Count me in as one of the lucky members of the migraine club. Now, I have it a lot better than many- mine hit infrequently, and usually last a day or less. I know for many it is so debilitating that they lose several days when one occurs, lost in a blinding sea of pain and nausea. I had one that bad in my adult life, when I was in New England for a family event. I had forgotten how bad they could be, unaware that something in the swampy Massachusetts air was a trigger.
My father- he’s the one to blame for that gene- and I both wound up holed up in a darkened, chilled bedroom like sides of beef left to cure, me pushing the limits of therapeutic index of Excedrin ingestion while he dialed his doctor back in California trying to score some Imitrex.
Much like the leprosy-afflicted were left to fend for themselves on the shores of Molokai, none ventured in to the clan of the hibernating cave bears. No one wanted to deal with us. When I could bear to stand long enough to crawl over to the door, I might find a glass of water left outside, a sandwich, some basic sustenance, but that was about it.
When at last I the wave had passed and I could walk outside without being blinded with pain, I practically oozed into a chair on the lawn, reveling in the relief that was simply not being in pain. I held my family members no ill will for abandoning me to my fate. There wasn’t much anyone could do, and to wander into my sphere was generally an invitation to be verbally abused as the simple act of opening a door might let in an errant beam of light or make a 50 decibel creaking noise that thundered into my orbits like the hammer of Thor.
My point is, pain is ugly. Headaches are ugly. When I have one coming on, my family tends to make themselves scarce, because- and I admit it- I’m not super pleasant to be around. It’s pretty obvious I am not in a good mood.
Now, we know pets also experience pain. They probably get headaches when their sinuses are all inflamed from allergies, just like we do. Since so many people leave them with mouths full of diseased teeth, a lot of dogs and cats are walking around with painful mouths, sometimes so bad that the infection can eat straight through the bone and cause an oronasal fistula. I can barely function when I get a brain freeze. I can’t imagine functioning with that kind of pain every day.
And yet the vast majority of animals suffer with pain quite stoically. A watchful owner will pick up on a listless pet, one whose appetite is diminished, maybe a dog a little slow on the stairs. Sometimes it’s translated as a pet that’s a little more grumpy than usual. In extreme situations- pets hit by cars, or those recovering from major surgeries- the signs of pain are clear and unmistakable. The rest of the time, though, it can be easier to miss.
This is important to remember. Pets, unlike people, aren’t wussies.
We tend to evaluate our pets as if they were people. “Eh, he’s just slowing down” is a refrain vets hear at least ten times a day from owners who don’t think their dog’s subtle signs of lameness are worth a workup. Many times, that workup will turn up arthritic changes that, if it were one of us experiencing them, would have us slugging down Joint Juice, slapping knee braces on our tired joints, and smoking out the house with Icy Hot.
Another example: a dog with a subtle limp presented for an exam. The owner thought maybe she had bumped her thigh on a piece of furniture because she seemed uncomfortable when it was touched. Unfortunately, she had a tumor on her femur that had almost eaten through the entire bone by the time we found it. Osteosarcomas are known to cause an excruciating pain, and here is this dog, who just winced a little.
I think about those pets often when I’m laid up with a headache, and I made myself promise to remind all of you the way my own body reminded me that pain stinks. We are so fortunate to be in a place and time where there are many good pain control options for pets, but you have to know to be looking for the pain to begin with and bring it up with the vet. Because god bless them, pets are much nicer than we are when pain is involved.
Pain management, not just the medications available but the recognition that we need to do a better job identifying and managing pain in pets, is one area of veterinary medicine that seems to have progressed with leaps and bounds since I graduated, and for that, I am so very grateful.
Have your pets ever surprised you with subtle signs of discomfort? Any surprising outcomes?
As I alluded to in a post last week, I’m planning on travelling back to Tanzania in June for a project with World Vets. As you all know, or I think you mostly know, that was pretty much the most amazing experience of my life. And this is going to be different- it’s a working trip, not an anniversary trip I planned for two decades straight. I get that, and in a lot of ways it’s a relief- the pressure is off. I saw the chimps. I saw the Big Five. This time I get to just relax, do some good work alongside good people, and let Africa sink into my pores.
