I actually have an Ask Dr V segment I did yesterday that covered my favorite travel items I'm packing. I filmed it. Did I edit it? No. Am I out of time? Yes. So, I guess I can just tell you, though that lacks a certain visual impact, that I refuse to leave without having my buff (of course), my quick dry undies (some places in Africa won't launder women's undergarments), my Steri Pen to kill any garbage in the water, and jelly bellies. A long time ago when I was running a lot and was ... Read more »
Inside Natura: The Clean Machine
Last week I finished my last dose of typhoid vaccine (interesting fact: typhoid, if you did not know, is a type of Salmonella.) Not fun, but much less unfun than typhoid itself, I'm sure. Around the same time, I received an email from the World Vets team leader, whose job entails not only running the clinic but making sure the newbies don't get into trouble abroad, reminding us that no matter how adventurous we might be, the street food in Tanzania must not be consumed. "One word," she said. ... Read more »
Come, all ye sinners, and participate in the blog
Someone who shall remain unnamed stole a rather sizeable piece of chicken off someone's plate yesterday. By the time the transgression was discovered, the chicken was long gone and one food allergic cat was smacking his lips in a self-satisfied grin. For a bit, at least. Lest you wonder how rapidly the symptoms of a food allergy can come on when a pet ingests an offending allergen, I present to you Mr. MangeLegs: That silvery glimmer over his shoulders is reflected light, but that grey ... Read more »
The life of a doggy lifeguard
A few weeks ago, I got an email from Peter Noll, one of the local big kahunas in the surf dog scene. He got my name from none other than Judy Fridono, otherwise known as Surf Dog Ricochet's owner, and they were wondering if I might be interested in hanging out at the Purina Incredible Dog Surf Dog challenge last Friday just in case there was a dog in need of a veterinarian. And you know, I would have gone anyway just to watch, so this was icing on the cake since I got to go and tangentially feel ... Read more »
Happy World Oceans Day!
June 8th is World Oceans Day. How fantastic is that? I love the ocean. It's impossible to live in San Diego and not think about it on a regular basis. I run by it, glide over it in a kayak, fret about great whites coming to eat me in it, and yes, even go in it sometimes. I even got PADI certified in college when I was studying marine biology, but I didn't keep up with diving because, well, not a lot of good diving in Davis when I got to vet school. Fear of sharks aside, there is ... Read more »
Welcome home, Sugar Bear
For those of you who were around this fall, you'll remember I did my blogathon Blogpocalypse from the Alpine sanctuary Lions, Tigers, and Bears, in the company of lions, tigers, and bears. At the time they were just about to finish construction on a new bear habitat, but there was still just a few weeks left before the bears went in, which meant I got to hang out in it. It's since been completed, much to the delight of Blossom, Delilah, and Liberty. Founder Bobbi Brink has continued her ... Read more »
Wellness Wednesday: Stop and smell the lizards
I leave for Africa in NINE days. That means you have to listen to me prattle on about how excited I am for NINE DAYS. But come on, if a genie popped out of a lamp and said, "look, I'm a little restricted on what I can give you but if I send you back to Tanzania to help out some donkeys for a week would that be cool?" I would pretty much throw myself into his discorporeal arms and breathlessly exclaim that this was EXACTLY what I would have wished for. So yes, I'm excited. I'm also nervous, ... Read more »
Hey Internet: Normal Sized Cats are Cute Too
The internet is obsessed with cats. We all know this. But for some reason, it is particularly obsessed with fat cats. I'm not talking slightly round, I mean morbidly obese balls of fur with little eyes peering out in mute supplication. Pictures of people holding a 25 pound cat dangling helplessly from their arms like a kid in a snow suit are especially popular. And then they become news items like Meow, who would have been just another sad shelter relinquishment except for the fact that ... Read more »
Friday Tip: Nip that pull!
