Joke · Ajahn Brahm
The dead dog and the cat scan
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
took the dog into the vet and said look the dog you know please help it. And the dog took a look at the sorry the not the dog took over the vet. The vet took a look at the dog and said there's nothing you can do. The dog is dead. And this is like a variation of if any of you like Monty Python or the dead parrots sketch, remember that one? But this is much better than that. So they took the he said the dog is dead. They said it's not dead because you know you're in denial when it's somebody you really love. Do something. And so the the vet said, "Okay, I'll give it a try." So he opened up another cage and took out a cat. and he put the cat nose to nose with the dog and the cat and the dog didn't move. And then he took it around the back of the dog, lifted up the dog's tail and put the cat right next to the dog's, you know, what's underneath the tail there and the dog didn't move. Turned the dog on the belly and the cat was on the belly scratching it and the dog never moved. And they told the owner of the dog said, "Look, the dog's dead." Yeah, I think actually because my dog never loved cats at all. He hated cats and they would chase them and and said he hated cats. So that must be the case that he's dead. Thank you very much. So then the the vet gave the bill $2,020. $2,020. What's that for? is a $20 for the consultation and a $2,000 for the cat scan
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 21:22 (to 23:14)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
A vet uses a cat to show a man his dog is dead, then charges two thousand dollars for the cat scan. After the laugh, a real story: a friend whose dog had to be put down asked for a few minutes alone and held it, asking if it was ready. Grief needs time. Give yourself that moment to say goodbye.
In brief (our summary)
Owner brings a dog to the vet insisting it is alive; the vet uses a live cat as a diagnostic (nose, tail, belly) — dog never moves. Bill: $20 consultation + $2,000 for the cat scan.
Teaching point
Even denial sometimes needs a punchline before it lets go.
When this story may help
Themes
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in Manifestation of Consciousness and Future Predictions | Ajahn Brahm | 29 December 2017 · 2017-12-29 · ▶ watch from 21:22 to 23:14 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
3 other tellings of this story
- Buddhism and Dogs | Ajahn Brahm | 23 February 2018 · 2018-02-23 · ▶ watch from 24:48 to 26:48 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaFeb 2018 telling: vet uses a live cat as a 'cat scan' to convince owner the dog is dead — $1,010 bill.
- Caring and Mental Health | Ajahn Brahm | 20 May 2022 · 2022-05-20 · ▶ watch from 0:00 to 1:21 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaMay 2022 telling: dead-dog cat-scan bill $1020.
- Wisdom from Experience | Ajahn Brahm | 7 November 2025 · 2025-11-08 · ▶ watch from 8:27 to 10:34 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaNov 2025: vet + live cat diagnostic; $20 + cat scan fee.
Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; words left exactly as captioned.
The narrative is Ajahn Brahm's own telling, quoted from the talk captions. The summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk. Markdown version