A friend once said to me, Africa is a place you either love or hate. You either get home and shrug with a confused “what was that?” look on your face, or you start planning your next trip. Well, making it back to a country in less than twelve months is a new record for me, so you tell me where you think I fall on that spectrum. I’ve had Africa on the mind since my feet touched ground back in October. (more…)
As you may recall, I spent a good portion of last week curled up in a ball in my bedroom, drowning my sorrows with cough syrup and muddling through a bizarre sequence of subsequent side effects that gave my malarone experience a run for the money. Note to self: I am, apparently, highly sensitive to all medications. That is what I get for trying the Tim Taylor “MOAR POWER” approach to pharmaceuticals and gulping down an extra strength extended release tablet of guafensin and dextromethorphan without thinking, perhaps I should try the regular strength first. My bad.
Well here we are, a week later experiencing what I can only describe as the world’s most perfect weather. It really is. And as much as I would love to be out running and hiking and drinking it all in, my still-sensitized alveoli can muster no more than a quick cruise around the block before starting to protest, so we make do with what we have.
And it’s a real shame, because I’ve had a review item I’ve been super excited about, the Kurgo Wander Pack, sitting on the table for several weeks, just begging to be used. So I relented, and put it on Brody for a test run, even though our adventure for the day was limited to a 100 foot perimeter around the house.
Brody is a big fan of my push to get us outside and moving as much as possible. I am a big fan of a product that allows him to share some of the burden of lugging along some of the things a dog might require on such an adventure. (more…)
There are lots of reasons I love living in San Diego. I could go on about it for days- the weather, the pet friendly atmosphere, the tacos… but today, I’m particularly grateful that I live in the same town as the Petco headquarters. For the second year, I was fortunate enough to be extended an invitation to the Petco Foundation Hope Gala. At this weekend’s fourth annual gala, the recipient of the Petco Foundation HOPE Award, which celebrates the spirit of hope through a life dedicated to promoting the pet human bond, was none other than the inimitable Ms. Betty White.
This is a woman who has had a long and successful career. At ninety, she’s got every right to sit back, ignore the rest of the world, and enjoy whatever it is she likes to hang around doing most. And yet here she is, not only working on a sitcom and multiple other projects, but she’s also continuing her life’s passion as an animal advocate. The proceeds from the gala, which had surpassed a couple hundred thousand dollars just based on the auction items alone, will go to Actors and Others for Animals, a California non-profit dear to Betty that provides spay/neuter funds and emergency assistance for pets across the state.
Like all good galas, there were tables upon tables of items for people to bid on in the silent auction portion of the event. Unsurprisingly at a Petco event populated by animal lovers, there was a particularly large section for the Pet items. (I tried to get my husband to bid on the 5 day trip to Paris for the Julia Child experience at Le Cordon Bleu, but no dice.)
Talented and lovely local artist Katy Helen of Katy Helen Art was there with a portfolio of her lively and expressive pet portraiture, and to add to the ambiance was actually working on a recent commission while she was at the gala. What a cool sort of energy to go into a portrait. (I also found out from her website that she does custom millinery, which given my fascination with fascinators could be a very dangerous piece of information for me to have at hand.) P.S. Her prices for custom pieces are really good.
And then there was the lady of the hour herself, Betty White. She didn’t come alone- Doris Roberts walked not three feet behind my chair, jaunty in a bright red suit; Ed Asner was there to offer support as well. The crowd was notably appreciative of this esteemed group of comedy legends.
And Betty didn’t disappoint. After the applause from her standing ovation died down enough for her to talk, she spoke to a rapt group about her love of animals that she’s had “for 90 years,” she said, then- “longer than 90 years, really- since the womb.” I recorded a bit of it, if you want to see how effortlessly she can throw in ad libs. 0:22 and 1:15 are my favorite moments. Love this witty woman.
After Betty spoke, Petco Foundation Executive Director Paul Jolly spoke from the heart about a special dog named Wonder, who touched his life all too briefly when he rescued her from the street only to find out she was in massive organ failure. I stared down at my plate while he spoke, thinking that after all these years hearing sad stories I should be able to hear one without sniffling, but who am I kidding. I always sniffle, and I always will.
