In 2014, a young, vibrant woman named Brittany Maynard moved from the home in California she had known all her life so that she could die on her own terms in Oregon. Diagnosed with glioblastoma, arguably one of the most monstrous forms of cancer in this world, Maynard was willing to uproot her life, put her face out into the world, and share a most intimate decision with a universe of strangers in order to help people understand why someone might make the decision to hasten their death. With ... Read more »
Amidst the ashes and embers, a veterinarian saves the day
The fire came in the night, a storm without warning. At his home in Middletown, a small town of 1900 just north of California's idyllic wine country, veterinarian Jeff Smith ventured outside after the worst had passed to find only 8 of the 20 homes in his neighborhood survived the firestorm. With communication centers down, there was no way to determine when help was coming. He had no way of knowing what he was up against, or the fact that by this time only 40% of the structures in ... Read more »
Cat Lady Box: are you awesome enough?
When I say "Cat Lady," what do you picture? Or this? The old tropes die hard. And while those types of cat ladies are still out there, I'm sure, those of you who have been paying attention are probably realizing there is a new breed of cat lady out there. The Kate Benjamins and the Dorian Wagners and the Taylor Swifts, the crazy (and cool) cat ladies of the world. Though Jackson Galaxy may arguably be the most likely spokesperson for "Cat People Don't Look Like What You Thought ... Read more »
Heat Stroke is No Joke!
While a local news station was out at a park reporting on the death of a bulldog from heat stroke the day before, they came across another dog who was very close to heat exhaustion, if not stroke. This is despite the warning signs at the park entrance. Though you'd think people would get it by now, some people really don't. To make matters worse, the reporter spent time talking to the ranger about the dog's condition and showing them pouring water on him while neglecting to mention the number ... Read more »
Grief is a hot potato
Ever since I started this blog, and even moreso since writing All Dogs Go to Kevin, people write to tell me about their pets who are no longer with them. They used to apologize for writing, or say they weren't even sure why they were telling me about their pet, but most people don't do that anymore. I think they know that they don't need to explain. As followers of the blog know, I love birthdays. Birthdays are fun, and I love love love that my birthday coincides with National Dog Day. I ... Read more »
EOTW: Back to School for Brody One Ear!
Today we bring to you our second Ear of the Week: Yes, the kids are back to school this week, but why should they have all the fun? Just because a dog only has one ear doesn't mean he can't be fully functional. Really, in many ways this ear surpasses the original one. His old ear didn't have a pen holder, after all. He's already learned that the hat and the camera mean fun time and treats, so rest assured no one is more on board with this ear project that Brody himself. Now ... Read more »
SuperBrode is back- but now he’s BIONIC!
Our hero SuperBrode has been enjoying the relative peace and quiet of Muttropolis, lounging in semi-retirement. However, evil was afoot! The Malevolent Mast Cell Maniac was on the loose, wreaking havoc on SuperBrode and the good citizens of Muttropolis! When we last left our hero, he was recovering from their last vicious battle... SuperBrode survived, but it cost him dearly. Or should I say....D'Early? Nonetheless, he was well on the road to recovery- Something ... Read more »
Dear Pet Owners: Stop saying your pet doesn’t hurt!
