My true love gave to me: Two turtles, Dove And a cat messing up my new tree! (Thank you Heather for sharing your awesome crew! I'm always so impressed when people pull of the literal translation) ... Read more »
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On the first day of Petmas
My new pet gave to me: ... Read more »
She might have a Caesar
One part of being a medical professional that no one really prepares you for is how to deliver bad news. If you watch those who have done it long enough (read: emergency doc) you'll see the professional approach: sterile, blunt, quick. You have to do it that way, because you have a bunch of patients still alive to attend to. OK, not this blunt: But that's a learned skill. Those who haven't done it as frequently have obvious tells: the grimace when your hopeful face meets their eyes, the ... Read more »
A Veterinarian’s Holiday Wishlist
I usually spend this time of year making up wishlists for dogs and cats, and with a new kitten in the house, there's plenty she could be interested in finding under the tree (though for her, the tree itself is present enough). But then I saw a few things that I just had to stick on my Amazon Wishlist, and because I thought they were awesome I thought some of you out there might find them awesome too. If you want to get that special vet in your life something that blows the lid off a "I love ... Read more »
The Secrets to Saving Money at the Vet
Hoo boy, that 20/20 piece sure stirred up some emotions, didn't it? And it's Thanksgiving, a week of gratitude, so I'm going to take a step back and say thank you to all the wonderful readers and colleagues who make writing this worthwhile. In honor of that, I'm going to take a moment and also share with you some of my own veterinary secrets. For the low low price of nothing, I want to explain to you what I believe, based on over a decade now in the field, is the best way to save money at the ... Read more »
Some Veterinarians Sell Unnecessary Online Memberships By Throwing Colleagues Under the Bus
Some Veterinarians Sell Unnecessary Shots, Tests to Make Extra Money, Says Former Vet Did you see this bit on 20/20 this weekend? Ah, media. Titled "Veterinary Confessions," the piece follows a couple of dogs through a series of veterinary visits where different vets offer different services based on their clinical experience, interspersed with the contrite admonitions of a former veterinarian who says that he was, before he relinquished his license (more on that later), the medical ... Read more »
Better With Pets
Hardened criminal. Swimsuit model. New media revolutionary. NPR host. Animator. What do they all have in common? Their lives have been made better by having a pet. And we're not talking oh, I have a cute cat and I sometimes feed it and it makes me chuckle, I'm talking about people whose lives have been profoundly affected by the animals in their lives. I assume if you're here reading this blog, you feel it too. Something about the bond between ourselves and our pets goes way beyond the ... Read more »
Paws for the Philippines: The Power of One
You, right now, are needed. By now we have all seen and heard about the devastation wrought in the Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan. The stories are almost too much to bear. If you're wondering why the media hasn't been more active covering the story than they have been, it's because everyone is still trying to get there. It is BAD. Bad, bad, awful, nightmarish. My heart goes out to those many souls and I will, as always, make a donation to the Red Cross to help the human ... Read more »
Thank you, even for that.
This week my Facebook newsfeed has been filled with friends listing, day by day, those things they are thankful for. Health. Family. Security. All good and wonderful things, and what a lovely sentiment to take a moment out to acknowledge how fortunate we are to have what we do. I like that. I think it's safe for people to assume I am thankful for my family and their health and the nice things I am lucky to have, absolutely. But I think a more interesting question is this: What are you ... Read more »
The day of our dead
It's one of my earliest memories: kneeling on the soil next to my grandmother in her lush front yard just to the left of her Mary on the half shell, her hair tied back with her ever present babushka. She clips a dead marigold and hands it to me. I look at it, brown and crinkly in my hand, then look up at her in askance. "Look," she says, and peels back the dead leaves. Inside, a pocket of seeds spills into my hands. Mary- I called her Babcia, because in her native Polish that is how you say ... Read more »
