Three Mets Players Pay Surprise Visit To Local Vets

In a rather obvious attempt to atone for the PR disaster that was the missed trip to Walter Reed Hospital, the three Mets who skipped that trip spent Monday morning visiting vets in Flushing.  Accompanied by Mets head of PR Jay Horowitz, Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, and Oliver Perez paid a surprise visit on Monday to the Flushing Veterinary Hospital and Dog Kennel.

Castillo who admitted that he was uncomfortable around amputees made quickly for the kennel and seemed to make friends with a six year old beagle whose owners were headed upstate to their lakehouse by Lake George. When the veteran secondbaseman was satisfied that this dog and the others in the adjacent cages were totally healthy he was able to relax and have a good, albeit one-way, conversation with the pooch. At one point one of the reporters who was there to document the visit heard Castillo telling his canine friend, "You don't think  I don't have a heart, do you?  No you don't.  You're a good boy."

Meanwhile Beltran, who rescheduled a meeting with his own dog kennel in Puerto Rico to attend,  was getting into the spirit of the visit and went from one cage to another while being escorted by staff veterinarian Dr. Lilah Gibson. Dr. Gibson was touched particularly by Beltran's empathetic visit with Chichi, a dachshund who had been fitted with one of those neck cones. "I can relate to that.", said Beltran.

Beltran also asked whether any of the animals were in need of microfracture surgery and offered to put them it touch with his personal doctor. He was told that none did even though several dogs are hobbled by knee problems which slow them to the point that they can not move like they used to. Once again, Carlos could relate.

Oliver Perez's visit was perhaps the oddest of them all. He inquired at the front desk whether they had a "bullpen" where he could just wait and not be called. He was told that they didn't have one, per se, but there was a waiting room with vending machines and old magazines he could read.
And sure enough Perez trudged over to the waiting room, found the most comfortable looking chair he could find and just sat there for three hours reading tips on how to please your man from a copy of last December's Vogue.  Eventually, Perez dozed off.

When Beltran and Castillo were finished they woke up Ollie, took some photos outside the hospital with a few wounded animals and left.


All articles featured on The Apple are fictitious. No Mets were harmed in the writing of this story. Today's story by Larry Smith and Randy Medina.  You can follow Larry Smith on twitter @dr4sight