Animal Practice Episode 1.01 Pilot

Lonely Trudy calls to her beloved cat Giggles to climb on the couch for the latest episode of "The Wendy Williams Show." But Giggles is perched on the balcony of Trudy's high-rise apartment, gripped in existential crisis. After one last look at Trudy... Giggles jumps! It's not long before the Animal Ambulance is rushing Giggles to Crane Animal Hospital, where debonair chief of staff Dr. George Coleman takes one look at Trudy's bathrobe and mom jeans to sum up Giggles' situation. The suicide attempt was a cry for help. Giggles is in heat. Trudy needs to set her free, so that Giggles can find a stud cat to grab her by the scruff of the neck and make her purr so loud the neighbors complain. Could it be that Trudy could use a similar regimen?

George and his fellow vet Dr. Yamamoto and vet tech Angela are gathered in the lounge watching a horse race on TV, while big-hearted veterinarian Doug examines a Basset Hound's prostate. Doug finally caves to peer pressure and joins the crowd for the final moments of the race. When George notices Crane Animal Hospital's task master, receptionist Juanita, looming in the background, he summons his monkey sidekick, Dr. Rizzo, to draw the blinds and shut the door. Juanita advises George that the waiting room is packed, and they're running four hours behind. Worse yet, there's a woman waiting for George, and she doesn't even have a pet... George is surprised to recognize Dorothy, his ex-girlfriend - who just inherited Crane Animal Hospital from her grandmother!

George isn't happy. According to George, Dorothy walked out on him three years ago. In the meantime, he has built Crane Animal Hospital into one of the top animal facilities in the country, and he's not about to take orders from her. For her part, Dorothy will be darned if she's going to let George turn her grandmother's legacy into a zoo. Later, George tells Doug that he reckons Dorothy will be gone in a week. Doug isn't too sure about that; he always figured Dorothy and George would wind up together. But Doug has bigger fish to fry: his girlfriend left him for another vet, Dr. Shankar. George insists Doug has lost his place in the food chain - he's got to confront Shankar and establish dominance in order to woo his lady back.

George shows up to work the next morning, stunned to find Yamamoto rocking out to peppy music in the waiting room. Apparently Dorothy said they could rotate their favorite music. Worse yet, the waiting room is empty - they're ahead of schedule! And Dorothy has decided to join a disgruntled George on rounds, promising they can learn from each other. First up is Honey the dog and her owners Lily and her dad Mr. Waxman. Honey ate something that's going to necessitate a $2,000 surgery for its removal. Waxman blankly rejects this idea. For that kind of money, he could buy six more dogs that won't piss him off nearly as much as Honey does. George immediately launches into a lecture on the responsibilities of dog ownership, prompting Waxman to ask how much it will cost him to "kill the thing."

Incensed, Doug insults Waxman's manhood, grabs Honey and makes for the door, ordering Rizzo to run interference. Dorothy follows George, railing at him to reason with Waxman like a human being. He can't just kidnap Honey! George is certain that humans are incapable of reason. Now it's time to do things his way. Zaius throws pill bottles at Waxman, while Angela urges George and Dorothy to smooch. Is Angela the only one in the room who can sense the sexy tension!?

The next morning, Dorothy demands to know where George hid Honey. He refuses to betray Honey's location, claiming doctor-patient confidentiality, just as a Bengal tiger giving birth is wheeled in. Dorothy insists Doug and Yamamoto are handling the case, but George is used to giving the orders. His guys answer to him! Nevertheless, the guys are already scrubbed in and ready to go. Again Dorothy demands to know Honey's whereabouts, so George claims she's in Dr. Wong's office. Angela is pleased to recognize deception when she hears it, because there is no Dr. Wong working at Crane Animal Hospital.

After the baby tigers have been successfully birthed, George corners Doug and Yamamoto in the operating room. This is strike two! George is shocked to discover both of his guys have been hanging out with Dorothy outside the hospital, and Doug has even gone so far to solicit her relationship advice, since George's sucked so badly. Doug did confront Shankar, who proceeded to kick his ass while his ex-girlfriend watched. It was humiliating! And she filed a restraining order against him! George figures it's time to go wrestle with another gazelle. Promising to get Doug laid, George brings him to the park. It looks like George will make good on his promise when he finds two lovely ladies walking their pugs. Unfortunately, it seems George is a lot better with animals than he is with people...

Back at the hospital, Dorothy tells George that Waxman is willing to let bygones be bygones if George will do one thing - apologize. Of course, George has no interest in doing this or in working with people whatsoever. Furthermore, why doesn't Dorothy just disappear, like she did the last time? Two years ago, George went to get Thai food, and when he came back, Dorothy was gone. Dorothy reminds that before he left to pick up the food, she told George that she loved him - and all he said was, "Awesome." Thus, she left. Figuring the experiment of working together has gone bust, George decides it's time for him to quit. If Dorothy's not going to leave, he will.

The staff sniffles as George and Rizzo pack up their office. Juanita has more bad news for Dorothy. Waxman called, wanting to pick up his dog, and threatening to call the police. Juanita has no idea where George might have stashed Honey, but she knows who might... Angela tries to strike a hard deal, but once Dorothy promises Columbus and Arbor Days off, Angela caves, producing Honey. Later, Dorothy runs into George and Rizzo in the elevator. It doesn't take George long to figure out Dorothy is hiding Honey in her purse. She was planning to smuggle her out to another vet, so none of the Crane vets would get in trouble for operating on her. If only Dorothy knew a doctor at Crane who wasn't a doctor at Crane...

It's not long before George is operating on Honey with Dorothy's assistance. Afterwards, George and Dorothy confront an irate Waxman in the waiting room. George not only kidnapped Honey, but then he performed unwanted surgery!? Waxman threatens a lawsuit, until George reveals what he found in Honey's stomach - a coaster from a local strip club. Waxman doesn't much care until George reminds him that his little girl is going to grow up to learn that her father murdered her beloved dog because she ate a coaster from a strip club. Ten years from now, Lily will be so filled with anger, that one day, Waxman will walk into the strip club only to find his daughter stripping - and using the stage name Honey.

Doug stops in to say good-bye to George with good news - but George already knows what it is. Doug took home a curvaceous redhead, who attacked him with a sexual ferocity he's never known. When Doug fears George got him a hooker, George explains that he mentioned the name of Doug's favorite bar to Shankar's ex-girlfriend. Humans have a revenge instinct, just like the Siberian tiger, and sometimes it works out for the best. Dorothy interrupts to ask George to please stay at the hospital. George thinks there's too much history between them, but Dorothy's not so sure. Later, George finds Dorothy on the curb, trying to hail a cab. She was right. He should have told her how he felt about her two years ago. Does Dorothy want to grab a drink? Knowing it's never just a drink with George, Dorothy declines. Having overheard the entire conversation, Angela's willing to step into the breach.