and oatmeal.”
    â€œThat sounds like the dogs would really go for it, too,” Baxter said.
    â€œYou don’t mind, then?” Phyllis