And so did everyone else around me. That’s why everyone was there, because they care. And the generosity of those in attendance will make a real difference for many thousands of animals in the state. So thank you to Petco for the generous invitation, and to Betty for proving to me that there is no upper age limit for giving back, no need to ever retire from the job of making life better for others.
I stayed at Global for two out of its three day run, figuring hey, that would be plenty of time to plumb its depths. Yes, well, not so much. It took at least ten minutes just to walk from one side to the other; we’re talking 2,452 booths here. And me (yet again) without a good pair of flats. But at least I did bring a fairly decent pair of heels; the stilettos never made it out of the suitcase, sadly.
With that many products to check out, I know for a fact I missed more than a few, which of course means now I just have to make sure to go again next year- and bring my kid’s Razor scooter. In the meantime, here’s just a few of my favorite products I saw while I was there:
1. Old Soul Line from Planet Dog. Planet Dog has built a company around the concept of providing well designed dog toys with a social conscience. I was especially taken with the “Old Souls” line, thinking of Koa at home with her sad, decrepit mouth from years of prior neglect. It’s hard to find gentle toys for old souls like her.
2. Jellyfish Art. I’m the first to admit, I had no intention of visiting the portion of the expo hall reserved for aquarium items- until I actually saw it and said, Wow. This is the one item I stopped, took a picture of and sent to my husband with the word, “WANT.” A home jellyfish aquarium. Trust me, watching the little jellyfish serenely float about is an automatic blood pressure reducer. Still want, by the way.
3. Kane and Couture collars and harnesses. I spent several wonderful minutes chatting with Kane and Couture owner Amber Forrester, taken with her clever designs that were on-trend and inspired by current trends in the fashion industry. As an added bonus, she makes sizes for large fashionistas too- and you all know how often I complain that it’s hard to find items like that for big dogs. But I chose to feature this harness because it’s a truly unique item- made of comfortable and stretchy swimsuit material, this comfy harness is a great choice for dogs who need a harness but tend to chafe with the traditional strap construction.
4. Waglet Works Adventure Dog Gear. Founders Barbara and Artie brought their background in the movie industry to the canine world with this clever utility belt that allows you to customize your own system that gives you immediate access to whatever dog items you might need without having to wrestle with a big backpack. Bowls, treats, water bottle, poop bags, flashlight, all within easy reach and balanced on your hips instead of hanging off your shoulders. Count me in.
A second round is coming up, but in the meantime, I present to you the most perfect example I have ever seen of a puppy pile, spied at the Purina booth:
Understandably, passersby were asked not to pick up the puppies, but really, it’s times like these I am soooooo, so tempted to say, “I’m a veterinarian and I just really, really need to do a quick exam. Thanks,” and then run off for a couple minutes. (Bev will tell you from the BlogHer experience that I am good at that.)
Not much of a post today, I’m afraid. I’ve spent the last week trundling my youngest back and forth to Urgent Cares, doctor’s offices, and emergency rooms (twice in one day! hooray!) as we dealt with an ever-snowballing cascade of viruses, secondary infections, and tertiary allergic reactions to the medications sent to treat the secondary infections. It was a mess.
My husband ended up with pneumonia, on the eve of another overseas business trip.
And I fought it off as long as I could, until yesterday, when I woke up feeling like a hungover mess who fell down in the middle of the street, got run over five times, and eventually parked on by a large garbage truck. I spent all of yesterday alternating between consciousness and miserable sleep, glued to the sheets with that sheen of feverish sweat as my body gave a half hearted attempt to fight for my survival.
Today, I can sit up. That is a good thing. But this is the most I can manage to type.
But I’ll share some good news, that I can type quickly: I’m going back to Africa! I’m going on a trip with World Vets in June to help out the donkeys of the Maasai tribe in Arusha, Tanzania. So this is good, I will get all this garbage out of my system now so I’ll be good to go then.
Every now and then I get a sample of food for the dogs to try. As I’ve said before, I rotate through multiple brands, and if I’ve written about a specific food on the blog, it’s one I’ve given to the dogs at some point.
