First of all, please don't forget the big Be the Change for Pets initiative starts this week! The Facebook page also has information, but as a reminder: sell something, at a garage sale, craigslist, ebay, whatever you wish. If it is posted online we will have a linky list so that everyone can list their sales. Then donate your proceeds to the shelter of your choice- it's that simple! If you have questions, you can ask here or over at Facebook. We're here to help! Secondly, I'm in ... Read more »
Two Words for the Newbie Vets
Ah, it's that time of the year: department stores filled with tacky ruffled prom dresses, florists hawking overpriced leis, parents secretly rubbing their palms in glee at the idea of their kid finally being out of the house come September. It's graduation, a rite of passage as old as time, a celebration of - hmmm, I wouldn't say "knowledge" so much as "managed to pass everything", but what do I know. I do know that the more advanced your education, the scarier graduation becomes. ... Read more »
Virtual Vets: A Guest Post from VetLive.com
You Google your pet's symptoms. I know. Everyone does. Sometimes you get a helpful nugget of info, other times you find yourself dousing your pet with kerosene or Lysol spray, all because you read it on the net and it seemed like a good idea at the time. The internet it here to stay. Any vet who thinks their entire client base is going to rely on them to be their sole source of veterinary health information is either sadly misinformed or has an incredibly trusting group of clients. There's ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: Hugs
Playing with Hipstamatic on a lazy afternoon. ... Read more »
Trade Secrets
I was reading the most interesting thread last night where people were talking about their profession and then throwing out one or two little known nuggets that might be interesting to people. I loved that (though the stories from the airline pilots were frightening.) So I figured hey, it's Wednesday, why not share some lesser known tidbits about my own experiences with life in practice: I use less math than you'd think. The most complex calculations I need to do on a regular basis involve ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Frolicat Dart!
Congratulations to our winner, Jason! I hope the kitties and the puppy love it!! Diet and exercise, the dynamic duo of weight loss. For us humans, the activity possibilities are endless. For dogs, there are activities as complex as agility or as simple as a walk down the street. For cats....well, good luck with that. Maybe you can dangle a feather. Maybe they'll like one of those ball in a wheel things. Getting a cat to exercise is about as simple as, well, getting a cat to exercise. ... Read more »
A Tale of Two Birdies
There is something strange that comes over you when you become a mother. I don't limit myself to the idea of giving birth as the only way to inherit the title- as we all know, being a parent comes in many forms. The act of accepting responsibility for another living being sets upon your shoulders a weight that, despite its heaviness, you could no more bear to shrug off than your own skin. We've all heard and seen remarkable stories of mothers in nature doing tremendous things in defense of ... Read more »
Top 10 Reasons Being a Pet Mom Rules
As Mother's Day approaches, I look forward to the carefully painted foam picture frame and the 10 inch bead bracelet my kids have made for me and not so carefully hidden away. I also can't wait for the gummy omelet and watered down mimosas at the overcrowded Mother's Day brunch. I mean that sincerely. It is a rite of passage shared the world over, born of love and gratitude, and I wouldn't trade my lot in life for the world. That being said, coming into my seventh Mother's Day as an ... Read more »
Stay thirsty my friends
I have a sneaking suspicion that Cinco de Mayo may not be as big of a deal elsewhere as it is here in Southern California. This was recently confirmed by my co-worker whose family is from Mexico. "We never celebrated it until we came to the States," he said. "But I'll take any excuse for a beer." Which pretty much sums it up for the rest of us, I think. Cinco de Mayo, which is not technically a celebration of Mexican independence so much as the celebration of one key victory- and beer- is a ... Read more »
Wordy Wednesday: VIT (Very Important Tigger)
I decided to forego the standard title and just concede that I can't do a wordless post. There's just too much to explain, always. In this case, this is what happens when you have a punch-drunk team of veterinary volunteers under the influence of malarone, equatorial heat, and a little too much free time while waiting for the real surgeries to get checked in. Welsh volunteers Luke Marriot and Katherine Mock, two intrepid and extremely thoughtful explorers who stopped in to the Amazon Cares ... Read more »
Sell your Stuff, Save a Life!
It's time for another Be the Change Challenge- and this one is really cool! Let's call it "The World's Biggest Garage Sale." The concept is straightforward: Sell something- anything- and donate the proceeds to your animal-related charity of choice. It's that easy. ... Read more »
The Perfectly Glorious Petco Gala
"I wish we lived in a world where caring for animals wasn't so rare that it deserved an award." -Ellen DeGeneres There are innumerable ways people can show how they love animals. Of all the things I've learned since I've started blogging, this has really struck me the most. I ended up becoming a veterinarian because it seemed like a logical step for a pet lover, but I see other people serving in their own ways every day: accountants, marketing reps, artists. Everyone has a gift to ... Read more »
The Tube of Awesome
After 5 days back in the comforts of home, I've become mildly alarmed at the state of my arms. I thought my various bites and lesions would be resolved within a few days, but here we are Friday and I still look like I have chicken pox. Yes, it's better, but it's still enough for me to get the stink eye if I don't cover up when I go outside. They're getting better, no doubt, and within another week or two I'm sure I'll be back to normal- but I'm over wearing long sleeves and pants. It's in the ... Read more »
Faceplant
I didn't have a lot of wiggle room when it came to planning this trip to Peru. I departed on Friday after my daughter's last day of school before Spring Break, and came back the day before class resumed. Assignments, classwork, summer camp registration and everything else was kind of shuffled to the side to be dealt with when I came back. I'm not averse to hitting the ground running, as that's pretty much been the story of my life for thirty-something years. Land at 9 pm, grab a couple hours ... Read more »
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Amazon
I have a couple of posts I wanted to direct specifically to people heading down for future volunteer trips with Amazon Cares, since I know there are multiple people reading this who are planning on going to Peru. Please feel free to e-mail me directly with questions if you are considering going! The rest of you, sorry, this might be dull. Before I headed off to Peru at the start of the month, I really had no idea what to expect. I'm not much of a backpacker or camper so I was starting off ... Read more »
Attitude Adjustments
It's been an oddly disquieting 24 hours. You know how they always say a modest life in an industrialized country is a life of untold wealth and riches in the third world? It's true. I mean, it's something you know on an intellectual level, but to experience it, and to live within it for even that short period of time, really cements the impression. Indoor plumbing? Luxury. Hot running water? Absolute decadence. A house with more than one toilet and multiple bathtubs? Palatial, really, by the ... Read more »
The River of Destiny Trailer
Now that I made it back to the luxury of my couch, my Brody-pillow and my reliable plumbing it feels like a dream that I spent the last 2 weeks in the backwoods of Peru. 24 hours ago, I was scratching my bug bites in a third world airport while trying to convince a ticket agent from LAN that 12:40 does not equal midnight and that my ticket was indeed changeable for a nominal fee, all while wishing desperately for a Starbucks. Tonight, I got to enjoy Easter with my family while scratching my ... Read more »
The Suite Life
In my world, surgery is always done in the same sort of suite: sterile, with bleached floors, bright fluorescent lights that shine with blinding precision upon what needs to be illuminated, and an ergonomic table that can be lifted to the exact height one needs to eliminate those pesky hunchback issues during surgical procedures. Needless to say that is not really the case here in Peru. Here, we stack benches in old schoolhouses, cover pool tables with plastic, and balance a plank on a ... Read more »
