Today is a big day. It’s the day Pete get’s his dream job - maybe.

He flicked open his laptop, pulled his chair in tight, adjusted his posture according to some power posing techniques he’d read about and waited. As he waited he got more nervous and started to rethink. Maybe he should just pretend his WiFi went down or maybe his laptop died. Or perhaps his dog was ill.

Suddenly the meeting popped up. It was now or never. Nervously, he clicked accept.

“Hey, nice to meet you Pete,” said the interviewer. “My name is Rob and this is my colleague Heidi. We’ll start with a few questions about yourself and your qualifications then you can ask us some questions too.”

“Okay,” Pete nodded slowly.

“Right, so we wondered if you had worked in a veterinary practice before and if so what animals you felt most comfortable around,” asked Rob casually.

“Dogs. I actually have a dog,” replied Pete almost robotically.

“Oh what breed?” Asked Rob trying to relax the conversation.

“An Alsatian called Terry.”

“Yes we do get quite a few of those at the vets. What about larger animals like horses?”

“Never worked with those before.”

“Could you tell me the main bone structure in a horse?” Asked Heidi.

“Erm...I haven’t really studied horses.” Pete went red slightly and rubbed his neck. He could feel the daunting panic start to rise within him.

“Have you studied any farm animals, we do get a few of those now and again?”

“No really just cats and dogs.”

“Have you ever carried out any major surgeries or put an animal down before?”

“I have stunted a broken bone.”

“You mean stunted?” Replied Heidi sternly.

Pete was almost too mortified to reply. His muscles went tense and he wanted to cry and run away. He looked down at his lap and nodded.

“Okay. Right, are you aware of and comfortable with the ethical implications of some of these practises?”

“Erm...yes?” He mumbled.

“Really, you don’t sound sure. For what reasons do you think an animal should be put down?”

The panic hand submerged him and he knew he couldn’t carry on, even if he did he would just mess it up more. The interview wasn’t going as planned, he had slipped up and he needed a way of getting out. The toilet just wouldn’t break it, battery was to risky and everyone uses that excuse, the WiFi around here was well known for being the best...

Suddenly an idea popped into his head.

“Oh! My dog!” Pete cried acting melodramatically. “He’s pulsing, a heart attack maybe!”

He rushed from his chair, carefully checking he was just out of shot and crouched on the floor pretending to tend to his dog.

“I’m going to try palpitations,” he said trying to sound calm and professional. He pressed on the floor imitating dog wheezing sounds.

“Are you okay?”

“What’s going on?” The interviewers said simultaneously.

“My dog has had a heart attack!” Pete cried. “I’m going to get my kit!”

He rushed out the room and steadied himself. The plan was to look professional and he’d pretend that the dog died to give him a good enough reason to end the interview. It was a perfect plan, nothing could go wrong and maybe the job wasn’t lost after all. He grabbed a gas mask from his old veterinary school kit and rushed back to the floorboards.

“I’m just going to try and revive him with gas! Oh! I can’t believe this happened!” He cried dramatically. He pumped the gas a few times. “I think- it’s not working! I’m going to have to-“

He turned around to shut his laptop screen to make his finally dramatic statement, when he saw his dog sat on the chair with his tongue hanging out, looking directly into the laptop camera. Rob and Heidi sat gobsmacked and now so did he. The world seemingly froze and Pete’s heart stopped.

“I’m sorry but your not getting the job,” said Rob angrily leaving the call.

“That was one of the worst interviews I have ever seen!” Cried Heidi. “How could you fake your own dogs death to get a job. Sorry but that is just shameful.”

Pete was left looking at a black screen holding a stethoscope in one hand a gas mask in the other whilst his dog wagged his tail and smiled, rather pleased that he finally had gotten his owners attention.