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The enormous cat rolled completely over, exposing an enormous gut. I couldn't help but grin as he started purring.

“He likes you.” The woman beamed. “Whiskers is an excellent judge of character.”

From across the room, I caught Joy watching with a soft smile on her face. She gave me a little wave before turning back to the nervous-looking teenager she was helping with a squirming puppy.

“Mister! Mister!” A high-pitched voice demanded my attention. “I need help!”

A little girl with pigtails and a gap-toothed grin stood beside me, holding a small cage that contained what looked like a furry ping-pong ball.

“What's wrong, sweetheart?”

“Peanut got out!” She pointed to the cage. “He was right here, and now he's gone!”

“Honey, he’s right there.” I pointed to the white fluff ball.

“No, that’s Princess Jelly. It’s Prince Peanut Butter who got away.”

I looked around the crowded waiting room, imagining a loose gerbil creating chaos among the already stressed animals. “When did you last see him?”

“Just now! Mommy said to hold the cage tight, but Prince Peanut Butter pushed the door open with his nose.”

A woman with a toddler attached to her hip rushed over, her face flushed with embarrassment. “I'm so sorry,” she said as she looked up at me. I could see her wince. I knew I didn’t look like the type of man she wanted her daughter talking to. Oh well, I was who she was stuck with. She looked down at her daughter. “Madison, I told you to keep that latch closed.”

“Mom, you know that Prince Peanut Butter is really smart,” Madison explained seriously. She turned to me. “He can open doors and everything.”

I crouched down to her eye level. “Okay, Madison. Gerbils like to hide in small, dark places. Where would you hide if you were Prince Peanut Butter?”

She scrunched up her face in concentration. “Under something?”

“Exactly. Let's check under all the chairs.”

“You don’t have to do this,” her mother said as her toddler started to cry.

“It’s fine,” I assured the mother. “I’m on animal-wrangling duty today.” I gave her my best smile, the one I saved for Joy. The mom grinned back at me.

Bingo!

“Thanks so much.” She turned to her toddler and attempted to quiet him down while I focused on Madison and our search.

For the next ten minutes, I found myself crawling around the waiting room on my hands and knees, searching for a gerbil while Madison directed the operation like a tiny general.

“There!” She pointed under the reception desk. “I see his tail!”

Sure enough, a small brown blur was huddled in the corner, looking overwhelmed by all the noise and activity.

“Prince Peanut Butter!” Madison dropped to her knees beside me. “Come here, Prince.” He stayed exactly where he was.

“Let me try something.” I reached slowly toward the gerbil, making soft clicking sounds. “Sometimes they respond to gentle noises.”

At least I hoped they did since I was talking out my ass.

The little rodent twitched his whiskers, then scampered straight into my palm like we'd been friends for years.

“You did it!” Madison clapped her hands as I carefully transferred the prince back into his cage. “Are you a gerbil whisperer?”

“Something like that,” I grinned.

Her mother mouthed “thank you” over Madison's head while double-checking the cage latch.