How now, spirit! whither wander you? Over hill, over dale, Thorough bush, thorough brier, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire, I do wander everywhere. I have an exposition of sleep come upon me. ... Read more »
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Comment of the day
I go on autopilot sometimes, as we all do when we're performing an activity we have done with some degree of repetition. Today, I was reciting my usual spiel to an owner who adopted a cat from a shelter who had, as is often the case, an upper respiratory infection. One of the common causative agents is the feline herpesvirus, and for that reason many veterinarians recommend L-Lysine (an amino acid) as part of the treatment regime. "So in conclusion," I summarized, "you should get some Lysine ... Read more »
I don’t need no stinkin savings account
Brody arrived at my house with nothing but his vaccine record, a generic collar, and the fur on his back. When I adopted Emmett and Mulan, there wasn't a whole lot by way of internet shopping available- at least not to the extent there is now. While there are certainly myriad options to be found at the local stores, the stuff available if you do a little searching online is so very much cooler. My Brody's wishlist is growing day by day. This dog is going to be spoiled. 1. What dog would ... Read more »
A happy, albeit indignant, ending
If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there is someone for every dog. Even if you could not possibly understand how someone could live with the snorting pug/the yelping chihuahua/the loud Dobie, someone else not only understands, but adores it. Skippy came in for one last visit today. I had offered to get him caught up on his boosters for his new owners, one last time to see him before he headed off into the great wide yonder. When last I saw him, he was a vaguely Yoda-like creature ... Read more »
Cower before me, foolish mortals!
You sure do see some interesting things on the internet. Some of it is good, some of it is equivocal, and some of it is downright messed up. One of the advantages of having my own vet blog is getting to climb up on my soapbox and rant to the ether in response. So. Here I sit, perusing Twitter, my puppy curled up by my feet. Oh look, another I hate Michael Vick T-shirt. A link to a cute cat. Someone had a bad day with an aggessive dog. And then in between those innocuous twitters was ... Read more »
Happy Day!
I just got off the phone with Reggie's foster dad in Phoenix. He arrived safe and sound and is already making friends with the four dogs who live there permanently. He will be seen by a vet there soon for a checkup and a more thorough medical evaluation than we were ever allowed to do by his previous owners. Looking to a happier tomorrow... Now that he's safe and sound, I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. The doggie angels at Another Chance for English Setters made this all ... Read more »
What were we thinking?
Ah, freedom. I have just gotten to the point where my kids sleep through the night. This is the first time since, oh, 2004 that I have had the luxury of sleeping in every once in a while. My son is just about potty trained and I was looking forward to a life free from diapers, with a tad bit more independence. Then I got a puppy. Oy. I haven't raised a puppy since, oh, the early 80s. My parents got a Lhasa-something-or-other from a neighbor, which we had for 15 years and did just about ... Read more »
It takes a village to save a dog
I have a newfound respect for rescue workers. Not that I didn't have respect for rescue volunteers before, mind you. I think I just forgot how much dang work rescuing can be. I was part of a group in vet school that rescued dogs from shelters, put them in foster homes for 12 weeks, trained the dogs once a week, and at the end of the 12 weeks adopted them out. I was just one of the adoption coordinators and it was a ton of work, happily done but work nonetheless. We had a dog at our clinic who ... Read more »
Conversation of the day: Shaken, not stirred
I was chatting up an owner today and talking to him about his dogs. Both dogs and owner were nice, genial types. The owner started talking about his history with dogs growing up. "My first dog died at 16," he said. "A boxer." "Wow," I said, genuinely impressed. "That's a great lifespan for a boxer!" "Yup," he replied. "She died of cirrhosis." "Uh oh," I said, "An alcoholic, eh?" "Yes," he said, "She really was." I laughed. "Mom made three martinis a day- one for her, one for ... Read more »
Brodo
Thank you for all the congratulations! I'm still reeling a bit myself. Normally I'm against surprising anyone with a puppy, but when that anyone is me, and I've been lamenting my dog deficiency since January, I'll make an exception. I tried to come up with a list of things that would surprise me more than my husband showing up with a Golden puppy this weekend. There isn't much. My husband joining the priesthood My husband getting into the space program My husband renouncing his ... Read more »
