Well, at least to the Americans. Everyone else enjoy your weekend. :) The Independence Day holiday is one of the busiest times for animal control officers and emergency clinics. More dogs get out of their yards on this day than on any other day of the year, for obvious reasons. Panicked dogs thinking they are under attack can do the most unbelievable things in their state of duress- destroy couches, jump 7 foot fences in a single bound, bust through sliding glass doors (for real!), then, all ... Read more »
For K
(K, I hope you don't mind me talking about you here- if so please let me know and I will remove this right away.) My heart is breaking for my friend today. She has a wonderful cat Bailey, whom she adores and spoils and overall just loves to pieces. Bailey has been having a rough go of it lately- what started as an upper respiratory infection turned into a frightening series of seizures. After a myriad of vet visits, referrals, clueless receptionists and a neurologist visit, K and her husband ... Read more »
And we are live!
Woo hoo! I am so excited to have my fancy schmancy awesome new website live! My website designer is probably excited too since this means I am done pestering and asking questions that make it apparent how very little I know about web development. In honor of this exciting occasion, how about a prize? Comment below with: 1. A story about your pet 2. The coolest feature of this new design or 3. A good joke (We can always use good jokes.) I'll toss all the names in a hat and let the ... Read more »
Stay Tuned!
Jon and Kate got you down? Need some good news to look forward to? I've got you covered. Stay tuned to pawcurious- I've been working with the fabulous Joelle at Moxie Design Studios, and the New and Vastly Improved site will be up and running shortly! I can't wait. It looks fan-tastic. Comments are disabled while the entries are being migrated to the new server, though my e-mail will still work if you have a pressing need to contact me, which I imagine you won't. If you need something else ... Read more »
Ah, continuing education
Like most (all?) medical professionals in our state, veterinarians have a continuing education requirement. I'm not against it at all. It's actually pretty staggering how much changes in the field from year to year. I've been out of school less than 10 years and I already feel like a grumpy old geezer when I go to these things- "Whaddya mean you're not supposed to use steroids for trauma? In MYYYYY day, we slugged those guys with 2 bottles of solu delt! And they LIKED it!" (needs to be said in a ... Read more »
Things Dogs Like
I've been wanting to take Emmett to dog beach in the worst way, but life keeps getting in the way. Emmett gets Very Excited at dog beach. The first time I took him was not two weeks after I brought Mulan home; I didn't know her too well so I was focused on her while we were there. Emmett went nuts. He was having the time of his life. So much so, in fact, that he followed his new doggie friend out of the beach, down the sidewalk and onto a busy road. The whole time I am running after, dragging ... Read more »
Pets CAN fly the friendly skies! (or, Woo hoo for real!)
How funny that I just posted last week about Southwest's new "pet friendly" policy, and one of the comments was to the effect of how nice it would be to have an airline where all the pets were welcome in the cabin. Ask, and ye shall receive! Voila- Pet Airways! Their prices seem pretty inexpensive to me (in the mid $100 range each way), especially considering the alternatives. Flying a pet in cargo certainly isn't cheap, nor is hiring someone to drive your pet if you cannot yourself. It ... Read more »
Question of the Day
Because there's always an interesting misconception to clear up here at the vet clinic. Every pet that has an anesthetic procedure at our clinic also has an intravenous catheter placed in one of their front legs. We leave it in until the patient is recovered, in case we need quick access for additional injections. We remove the catheter before the owner arrives, and place a small bandage on the arm which the owner is to remove at home. This is our standard discharge procedure. I spayed a very ... Read more »
It’s all a matter of perspective, I suppose
Today I had an appointment with Dr. White. She is a human doctor. I was lucky enough to find her in time for my second pregnancy. The doctor I had while I was pregnant with my daughter was all right, I suppose, but we didn't have much of a connection. When I asked him if I, as a veterinarian, should get a Toxoplasma titer done, he laughed at me (who does that to a pregnant woman??) and shook his head as if I had asked, "Do I need to be worried about alien abduction now that I'm pregnant?" Not ... Read more »
