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Dr. V | Monday | December 26, 2011 |
I love Christmas. But I hated Christmas working emergency as a veterinarian.
I euthanized more pets in the two weeks surrounding Christmas than I did in the surrounding three months combined. This is a consistent, repeatable phenomenon common to all clinics- a combination of holiday stress, low funds, and the uncanny knack of pets to get very sick at the most inconvenient of times.
Yesterday, in a clinic in the Pacific Northwest, a woman went into the emergency clinic with her beloved dog, who hadn’t been feeling well. The dog developed a pyometra, which is a terrible, life-threatening condition if not treated immediately with surgery. The vet presented the woman with the estimate: $2,000.
And the woman just did not have that much money. She just didn’t. So she sat in the waiting area, sobbing over the reality that this Christmas, she was going to have to euthanize her pet. I’d like to say that this is an uncommon thing, but this is the reality that plays over and over in veterinary hospitals everywhere on this holiday.
Another couple was in the waiting area with their cat, who also needed to be euthanized. This is Christmas in the ER. It stinks. Not a happy place to be.
But this couple saw this stranger, and said to themselves, how sad that we both must be in this sad situation on this joyous day. And they said, well, we can’t save our cat.
But we can save her dog. And these anonymous strangers gave their credit card to the receptionist and paid for this woman’s dog to be saved, asking not a thing in return.
I have worked in the field for ten years, and I have heard of these stories, but I’ve never seen it happen myself. But I know this woman, and I know her dog, and this did, in fact happen.
The kindness of strangers, the love we have for our pets, transcends so very much. Every time I think I’ve just about had it with people, I hear a story like this, and my faith in humanity is restored. That kind of gift is something that boggles the mind.
I was sitting in the middle of a pile of wrapping paper when I heard this, my dogs licking my feet, the kids running around, and my curmudgeonly mind was utterly blown. A very Merry Christmas to you all, and I hope every day to have in my heart the kind of compassion these strangers showed to a woman and her dog (who is now at home, safe and sound.)
May your days be merry and bright!
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Dr. V | Friday | December 23, 2011 |
I recorded my homecoming on Monday. I really did. I wanted to document the joyous reunion between me and my loving dogs. It went a little something like this:
Opening: My hand on the doorknob. Whining behind the door.
Me: HI GUYS!
cacophony
dogs running amuk
kisses
Me: I missed you SOO much! *looks up*
screams
And scene. (more…)
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Dr. V | Thursday | December 22, 2011 |
The holidays are right around the corner- and to celebrate I have the first of a series of giveaways running between now and the New Year!
To kick us off, I have TEN chances to win either:
So here’s the interesting thing about pet food nutritionists, and this is the same across the board in terms of the big companies I have talked to: they don’t mind corn. They have in front of them the data from years of research and can say with assurance that based on science, it’s not an evil thing.
But here’s the other thing: there are lots and lots of people out there who do not like corn, and no matter what the studies may say, it is not an ingredient they want to feed their pet, for a variety of reasons.
I get both sides, actually. I like data and numbers and science but I also can’t help but intuitively feel certain ways about foods based on my own anecdotal experiences, and at the end of the day, I still encourage people to trust their instincts, as long as they are leading you in the right direction.
I am a veterinarian with a scientific mind sometimes, but I’m also a person who does exactly what drives scientists batty, which is ignore studies and go with my gut. Why not? As long as it’s balanced either way, companies would be out of their minds not to give people what they want. That is what sells.
So I’m happy to see Hill’s add meat first, grain-free, no corn products to their line, because it means this: companies are listening to what consumers want. And the more options there are out there for consumers, the better, I say.
Hill’s has provided me with ten coupon codes, each of which are good for a 12-15 pound bag of either of the above diets from Pet Food Direct. (Note: the dog diet is grain free, but the cat one is not. Check the links for full information.) The coupon code includes shipping, so each is a $49 value.
Want to try it out? Or if not, want to give a bag to a friend or your local shelter? It’s easy to enter, but do it while you’re thinking of it: the codes expire 12/31/11 so this is a short giveaway ending 12/27.
(more…)
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Dr. V | Wednesday | December 21, 2011 |
It’s not too late to grab some last minute goodies for your pup if you’re like me and still scrambling to get things together between now and Sunday! If you’re still looking for some ideas or stocking stuffers, here are the products I’m featuring this morning with Santa on Fox 5 San Diego’s morning segment:
Freeze-dried treats are the perfect choice for those who like an all-natural, no filler sort of treat. Just freeze-dried chicken, salmon, or beef with no added sugars or grains. These are also a good choice for a training treat! Available at Petco and other large pet retailers. (more…)
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Dr. V | Tuesday | December 20, 2011 |
I’m back from the whirlwind week at the world’s biggest dog show, and I am POOPED. There could have been five of me running around and I still don’t think I would have scratched the surface. But today, I want to share my favorite experience from the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, the Inaugural Blogger’s Stakes.
