Pawcurious: With Veterinarian and Author Dr. V

Celebrating the truth that pets make people better.

Dr. V

An ode to O’Malley

by

Many years ago, at my very first job, I had the good fortune to meet a technician who was also to become a wonderful friend. We were young, both new to our jobs, and flush with the excitement of entering this field. We had new pets: I had Emmett, 2 at the time, and had recently rescued Mulan as a 5 year old. Amber had just adopted an adorable orange fluffball named O'Malley. O'Malley was many things: confident, sassy, a bit of a handful. And by "a bit" I mean "a majorly huge handful." He'd ... Read more »

Prediction is not his strong suit

by

As we all know, Brody has many talents. Eating, for one. Getting into trouble, absolutely. Jumping up on unsuspecting strangers? Check. Earthquake prediction? Yeah. Not so much. Scientists have long grappled with the question of whether or not animals can predict earthquakes. Dogs have reliably been trained as seizure prediction dogs and diabetic sugar level assistance dogs, but canine seismologists are a bit more of a stretch. Maybe there are animals out there with finely tuned vibration ... Read more »

Patchy the Pirate

by

This past weekend, I took my daughter to visit my sister in Las Vegas. Brody, Koa and Apollo were left to hold down the fort along with the menfolk. On Friday, I had my phone off for a little bit while we went to see "How to Train Your Dragon"- which, by the way, I highly recommend. We came out of the theater, I turned my phone back on, and saw this: 5 MISSED CALLS: IN-LAWS HUSBAND HUSBAND WORK IN-LAWS and two things popped into my head: 1. This can't be good. 2. ... Read more »

Humiliations Galore

by

To say it was an eventful weekend would be a bit of a understatement. This weekend was action-packed. However, I'm exhausted by all of it and I just want to enjoy my chocolate coma, so I'll leave all of that for later and for the moment, simply share the family tradition of humiliating the pets with festive holiday wear: Koa tolerates this, as with all things, with good humor. We will sit nicely but only if you promise great rewards. For Brody, liver treats will do the trick. In ... Read more »

Giveaway: Hoppy Easter!

by

And look at what the Easter Bunny has in his basket for you: Yaay! Fetching Tags! Since they were so admired last week, Jen generously offered to give a custom tag to a lucky reader who would like to be as fashionable as the pawcurious crew. To enter, go check out the site and comment below with what your pet's tagline would be. Treat Monster? Beach Bum? Who Tooted? :D You have until Sunday to enter. ETA: The winner, selected at random, is Angie and her pup Seamus! ... Read more »

Terror at the pet store

by

Today, on my lunch break, I was browsing my local pet superstore in search of a pair of Easter Bunny ears for Koa (no dice, by the way. I'm open to suggestions for where I might find some at this late hour.) Anyway, I ducked into the loo, and as I shut the stall door I heard a "scritch scritch" noise not unlike someone sweeping the floor. Scritch, scritch. Scritch, scritch. I look under the door. I do not see any feet. Scritch, scritch. Then a rat ran across my feet. ... Read more »

With age comes wisdom (sometimes)

by

A man and his daughter arrive with the daughter's kitten. The kitten is not feeling well, they tell me. She hasn't eaten for several days. I examine the kitten, who is dehydrated and depressed. Her belly is large and pendulous. "Where did you get her from?" I inquire. The shelter, they tell me as they watch me pull several cc's of straw colored fluid from her abdomen. We talk about FIP, a nasty disease with a very poor prognosis. The young girl, probably 7 or 8, nods solemnly. She knew ... Read more »

My Anaconda Don’t Want None

by

One of the prices we pay for living in paradise (aside from traffic, cost of living, and all of that manmade stuff) is sharing the land with the lovely rattlesnake. Generally speaking, they aren't too difficult to deal with if you are your average suburbanite- just leave them be. It's not like they're Boomslangs that drop randomly out of trees onto your head (I had nightmares after learning that little factoid); they sun themselves on rocks and other exposed places trying to be left alone. ... Read more »

Picture of the Week

by

Grandma's house is as close as a dog can get to heaven on this earth. The yard is one big lush garden, full of bright beautiful flowers, inviting bees to annoy, and a pool for a refreshing dip. Plus the caretaker is generous with the treats. I'm pretty sure the dogs would like to live there; sadly though, they are stuck with me. For all of this, there is a price. They must occasionally play along with our whims. Grandma is very fond of her flowers. They bear this willingly, for the most ... Read more »

Things to smile about: Fetching Tags

by

I had NO idea I had so many knowledgeable chicken experts reading this blog. Truly, thank you for the encouragement and all the fantastic links. I have my work cut out for me. I even found out my receptionist is on a similar chicken kick and she pointed me to a place that is selling 8 month old laying hens. Score! There are all sorts of things that put me in a good mood this week. I put new tags on everyone's collars, and they are seriously, seriously cute tags. Since people tend to frown on ... Read more »

I want a chicken

by

You heard me. I totally want a chicken. I blame Dr. Crosby over at AboutVetMed for putting the idea in my head in the first place- I had said something to the effect of, "I don't do birds," and she said, "But what about chickens?" and I had to admit I had never really given the idea much thought because as she correctly surmised, by "birds" I meant "parrots and cockatiels." ... Read more »

Teddy’s Pride Giveaway winner!

by

Using random.org, I came up with a number and here you go: Congratulations to Lindsay and her stinky pup Toby! This sounds perfect for my dog Toby. His breath STINKS. I got his teeth cleaned and it still smells. Lindsay, if you can send me a line through my contact info we'll get that out to you! ... Read more »

chompchompchomp

by

People ask me on a regular basis what kind of toy they should give their dog to chew on. We go through the usual: Bully sticks, rawhides, Greenies, Kongs (each with distinct advantages and disadvantages.) We eliminate the problem items I never recommend: pigs ears, cow hooves, dried femur bones. For the most part, we can find something that most dogs can use. Sticks, by the way? I don't recommend them. (My husband took this picture when I wasn't around.) About once a week, an owner ... Read more »