OK. I'm doing it. This is nerve wracking. I have no idea how I'm going to stay coherent for 24 hours straight! But it's for the animals, it's all for the animals, right? So here's the deal: I chose a local shelter to fundraise for, the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA. Starting Friday at 6 pm, I will make one post an hour until Saturday at 5 pm, when I'll curse, collapse in exhaustion, and try to get myself together for the conference I need to go to on Sunday afternoon. Sacrifice, people. ... Read more »
Blog
National Shelter Appreciation Week!
It's National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week! November 1-7 marks a week to honor the people who do so much for some of our most vulnerable animal friends. It is a tough and often thankless job. Romeo, the wonderful cat fundraiser extraordinaire over at Romeothecat and founder of the pawparty on Twitter, has issued a challenge: do something. Anything. So, I'm trying to come up with ideas. I was mulling a Brody calendar (or even better, a calendar of multiple pets we've come to love) but I ... Read more »
Be grateful this post has no pictures
I was going to tell you about my day, about the poodle who collapsed in full blown anaphylactic shock 5 minutes after getting rabies vaccine and how insane it was, but to be honest I'm a bit exhausted so I wanted to cover an inane topic instead. I found one. My normal days, the ones without those life threatening allergic reactions and the like, are composed to a very large degree of three things: ears, skin, and poop. Because of that, you get inured to it after a while, and when someone ... Read more »
Ode to the Ocelot
I have a black cat. Most of you met him a couple of weeks ago. His name is Apollo. We also call him Squeaks, Smelly, and "STOP MEOWING AND GO TO BED I ALREADY FED YOU!" When we adopted him, I had the brief uneasy rumbling that being mildly superstitious might bring when one adopts a black cat. It didn't last long, though. Honestly, black cats seem kind of lucky to me- as my neighbor so ominously noted when we first moved in, "the black ones last longer." (If you don't know what I am ... Read more »
On being a diplomat
Wars are won and lost on the powers of diplomacy. Some people are born with the gift, while others need to work at it. Some people never learn. We all have one of those acquaintances, the one who is proud of "telling it like it is"- the one who says your butt looks big in those pants, she can tell you gained a few pounds, your new haircut makes you look like a Chia pet, and that your kids are being hooligans. Those people are usually pretty lonely, as a general rule. Such champions of the ... Read more »
Dr. Pansy at your service
"Well, Ranger looks great," I said to his owner, straightening up and brushing off my pants. "His pyoderma is completely cleared up." "Great," said the owner, an older guy- maybe a few years into retirement. "Hey doc, since you're here-" he held up his hand- "do you think this is blood poisoning?" I peered at his finger and reflexively gave the stock answer I am required to provide when asked for human medical advice. "I don't know. You should ask your doctor." I looked more closely at the ... Read more »
CSI: San Diego
Officer, we've had reports of a serious crime at the home of Dr V. while she was out on vacation. Our forensics expert is examining the victim, one wooden toybox. It's gruesome. I've seen a lot in my years, but this one still unnerved me. How could anyone do this to a poor defenseless box? Make sure the kiddos aren't looking over your shoulder. Dear God! Can someone cover this with a sheet? We've nabbed the perp, a cocky little guy who seems to think we got nothin' on him. ... Read more »
Aiming to not meet your expectations
Just so you all know, my daughter was constipated and not inoculated with H1N1. Being grateful that my kid is constipated is a first in this household. Pass the Miralax! We had a new client today- well, let me rephrase. Potential new client. He made it clear to the receptionist that he has interviewed 4 veterinarians already to see who he would choose to spay his dog, and I quote, "none were up to his exacting standards." He was here for a consultation to maybe do the spay with us. Gratis, of ... Read more »
Flu, flu everywhere
I'm not sure if it's the media, the hype over the impending swine flu H1N1 pandemic, or the fact that things really are bad this year, but we simply can't escape talk of the flu, can we? In my town, a healthy little 5 year old girl came down with H1N1 last week, and died. Where I'm not normally the kind of person to hover over my kids and go running to the doctor at every little sniff, this week I'm on edge. And hovering. Sniffle? Might be a cold. Might be swine flu. Stomach pains sending my ... Read more »
This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
When no less an auspicious blog than the Huffington Post tackles the topic of pet Halloween costumes, you know you're onto something. (Go look at the 3-headed weinerdog. It's awesome.) No longer do we need to hide in the bowels of PetSmart at Halloween, surrounded by other fringe element pet people. Pet costumes have gone mainstream- humiliate your pet with pride! ;) Eh, who am I kidding. The average dog loves the attention. Cats are perhaps a tad more debatable, but I digress. Before I had ... Read more »
