So here's the short of it, 
Sophie went to the vet today.

And here's the long.

Today was Sophie's bi-annual visit to the vet.  Alan and I took her together since she's been so unmanageable and so afraid of the car.

We took Alan's car. I remembered to put on her very strong harness so I could hang on and control her movements.  Sophie allowed me to lift her right into the back seat!  Now she didn't help get in and she was very passive (like dead weight) as I tried to put her in. But she didn't resist! She wanted to  get in the front seat with Alan, but I sat in the back seat with her and held on to her harness.  It seemed like my grip on her really helped her calm down quite a bit. So even though she was drooling all over the place, she rode very nicely.

Our appointment was with Dr. Carter - our neighbor who often visits with Sophie on her walks and who from time to time has doctored her a bit out in circle!  Ashton, his daughter, is also working at the clinic and got to take Sophie in and assist in her exam.  I think having the two of them helped keep her calmer.  She did really well in the appointment including having her ears examined, getting her shots, and even having her temperature taken - but she did not like having her anal glands expressed.

On the ride back, Sophie was wonderful again! I'm hoping that this is a sign of things to come and that car rides are going to become much better for Sophie making them much easier for us!

Oh, by the way, she's gained 10 pounds since June, and we are supposed to help her lose a bit of weight.  I suppose she and I will both tackle that in the morning.