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My heroes of the week

Last week I had an appointment at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital on M Street. Afterwards, I found I was missing my wallet. I called the vet’s office and asked them to take a look. “I paid with a credit card, – could you look at the counter? It has to be there somewhere, I’ve searched the house and car…”

“Not here that I can see, but I’ll call you if I find it,” the vet tech, Bridget, said.

I retraced my steps - found nothing - and decided to call again.

“Bridget, I was parked outside on M street and to the left three spots. Could you possibly take a look? I’ve looked again and can’t find it. It is an orange leather zippered pouch with money, credit cards – you know, my life”.

She told me she was on the phone with a client and had others waiting, but would look as soon as she could.

“I’ll call you back,” she said.

Ten minutes later she called back, breathless. She said she walked to the parking place and searched in the gutter and on the sidewalk. On her way back she looked up to see a young man sitting on the steps of the animal hospital, going through my orange zippered wallet.

“You found my wallet!”, she exclaimed.

The young man looked up.

“Bitch, this ain’t your wallet,” he said with my license in his hand. “Get lost.”

“OK, it isn’t my wallet. But I know whose it is,” she said. “Didn’t you see me looking for it?”

“Get lost,” he said. His friend was leaning against the steps to the animal hospital.

“I’m calling the police,” Bridget said calmly.

“The one with the wallet threw it on the street and they both ran”, Bridget told me. “Your cards were scattered all over M Street, but I picked up everything I could find.”

“Can you tell me which ones are there?” I asked, not believing she had actually recovered some of the cards.

She listed a variety of colors of personal and business Visas and AMEX cards, a bank card. She kept going. “Your license, insurance card, looks like some checks, a building key card? Some business cards and more cards – Costco?” she read out to me. “And more. Lots here.”

I couldn’t believe it. I told her I’d be right down, and arrived a few minutes later.

She met me on the steps on her way out to pick up some lunch.

“Here it is!” she said as she handed it over. All the cash was gone as was the fistful of change, mostly Canadian. But what I had been given was the time that would have been spent canceling cards, getting a new license, calling the bank, closing accounts - I had what I thought was everything in the slimmed down wallet.

“They came back,” Bridget said. “Looking all over for the credit cards. Nat (the other vet tech) went outside and leaned on the stairs to ‘have a smoke’. They left abruptly.”

I told Bridget I would love to give her a reward, but had no cash at the moment – but had cards! What would you and Nat like for lunch? We drove down M and stopped for a large pizza, drove back to the animal hospital and then I went on to work.

Georgetown Veterinary Hospital – not only an excellent animal hospital, but they go above and beyond for the owners as well. My heroes of the week!

Georgetown Veterinary Hospital - 2916 M Street (202) 333-2140