During the afternoon light check before the Saturday evening events, the bloggers were invited into the main arena for a mock show. Each of us was provided a stellar show dog, courtesy of a generous attendee who was OK with a novice giving their dog a go at greatness.
Some of the bloggers have shown dogs in the past, and others, like me, were utterly clueless. Someone handed me a leash and said, “Here you go. Now go show the dog.” As a newbie, I may perhaps have chosen a different venue for my very first attempt at showing than a national event, but that’s OK, performance under pressure is a good thing.
I looked down at my cohort, who turned out to be Surfer Girl, the number 8 lab in the country. Of course I immediately fell in love. We bonded instantly as only kindred spirits can.
Surfer Girl had already had a long day in the ring behind her, and she hadn’t eaten yet, so the fact that I had some treats in my pocket was of immense interest to her (ie, she was a lab). “She’s good,” her owner said. “Just run as fast as you can. She knows what to do.” So this is all I knew about showing a dog when I entered the ring: Hold the leash on your left and run. As it turns out, though, there is a bit more to it. (more…)
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Dr. V | Saturday | December 17, 2011 |
The excitement here is really something. Today is the first official day of the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, though the prep has been going on all week.
Earlier, I watched the Bostons take the Breeders’ Stakes preliminaries; the finals will be this afternoon.
Aren’t these dogs amazing? They just sit calmly and wait amidst all the cacophony.
Tonight is the World Challenge, where people and dogs from 42 countries will be here to compete in a special World Challenge event. It’s a huge deal and super exciting to watch, kind of like the Dog Show Olympics. If you want to catch the live streaming, it’s here: Eukanuba Live Stream. It’s actually live all weekend. Look for me ringside during the evening shows! I’ll be on Facebook and Twitter during both.
Anyone in particular you are rooting for? You all know where my heart is.
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Dr. V | Friday | December 16, 2011 |
I’m here, I’m loving Orlando, and I’m sick as a dog. Which stinks, to put it mildly. So, I’m focusing my energy on things like standing up and walking, but the posts will come. Make sure to check out Facebook and Twitter as well, where I’ll be posting lots of candids. In the meantime, I have a post about a topic we got into a big discussion about a couple of weeks ago:
I loved Dr. Becker’s recent article about whether or not vets should offer spays for below cost. His answer, in a nutshell, is “no”. Mine is too. The responses ran the usual gamut of those who agreed and those who did not, but it got me thinking about the whole idea and how veterinarians are often caught in the middle when trying to explain to owners why prices are the way they are.
Myth: If a low cost facility can spay a dog for $50, you should be able to do it too.
Fact: To understand how a facility can afford to offer a procedure for such a low cost, you need to know what they do in order to make that economically feasible. Do the vets volunteer their time? Do they skip items like intravenous catheters, inhalant anesthesia, or post operative pain medications? If it’s the choice between having it done and not having it done, many people are fine with that. But in my clinic, if I’m taking a pet under my care, I feel obligated to do the procedure as safely as I can, and that involves pricier things like blood pressure monitoring and post-operative opiods. That’s expensive.
Not to say some low cost clinics don’t offer those things- they might. But many don’t, and it’s good to know what you’re signing up for.
Myth: Low cost = poor care.
Fact: Not necessarily. In fact, most of the low cost places I know in our area staff their clinics with the best vets. You have to be a good surgeon to complete that volume of surgery in a short amount of time. Less experienced vets are slower in surgery. They just are.
Many of these places subsidize their cost through fundraising and grants. I worked at a clinic that accepted county vouchers for $80 spays, and also performed spays for clients for the real cost of $250. The pets received the exact same high quality care with gas anesthesia, IV catheters, and dedicated monitoring, but one group received a subsidized cost. It was a 24 hour clinic that utilized the downtime by having the vet do those subsidized procedures at 2 am when nothing else was going on.
Myth: Complication rates are higher at low cost facilites.
Fact: Not necessarily. I don’t know of any specific data to show this one way or the other. It’s not about the rate of complications so much as what happens if there is a complication. If a pet has an adverse reaction to anesthesia- something that can’t be predicted- does the facility have the staff and resources to provide emergency care?
