The Dead Duck<br /><br />A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary hospital. As she laid her<br />pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the<br />bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said,<br />"I'm so sorry, Cuddles has passed away." <br /><br />The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure?" <br /><br />"Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," he replied. <br /><br />"How can you be so sure," she protested. "I mean, you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."<br /><br />The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room, and returned a few<br />moments later with a black Labrador retriever. As the duck's owner looked on<br />in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the<br />examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at<br />the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog and took it<br />out, and returned a few moments later with a beautiful cat. The cat jumped<br />up on the table and also sniffed delicately at the bird. The cat sat back on<br />its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.<br /><br />The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is<br />most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck." Then the vet turned to his<br />computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill which he handed to the<br />woman.<br /><br />The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. <br />"$150!", she cried,"$150 just to tell me my duck is dead?!!"<br /><br />The vet shrugged. "I'm sorry. If you'd taken my word for it, the bill would<br />have been $20, but what with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan....."