Today I have the pleasure of introducing Andrea Kuska from Rocco's House, who is here today to give you her top trick for training a dog to stop pulling on a leash. As anyone who has eyeballs will attest from being out and about, there are lots and lots and lots of dogs who love to drag their owners down the sidewalk, up the hill, through muddy puddles and across fields in search of squirrels. Working on this will help you, your dog, and most importantly, your rotator cuff. Stop ... Read more »
World’s Worst Obligate Carnivore
Every once in a while I do something strangely domestic, like spend an afternoon making marshmallow Legoman head pops for my kid's birthday. I am not one who normally functions in that realm of aprons and the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, so this is, like, a big deal. For me to spend an afternoon with my printed out instructions from Bakerella and a Michael's bag, that represents a big commitment. So needless to say, I was very protective of these marshmallow pops. They have to make ... Read more »
Inside Natura: Meet your feed
My friend Susi, who has a habit of asking very interesting and pointed questions, posed a great one to the people at Natura on our tour last week: What's the difference between Natura foods and Eukanuba? Now, the guy answering the question works for Procter and Gamble, which owns both brands, and they position themselves similarly in terms of the type of person who might buy them, so I was very intrigued to see how he would answer it. He gave a sports analogy. On one side of the coin, you ... Read more »
Game of Bones: Casting call
Best show on TV. Only thing better are the books. I tried to convince myself that my life would be complete without doing a take on Game of Thrones, but I simply must. I MUST. Problem is, I have three pets and, as you know if you're a fan, Game of Thrones has about 154,657 characters. I don't need that many, but I do need more than three. So I'm putting out a casting call- a few of you have already noted you have a mastiff that would work as Gregor, that sort of thing. I think this is ... Read more »
Happy Memorial Day
A happy Memorial Day to all of you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the men and women and families who give so much so that I can do things like to go my mother in law's beautiful yard and take pictures of the dog. We have it pretty good here. ... Read more »
Inside Natura: Part One
What makes a pet food good? How do you pick a pet food? I'm genuinely curious. The number of choices out there is dizzying, isn't it? It's one of the biggest challenges of being a pet owner, standing in those aisles, peeking up and down at the bags and trying to figure out based on the information we have at hand what is going to be the best choices for our pets. But where do we get our information? From our own research. From the guy in the pet store. From the vet. From the company who ... Read more »
The Amazing Shelter Drive-By: Guest post from Pets Adviser
I am SO excited to share today's guest post from Kristine Lacoste at Pets Adviser! She wrote to tell me how she was inspired by our talk of shelter drive-bys to do one herself, and it was a huge hit. Thank you Kristine for sharing this with us- and make sure you see what Pets Adviser is offering for others who do the same! An article I read recently had an idea that kept coming to mind, and I wouldn't be satisfied until I implemented it. Dr. Jessica Vogelsang ("Dr. V") of ... Read more »
Free twins with home purchase
So yesterday my husband walks in the front door with his elbows over his head like he's dodging a barrage of garbage at a hockey game. "The hummingbird had a baby again," he said. "She's divebombing me every time I go out to the car." But he was wrong. She didn't have a baby. She had babies, two miniscule little beaks pressed skyward from the safety of their golfball sized itty bitty nest. It's charming, almost enough to make me sad about the fact that our house hasn't sold yet. ... Read more »
It’s Dog Bite Prevention Week: Three Top Tips for Preventing Bites
May 20-26th marks National Dog Bite Prevention Week, to help educate the public about the nearly 5 million dog bites that happen every year. The event is hosted by the American Veterinary Medical Association in conjunction with other groups that commonly deal with the consequences: postal service workers, pediatricians, plastic surgeons, and insurance carriers. A few facts from the AVMA that you may or may not know: 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites every year Of ... Read more »
Oh, the places in the Midwest you’ll go
When I was in college, I worked for a very prestigious urologist. I think most of you remember that. The Viagra researcher from Beverly Hills. Anyway, he had a beautiful office in Santa Monica, a home in Beverly Hills, and as a pre-eminent ED expert he was flown to male sexual dysfunction conferences all over the world, you know, Bora Bora, Fiji, Reykjacik, where he would stand flanked by, and I'm not joking, two enormous blue pillars and talk about how Viagra would change the world. (Well, he ... Read more »