When your pet goes home that night and chews out the sutures, who do you call? If your pet licks the incision and it gets infected, who covers the cost of the antibiotics? Much of the time, owners are on their own.
The truth is, low-cost facilities perform an important service for people who cannot afford the more traditional costs associated with such a complicated procedure. They do this in a variety of ways, and for that I am glad. But that doesn’t mean a traditional clinic can take advantage of those same cost cutting measures and still stay solvent. It’s comparing apples and oranges.
So who should pay?
The one continuing refrain I always hear in these arguments, and this is the one that really gets to me, is “vets owe it to the community to take a bath on pricing, because they love pets/overpopulation is a big problem/the economy stinks.”
Now, it’s nice when vets offer their services at a discount- and trust me, every vet I know eats costs left and right for things they really shouldn’t because we feel badly and want to help. But is it an obligation? Many children suffer from a lack of proper dental care, but no one seems to be beating up on their local dentist for not doing more (nor should they.) Grocery stores aren’t lambasted for not giving food away to needy families. It’s easy to point fingers at the obvious target when someone can’t afford what they need, but there is a limit to what any one person or business can do. If there are no profits, there is no clinic.
One emergency facility I worked at had a list in the office of places people could call to ask for financial assistance for their pet. As the vet in charge of the case, I was in charge of helping people fund their care. I spent hours helping people try to find funds, and nine times out of ten instead of being happy, those people would be angry that they weren’t getting more. I consider myself a compassionate person, but I have to be honest: over time this sort of thing can burn a person out. It just does.
Low cost spay/neuter clinics have their place, and they do good work. I am glad they are there. But I could do without the idea that the provision of veterinary care is a right to all owners upon request, and an obligation of the provider to give said care without expectation of being paid a fair wage. The burden of care, at the end of the day, must lie with the owner.
What do you think? Have you ever used (or those in the field, worked at) a low cost clinic? Think it’s equivalent to a standard clinic?
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Dr. V | Wednesday | December 14, 2011 |
As you’re reading this, I’m probably either getting patted down by a TSA agent or winging my way over the country on my way to Orlando. (By the way, no one tell my kids that Orlando is the home of DisneyWorld. I’m already in enough trouble as it is with them.) But I’m not going to see Mickey or the Harry Potter park (though trust me, it’s tempting) because I already have enough to keep me busy with the AKC/Eukanuba show to fill an average 36 hour day.
I printed out all the events that are taking place and I ran out of ink. It’s that big.
And it’s not just a conformation show, what you typically think of when you think “dog show”. That is a big part of it too, but there are two other national AKC events taking place at the same time:
AKC Agility Invitational
This is the fifth iteration of the AKC Agility invitational, with dogs from Great Danes to chihuahuas bobbing and weaving their way through the course. I am actually fascinated to see a Great Dane run an agility course. How the heck do they manage to work that huge frame through the obstacles? It’s a mechanical miracle.
This is also the first year All-American Dogs (ie portmanteaus, ie mutts) have been invited to compete. I know this is a controversial decision, but I’m excited to see it, personally. Agility is such a cool sport, and it’s nice that anyone who wants to compete at this level, can. There are 592 dogs competing in this competition, nine of them the aforementioned All Americans.
This is ALSO the inaugural AKC Juniors Agility Competition, where accomplished kids from all over the country make me bemoan how behind I am on parenting my kids into more substantial accomplishments than “fished a grape out from under the couch before Brody found it.”
If any readers out there do agility and would like to do a guest post on the process, I’d love to have you. I love watching these dogs weave through the poles. Especially the little guys, who look like millipedes when they run. (more…)
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Dr. V | Tuesday | December 13, 2011 |
My daughter had her first sleepover this weekend.
It was a long time coming. Her very best friend, a girl she has known since kindergarten, is near impossible to arrange any sorts of playdates with. Her mom works full time. Her dad, a retired police sergeant, is busy running the older son around to after school activities but has a rule that the daughter cannot have playdates without her mom or dad there.
Given this statute, let’s just say I didn’t even bother pursuing a sleepover with her. I’m sure we wouldn’t pass a background check.
Anyway, we have other options. We have family friends who have a lovely daughter a year older than mine, and they have known each other for years. They are a little less picky about where they leave their kid, apparently, even going so far as to trust ME of all people with her. Fortunately for me. My daughter was delighted.
I had all sorts of activities set up- movies, popcorn, fashion shows, crafts, I don’t know, all that giggly stuff little girls do. But this little girl doesn’t have a dog, so of course Brody was the center of attention. Not that he minded.