If I had a nickel for every time a person said, "Oh, my dog isn't hurting, I can tell because he doesn't cry" I would have a nice little nest egg by now. It makes me nuts, because it's not true, and pets suffer for it. Have you ever been sore, or had a headache, or tweaked your knee? Did you cry every time you moved? Probably not. Acute pain, the type you get when you stub your toe on the doorjamb or slice your finger cutting lemons, is sharp enough that you might cry out "Oh !@$@$!# that ... Read more »
Ask Me Anything TOMORROW on reddit! (Plus reddit primer)
If you know and love reddit already, here's the short short version: Tomorrow (8/11/15) I will be on Reddit doing an AMA from 2-5 PST (5-8 EST) on /r/books. I'd love for you to join me! If you don't know reddit, you might need a more involved primer: What is reddit? Reddit is a website where people talk about, well, just about everything. Some people talk about football. Some people talk about cars. Others talk about knitting, politics, cat videos, just about anything under the sun. As a ... Read more »
Lend me your ear
Get it? Because we're short one over here. Warning: Blood ahead. When it comes to my dog, I am just as nuts as any other client. I can't think logically, I panic, I just gnaw on my fingernails and try to figure out what's the best thing to do. For this reason, I had no interest in doing Brody's surgery whatsoever and instead entailed the services of my friend, board certified veterinary surgeon Dr. Tracy Frey of Soft Surg and the lovely staff at Animal Urgent Care, who took amazing care of us ... Read more »
Pet Doctor Barbie and the Pet Food Dude
It's been a while since I've done a Pet Doctor Barbie post. It's past due for a new episode, yes? I think it's time for Pet Doctor Barbie to meet one of her self-appointed arch nemeses, Pet Food Dude. Episode 8 Hi Mrs. Sandford, good to see you and Muffin. It's been a while! I'm really glad you're doing housecalls now. I want to get Muffin's bump looked at again. OK, I'll just look at my notes here- 1 cm, top of head...mm hmmm... So where we left it one year ago was that you ... Read more »
Save tons at the vet! How to keep your dog from dying of cancer
As a veterinarian, I've seen lots of cancers: lymphoma. Melanoma. Osteosarcoma. Hemangiosarcoma. Mast cell tumors. Wait, those are just my own dogs I'm talking about. When I factor in my clients, I think I've seen it all. Dogs get cancer, at very high rates: about 50% of senior dogs die of it, if the statistics are to be believed. Why? Well, if you read overly simplified, graphics-intensive websites by people who really don't know what they're talking about, they will tell you that they know ... Read more »
The Big 5 of Vet Med: You know you’re a vet when….
If you have ever had the good fortune to go on safari, you know that everyone talks about the "Big 5": rhino, lions, elephants, cape buffalo, and leopards. The term was coined by game hunters and refers to the difficulty in getting all 5 because of their ferocity when cornered, but now is mostly used by safari operators as a virtual checklist of animals one must see in order to consider it a successful outing. When I was working on the book, I tried to pick out a combination of stories that ... Read more »
Painting the Roses Red
It's pub day! The book is out at long last! I really hope you all enjoy it- All Dogs Go to Kevin has truly been a labor of love. (That link goes to my new website. Did I mention I have a new website? It's been so busy around here I think I forgot.) Last weekend I went to Warwicks to sign the preordered books. Brian and the kids were at ComicCon, so I went to Warwicks by myself. It was a short task, no more than 20 minutes, so I couldn't figure out why I was so bummed about going alone, and ... Read more »
Balancing the scales in medicine
I am becoming increasingly convinced the communication gap between veterinarians and clients is the number one problem we've failed to solve. We're just not on the same page a lot of the time, it seems, and it makes me sad. I can't read a single article online without coming across "veterinarians are money grubbing pigs that suck" (true blog title) and someone else saying "if you can't afford x/y/z/q you shouldn't have gotten a pet, jerk." I feel as though this is perhaps a bit extreme, but it's ... Read more »
The calm before the storm
Oh my goodness. One week from tomorrow and it's going to be one of the most important days of my life: right up there with graduating, getting married, having my kids. I will be an official published author. Aieeee! I dreamed of this long before I thought about going to veterinary school, back when I was seven and I pulled every book off my shelf and artfully arranged them around the house playing bookstore ( Or was it library?) When I sat under the kitchen counter reading National ... Read more »
Charity Treat: Newflands Hoki Oil and AFARNYC
Perhaps you are the magnanimous sort. "Dr. V," you say, "I ordered the book but I don't need the free Halo or Sleepypod stuff or PetHub tag or Dog + Bone collars or Groom Genie or any of those items you are giving away, not even the awesome little activity book with coloring pages and a word search featuring ANALGLANDS and DEMODEX." You are an ascetic. You don't have a pet. You're decluttering. OK, I get that. But surely you aren't opposed to a donation in your name, right? I have a ... Read more »
Safe and styling travel: The Auto treat featuring Sleepypod Clickit and PeaceLovePaws!
It's summer- heck, the fourth of July is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, and you know what that means. Traffic. Sitting on the road. Making sure your pet doesn't get carsick. That sort of thing. Carsickness aside, the biggest risk to pets with travel is the danger of an unsecured pet- for the pet himself, and for you. Unsecured, a pet is a projectile during an accident, and even in minor crashes there is a very high rate of injury when pets escape and run into traffic. Even a ... Read more »
