I don't know you, and I don't care.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I actually pause when someone asks me about my profession. Each and every time I'll wage a cerebral war with myself on the pros/cons of telling this complete stranger about what I do, because 75% of the time the next words will be, "So I have this dog...".

Should I lie, say that I'm in accounting? Partially true and a definite dead end there, no one follows that with more questions. I guess I could say I'm a sanitary technician, I wouldn't be lying. How about a therapist, true. Salesman, unfortunately. Professional juggler, no doubt. Mind-reader, on occasion.

Sigh. Unfortunately the honesty that was hammered into me by my folks (thanks a lot mom and dad) inevitably makes me answer with the truth that I'm a vet. This almost always leads me down a line of questions about a dog, cat, horse, Loch Ness monster, or Bigfoot that invariably is urinating on the carpet or is eating nine pieces of kibble less than it normally does. Now where did I put the receipts for those Mother's and Father's day cards???