Vikki the Vet Soothes Rollo the Xolo
The X factor in any story about the letter x is the xylophone.
Is it obligatory?
Or isn’t it?
Well. There isn’t a xylophone in this story, so I guess it isn’t.
But I’ve already mentioned the xylophone, so I guess it is.
Hmm? Quite the conundrum.
There once was a man named Joe Blow.
Joe Blow liked to play polo.
Joe Blow was a professional polo player.
Joe Blow lived in Soho.
And he lived in Soho with his pet Xolo.
Xolo is pronounced show-low.
And a Xolo is a Mexican hairless dog.
Why is a Mexican hairless dog called a Xolo, you ask?
Well, Xolo is short for Xoloitzcuintli.
Xoloitzcuintli is pronounced show-low-itz-QUEENT-lee.
Xoloitzcuintli is an Aztec word.
In Aztec, Xolotl is the god of fire.
And in Aztec, itzcuintli is dog.
Therefore, the Aztecs thought Xoloitzcuintlis were “god dogs”!
Or perhaps they just thought they were “hot dogs”!
Joe Blow’s show-low is named Rollo.
Rollo the show-low.
Rollo is a male Xolo.
He has an X and a Y chromosome.
Chromosomes are inside your cells.
And chromosomes contain all of your genetic material.
It is your genetic material that makes you what you are!
All life, each plant and each person, has chromosomes.
People have 46 chromosomes.
While dogs have 78 chromosomes.
The chromosomes X and Y determine whether you are a boy or a girl.
If you’re a female, you are an XX.
And if you’re a male, you are an XY.
Vikki the Vet is an XX.
Joe Blow, the polo player, is an XY.
And as I said, Rollo the Xolo is also an XY.
Joe Blow and Rollo have just come back from Puerto Rico.
And Rollo has a problem.
“Rollo’s skin is starting to flake off,” Joe Blow explained to Vikki the Vet.
“I think Rollo my Xolo has xeroderma,” said a worried Joe Blow.
“Xeroderma just means super dry skin,” said Vikki the Vet.
“It’s the cause of the super dry skin that is the concern.”
“What have you been doing lately?” Vikki the Vet continued.
“Rollo and I have just come back from the polo playoffs in Puerto Rico.”
“And what did you do with Rollo while you were there?”
“Rollo likes watching polo,” said Joe Blow.
“So I let him sit in the stands.”
“Did you put any sunscreen on him?” asked Vikki the Vet.
“On my dog!” said a surprised Joe.
“On your hairless dog,” said Vikki the Vet.
“Your show-low Rollo has a sunburn because he sat in the sun for too long.”
“I’ve burnt my dog,” said a stunned Joe Blow.
“I am afraid you have,” said a sincere Vikki the Vet.
“Will he be okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” said Vikki the Vet.
“I’m going to give your dog a sponge bath to cool him off,” said Vikki the Vet.
“And then I’ll spread some aloe vera on him to help soothe his sunburn.”
“You’ll need to repeat this process at home,” Vikki the Vet continued.
“Okay,” said Joe Blow.
“The hardest part will be trying to prevent Rollo from scratching his skin.”
“So I’ll give you a head cone and some anti-itching cream.”
“But that will only stop him so much.”
“Thank you, Ms. Vega,” said Joe Blow.
“I honestly didn’t realize my show-low could get a sunburn.”
“It won’t happen again, I assure you.”
And with that Vikki the Vet got to work on Rollo the sunburnt Xolo.