<strong>Dr. Amanda Vernecoombe, Room 109 of the Boscolo Exedra</strong><br/><br/><em>"..and with the addition of double spring loaded joints, as patented by John Laker Watt in 1987, the apparent mobility of fitted dogs decreased inversely in relation to..."</em><br/><br/>I sighed, rubbing my forehead. This paper was dull, no two ways about it. Dr. Drickamer, its author, always had a knack for making even the most interesting topics soul crushingly dull, and this one was no exception. To make matters worse, I'd gotten seven pages in and had so far found only one mistake, and that had been a misplaced comma which I had already circled in blue ink. Drickamer's work rarely contained typos, or incorrect references, or.. well, anything that wasn't right. It was a wonder he still sent them off for independent peer-review after nearly forty years in academia.<br/><br/><em>"...their ability to engage in certain locomotive actions. Indeed, the potency of the double spring loaded joints was such that..."</em><br/><br/>It was no good. I was struggling to maintain my focus, not helped by the knowledge that several streets away there was a mass of dogs that were just waiting to be studied. It was a shame I couldn't write any articles or reports pertaining to them- Monsieur Marc had been very insistent on that point when I emailed him several years ago, asking him if it were possible. His response had been short, and to the point.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote from:  Monsieur Marc, Re: Academic studies at the club</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote"><em>'No public academic reports are to be written. All studies are to be kept private. Sincerely, Mounsieur Marc."</em></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/><br/>And that had been that.<br/><br/>I slipped the article back into its plastic folder, and rummaged in my bag for one of my spiral notepads. Placing it and my engraved silver fountain pen in my handbag I left the room, locking the door behind me and making my way through reception and out into the street and the baking sun. It was only a five minute walk to the club, which allowed me to leave my car in its carpark, for which I was grateful- no car had ever been stolen from the club carpark. Although in fairness I thought, chuckling quietly, who'd pick a dinky electric car over a Ferrari or a Porsche?<br/><br/>* * * * *<br/><br/><strong>Dr. Amanda Vernecoombe, Reception</strong><br/><br/><em>"Back again so soon Doctor?</em>" the receptionist asked as I walked in, smiling politely at me. I returned the smile.<br/><br/><strong>"I am indeed. I cannot stand to look at that report for a minute longer. I really do need to spend time some more interesting animals. I wonder, are there any dogs or bitches that are new in? I rather fancied the idea of breaking them in this year. I belive that is the correct word to use?"</strong><br/><br/>The receptionist nodded once, considering. Whilst the doctor had yet to break in a new arrival, she had been a member of the club for around five or six years, and owned regular animals for even longer, so she was by no means a novice. Neither was she stupid; she had a Ph.D for heaven's sake! The receptionist smiled, pulling out her PDA.<br/><br/><em>"I'll have a look for you Doctor Vernecoombe. There were a few new ones in this week, but unfortunately most have already been taken out. Let me take a peek anyway."</em>Several seconds passed in silence.<em>"O...K... you're in luck. We have a few left. We have a Jack Russell Terrier, male, named Scamp, a Welsh Corgi, female, named Mimi, and... hmm..." She scrolled down the remaining list of dogs and bitches. "I'm afraid that's all we have left in the way of new dogs. If you'd like you can go round to the cages, see if either of them catch your eye?"</em><br/><br/>I nodded. Of course most of the new dogs had gone. The early bird catches the worm, as they said. Still, I had a chance.<br/><br/><strong>"Thank you. I'd like to have a closer look at them both, along with their paperwork. If neither seem suitable, I suppose I shall settle for one of the experienced ones"</strong><br/><br/>The receptionist nodded, pressing a button, summoning one of the trainers to escort me to the cage room. Within seconds Monique Ribault appeared in reception.<br/><br/><em>"Doctor Vernecoombe. A pleasure to see you again"</em>she lied. It was no secret neither of us got on well together. I did not approve of most of her methods, and she was not fond of people like myself, who she called 'book smarts'.<br/><br/><strong>"Ms. Ribault"</strong>I said curtly, taking a second to briefly shake hands with her. Very briefly. We made our way to the cages in silence.