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I was worried Rodrick might be right, but then I realized this information was coming from a guy who was eating gerbil pellets. Twice while we were waiting at the vets, Manny bolted out the front door, and both times Dad grabbed him before he got too far. I think Manny was pretty mad about us leaving his pig at the petting zoo, and he was acting out. When I was Manny's age, I used to get mad at Mom and Dad and try to run away all the time.

I remember once when we were in the changing room at the pool and Mom was trying to make me wear a bathing suit I didn't like. I took off running, but I wasn't really thinking about where I was GOING. RODRICK used to run away a lot, too. When he was in first grade, he'd take off every day at the same time, but he'd come back home when Mom told him his favorite TV show was on.

When Manny tried to run away a THIRD time today, Mom bought a retractable leash at the front desk to try and keep him under control. Mom also got a bandage for Rodrick's foot so we could start going into restaurants as a family again. Finally, the veterinarian was ready to see me, and the nurse led us into the exam room. My palms started getting sweaty, because I always get a little nervous when it's time to see the doctor.

I'm not a big fan of needles, and Mom knows it. So whenever I need to get a flu shot or something, Mom doesn't tell me it's coming. And by the time I figure out what's going on, it's too late. But there weren't any shots this time around. Mom told the vet what had happened, and she took a look at my finger. The vet said there was nothing to worry about since the pig's teeth hadn't broken the skin.

She put some antibacterial ointment on my finger just to be safe and then sent me on my way. I gotta say, I was pretty impressed by the whole veterinarian experience. The doctor was no- nonsense and didn't ambush me with any needles. I figure when we get back home I might research some veterinarians in our area. I'm not saying I'm definitely going to make the switch, but I do want to see what my options are. After the vet's, Dad spent some time trying to get the gum out of the sunroof with a popsicle stick. But it was too messy and eventually he gave up.

Dad didn't like not being able to close the sunroof, so he drove around trying to find a mechanic who could fix it. But nobody he talked to would do it for under a hundred bucks. So Dad went to a grocery store and bought some cellophane and duct tape, and he fashioned his OWN sunroof.