I don’t mind trying new brands- my local pet store just started carrying some new brands this week, and I bought a couple to try out. I’m not averse to new foods, as long as giving the label a good once over doesn’t give me reason to feel otherwise. I look for several things: (more…)
You all know Caroline Golon, right? She runs the amazing rescue site Romeo the Cat and the wonderful cat resource site The Happy Litterbox and the pet PR site HighPaw and she was one of the co-founder of BlogPaws and she’s a great mom to her adorable kiddos and a bunch of other things that, taken in total, make me realize how inadequate my contributions to society have been.
Anyway, I make it a goal to surround myself with incredible people like her because I always learn a ton from them- some may call it ‘parasitism’, but I prefer to think of it as ‘commensalism’. See, that biology degree comes in handy on occasion. And Caroline was kind enough to allow me to be her commensal organism while we were at Global Pet Expo.
Now, when you look at the technical definition of commensalism, it is this: commensalism is a class of relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits but the other is neutral (there is no harm or benefit). I am sure this is what she had in mind when we were making our plans- sure, I’ll let the vet chick hang out with me, what harm could come of it?
Then I started talking to her about a video. A simple concept, really. It would be the two of us, checking out some of the newest pet products at Global. She works in PR, this is right up her alley, I said.
Then we started tossing around ideas about how to make it, how shall I put it, “unique”…. and I waited for her to scrape me off her agenda like a dolphin might scrape off a wayward barnacle. But God bless her, she rolled with it and made it even better. I’m not sure if that counts as commensalism, humoring me, or just hoping maybe it dies a quick death on the blog, but I put it on YouTube, so now it will live in perpetuity.
What choice did I have? I do, after all, dearly love pet products. And you all know how far I’m willing to go to ensure a product lives up to my expectations.
So thank you, dear Caroline, for doing this bit with me. If nothing else, we gave a good number of vendors at Global a welcome respite from the boredom of their late afternoon with our camera and our slapstick. And say what you will, that bed was awfully comfy.
I’ve got plenty to tell you about all the great stuff I got to see at Global Pet Expo last week. I enjoyed it immensely. But before I get to the products and the pictures and the video (oh, the video is awesome) I’m going to tell you about all the celebrity spotting I got to do.
Admittedly, celebrities in the pet industry are a little different than celebrities on, say, the red carpet, but to me they are much more interesting. And there were plenty to be found at this show.
On Wednesday, I dragged myself downstairs promptly at 8 am to catch a shuttle from the hotel to the convention center. I was jet lagged, it was muggy, so I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to what was going on around me and I was mostly focused on getting on the correct bus. I nodded hello to the group who boarded ahead of me and plopped in the seat.
“I love your skirt,” said a beautiful, well-dressed woman sitting in front of me. She nudged her daughter, who turned around and agreed the skirt was very nice. “Where did you get it?”
“Anthropologie,” I said, because although I have a large collection of couture from Tar-zhay, I splurge every once in a while so I can look somewhat manageable at conferences and the like.
“What a shame,” she sighed. “We don’t have those in Idaho.”
“You could always get it online,” I said, and pulled up the website on my iphone. (more…)
One of the leading complaints that brings a pet into the vet is allergies. It is a complicated problem, and like all complicated problems, there are no easy answers. Some pets need special food, others respond to antihistamines, and some need very strong immune suppressants just to make it through the day.
Watching a pet lick and chew themselves raw is so sad and frustrating. All you want to do is help them get rid of that horrible, painful persistent itch. So you go to the vet, and lo and behold, you find out the diagnostic and treatment process is also a drawn out out and complicated deal. Allergies really stink. (more…)
I am sure Brody has a sense of humor. I can sense it in the twinkle in his eye, the way he waits until his chew toys are nice and soggy before dumping them in my lap. When I’m in a deep sleep, sometimes he rests his chin on the side of the mattress and stares at me silently, breathing doggy breath two inches from my face before I wake with a scream.
He’s full of ‘em.
Last night, with my husband far away, I flicked on the TiVO and watched the latest episode of the Walking Dead. Now, I keep telling people it’s not really about zombies as much as it is about people, but don’t get me wrong- there are a TON of zombies in the show. Scary, well made up zombies, shuffling, moaning, and slovenly, bloodily, violent.