It’s summer time at the vet clinic
If there is one thing that is ubiquitous in this field, it is dogs with itchy skin. While many vets shudder at the ever present itchy dog, I kind of like it. Lucky for me, since dermatology represents something like one third of all the cases we see. I don't think it's boring. I think it's interesting. That being said, it's not always the most complicated case on the docket. We're not talking House, here. There are one or two scripts that play out over and over like clockwork starting every ... Read more »
No, no, no
I am admittedly a huge perfume-a-holic. I have an entire dresser drawer devoted to fragrances- bottles of various scents smelling of fresh ginger, sweet vanilla, fragrant gardenia. I can't help it. I'm hopelessly addicted. It's not the most practical thing to have on hand, for, much like high heeled shoes and dry clean only blouses, this just isn't something I can use at work. It would be cruel. Dogs, as you know, have noses that are much more sensitive than our own. They can sniff out corpses ... Read more »
Woo hoo, kinda
Southwest Airlines is allowing pets on board!* Finally! *-must fit under your seat -no more than 5 per flight -cannot go in cargo -counts as your carryon -$75 per pet -cats and small dogs only In other words, this is great news for....uh, Paris Hilton. And cat owners who want to take Fluffy to Vegas for the weekend. Oh well. It's a step in the right direction. ... Read more »
I only help small dogs from now on
I don't know why, but in my current neighborhood I always see dogs running around. I've never lived somewhere where it is this common. I'm not in the boonies, either- this is a densely populated suburban area where there are lots of cars zooming around, and it always scares me to see a dog trotting on the side of the road. They are owned dogs. I know this because I always stop and take them home. I can't help it. I keep a leash in the back of my car for just such an occasion. I do it because ... Read more »
When Daddy’s away, the kiddies will play….
My husband was out of town all week at some sort of conference thing. Although I miss him terribly when he's gone, I also admit there is a flip side to having the place all to myself for a few days. No arguments over the Tivo. I can watch all the reality TV I want. Eat whole wheat pasta and/or risotto without getting any grumbling. Reprogram the car radio to all top 40. The list goes on and on. Emmett and I decided to make the most of it. A little port to set the tenor of the week will do. ... Read more »
Ahoy!
I had a very nice new client today who brought his recently acquired puppy in for vaccinations. Tagging along were his roommates, two scarlet macaws. I was, to say the least, a bit apprehensive when I looked into the lobby and saw two large macaws perched on his shoulders like mini-feathered Sphinxes, but as long as I wasn’t expected to actually do anything with them, I was happy to have them visit. If I didn’t have confirmation from my co-workers that I was in fact seeing this, I ... Read more »
Call of the day
Phone rings. My tech answers: Tech: Hello, this is XXX Clinic, how may I help you? Kid: Do you have tapeworms? Tech: ....uh, not personally, no....what do you need exactly? Kid: So, well, we're doing a scavenger hunt and we need to find a tapeworm. I've already called 12 other vets and no one has one they can give me. My tech agreed to loan the kid a tapeworm from one of our plastinated displays on the promise of its safe return. When the kid showed up, she asked who the heck would have ... Read more »
Cast your eye this way
Have you ever stayed up late at night wondering to yourself, "What is the most common cause of broken bones in dogs?" No? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. Veterinary Pet Insurance, one of the largest providers of pet insurance in the country, reviewed 5000 claims from 2008 and summarized the most common causes as follows: 10. Car accidents. The truth is, most people don't securely restrain their animals while driving, and even accidents at low speeds can turn a pet into a projectile. 9. ... Read more »
Bittersweet moments
We had a busy weekend. Someone had a third birthday party, which meant a lot of fun. And cake. And boxes and trash, too. It was worth it. Everyone pitched in that afternoon to get the place cleaned up. And by everyone, I mean my husband and I, since the kids had too many new things to play with to be able to concentrate much on helping. They took off into the front yard with Emmett. What's this? Past the detritus, I mean. Yup. It's Emmett under a trash bag. The kids have a close relative ... Read more »