Aside went the crafts, the popcorn, and the Barbie movie, all in favor of giving Brody some much craved attention and love. He was eating it up. He was eating everything up, including this girl’s pillow pet, her burrito, and some kettle corn. They are getting a dog next month. I consider this a valuable learning experience for her about living with a canine. I hope she realizes the value of that, someday.
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Anyway, I heard them upstairs giggling and laughing and Brody tromping around. Then a squeal, and down the girls come, flying down the stairs. They had been playing tug-of-war with Brody. He has lots of toys laying about for this purpose, but in the interest of some semblance of order, I guess someone had put them away. So he improvised.
It took the girls a few minutes before they realized they were playing tug-of-war with a pair of underpants he retrieved from a hamper. Oh, dear god. At least it wasn’t the cop’s kid who was over. I would probably be in jail.
So if they are reading this, I swear, we do have actual dog toys around here and I don’t force them to use soiled undergarments for lack of better options. Promise. Please let your daughter come over again. She was lovely.
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Dr. V | Monday | December 12, 2011 |
Here’s the thing about dog shows: They are a to-do.
I’m not the pro source about dog shows, as you know. I’m learning as I go, and the more I learn, the less I know. It’s fascinating, the work that goes into becoming a champion, the hours spent grooming and training and driving from place to place and competing in the hunt for titles. But at the end of the day, for me, it boils down to this: people who are really into showing dogs are absolutely, 100% nuts for canines.
And that I get. I took that love and channeled it in my own way, by learning how to take a sick dog and make him better, to cut out offending masses, make them happy, and keep them healthy. Others do it by funneling their time into rescuing abandoned dogs from shelters. And this group does it by taking their personal favorite breed and making them exceptional. But we’re all facets of the same die: people who believe that dogs are important, and worthy of our time and attention, and whatever path that means for you, I admire it. Because there is another option, and that is to be apathetic. And that, my friends, is the root of a lot of pain for our canine friends. (more…)
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Dr. V | Saturday | December 10, 2011 |
One of my primary goals when I am invited to tour a pet food manufacturer is to see their animal welfare policy in action. It’s probably one of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to pet foods: do you use animals to test your foods? And how do you use them?
There was a time, a little over a decade ago, when animals were used quite a bit by various companies. They were used in various ways, including terminal studies in which the animals were euthanized at the end of the study. (Though I was told by Dr. Karen Johnson at Hill’s Pet Nutrition that as far as she knew, Hill’s has never participated in or funded terminal studies.) How things have changed.
Animal Welfare Policies have become the norm with pet food companies, usually readily available on the company website. Hill’s policy is to use only non-invasive methods for which there is an equivalent human comparison, which is limited to data collection via physical exams, bloodwork, and fecal and urine evaluations. This has become, as far as I can tell, the standard in the States- and I am glad for it.
So why do companies still use animals? And what’s their life like? (more…)
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Dr. V | Friday | December 9, 2011 |
Among the many things I inherited a love of from my mother, such as books and weird medical cases, are Christmas ornaments and crafting. Every Christmas since I was little, we would get an ornament in our stocking, and when I moved out, I took my collection with me. It’s a lovely way to have a little nostalgia every December when we set up the tree. I have done the same for my kids, so when they are older they can survey their pile of Tow Mater and Barbie ornaments the way I look over my Garfield collection and have a smile.
I do the same for the pets, but they don’t get a new one every year. When I get a new pet, they get a stocking and an ornament that first Christmas. Each year I put it on the tree and I can be either reminded of how glad I am to have them in my life, or have a smile as I remember them fondly and reminisce about what Christmas decorations they destroyed.
Mulan died on New Year’s Eve, 2008, a couple of months before I started the blog. My mother, still coming down off her post-Christmas rush, spotted a Golden Retriever ornament at a post-Christmas sale and snatched it up, with a brilliant idea: I will glue feathers on it and make Jessica a Mulan-angel ornament. She painstakingly crafted this piece, then set it aside for the year.
As you know if you’re a regular reader, 2009 was a banner year for me in terms of “death, the gift that keeps on giving.” By the time the holiday season arrived, my mother retrieved the ornament from storage and realized geez, I had a whole lot of pets disapparate over the following months. Not wanting anyone to feel left out- glue and feathers are cheap, after all- she hit the stores.
So here is the scene: Christmas morning, 2009. Smiling expectantly, she hands me a beautifully wrapped box, which I assume to be my yearly ornament. I open it. (more…)