Now I should know better than to watch it when my husband’s out of town, but I really wanted to know what happened in this episode, and I figured, it won’t be that bad.
Well, it was pretty bad. It’s one of those shows that lulls you into a false sense of complacency during a long monologue before a walker bursts through a broken pane of glass and grabs for someone’s throat. In this episode one of the characters was trapped on a schoolbus while the zombies screamed for his blood; we’re talking Nightmare on Elm Street bad, this episode. So now it’s the dead of night, and I’m curled up on the couch rueing my decision to watch this right before I needed to go to bed.
So of course, Brody gets ideas. He strolls, or stalks is maybe a better word, over to the back door. Now, we have no blinds or curtains along the back wall since it doesn’t look onto anyone else’s property, so at night it’s a pitch black wall of window that looks onto whatever emptiness or terrible things might be lurking out there, me inside bathed in a wash of light like vittles on display in the grocery store of the undead. Outside there could be nothing. A stray cat, perhaps. Or perhaps a walker, jonesing for my blood.
Brody stares out into oblivion, and slowly, hair by hair, his hackles raise. And he growls, one of those low, drawn-out growls reserved for “something bad but I don’t know what.”
I look at him. “Brody, stop.”
He swings his head to look at me, stares back outside, and continues to growl.
I say it again, a bit more pleadingly. “Brody, stop. You’re freaking me out.”
He drops his head and presses his nose to the window, continuing his scary growl. Koa goes into the pantry. I contemplate joining her.
“Brody,” I say, backing into the kitchen. “No way am I opening that door. That door is all that stands between us and-” well, whatever it is that is freaking him out, which by now I have imagined is a flood of shambling grey animated corpses dropping over the low wall separating us from the neighbors and slowly, inexorably making their way to the back door.
He keeps this up for a good two minutes, during which I am powerless to do anything except wait. In my mind’s eye, the palm frond brushing the windowsill in the nighttime wind looks strangely like a skeletal finger, an image I can’t erase as my overactive imagination starts wondering just how much it hurts to get devoured.
And then, just like that, he drops it, then comes over wagging and leans into me for a pat like nothing’s wrong. “Good one, huh?” his body language says. I never did figure out what it was that was bugging him, because I immediately went upstairs and set the house alarm.
Normally I take the weekends as a time to unwind, refresh my brain, and get ready for the next week. Usually this is a doable thing. But, sometimes things get kind of nutty, and in those times there’s not much to be done except deal with it and let all the other things you’re supposed to do- like blog- fall by the wayside.
My husband left on Friday for a weeklong business trip overseas. It happens, that’s part of his job description. But it certainly provides for certain, shall we say, logistical difficulties when that weekend happens to be the same weekend as the annual Father-Daughter dance at school. Fortunately we have grandfathers who are happy to step in, and all is well.
I thought that would be the biggest challenge of the weekend, until I woke up yesterday to my son- who has been sick for close to a week with a nasty cold- holding his ears and screaming in pain. Being the typical health care provider that I am, I had to resist my normal inclination to say “If nothing’s falling off, you’re fine, here’s some Motrin” and actually consider that maybe he was really sick. Being without an otoscope at home, I had to suck it up and try to figure out where the nearest Urgent Care facility was and just how I was going to juggle that trip in to the day.
Which was fine, until same sick child looked up from his tear filled fingers to point at the water dripping from the ceiling, which unfortunately was not from anyone’s tears, but from what appears to be leak number 8,465 we’ve had in this horrid house. And I just did NOT have time for it, so I shoved a bucket under the faucet that is likely the source and crossed my fingers, and left the house. (more…)
My father- he’s the one to blame for that gene- and I both wound up holed up in a darkened, chilled bedroom like sides of beef left to cure, me pushing the limits of therapeutic index of Excedrin ingestion while he dialed his doctor back in California trying to score some Imitrex.
(I also found out from her website that she does custom millinery, which given my fascination with fascinators could be a very dangerous piece of information for me to have at hand.) P.S. Her prices for custom pieces are really good.
