Humans For Sure Get Headaches A week ago, I decided I was going to stop drinking caffeine. Now if you know me at all, you know I adore coffee, more than almost anything else in life. If you cut my arm, skinny vanilla latte would pour out. The decision to give up my biggest vice was not an easy one by any means, but at the end of the day, health trumps pleasure, and I figured there's always decaf. I did what everyone tells you not to do, and just stopped cold turkey. Big mistake, ... Read more »
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Flashback Friday: Depressed Puppy
So I was looking through old Brody photos for a Flashback Friday and found this one: Which was awesome all by itself, and then I realized he was the perfect candidate for some captions. So I turned him into a Depressed Puppy Meme. Hope you have a better long weekend than this guy! ;) (If I recall the true sadness was not being allowed to chase my mom's hellkitty around) Feel free to make your own caption, they always entertain me. :D ... Read more »
Back to School Giveaway: Busy Treats Bag
Remember that Staples back to school commercial, the one where the dad was riding a cart around the store to "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?" That was me. The sad, dejected faces dragging around behind him? Not my kids. They like school. Brody, on the other hand...Brody is sad. He's lost his summertime playmates to the double whammy of school, plus homework and extracurricular activities. Having me around is OK, but it's not the same as the kids. And if your dog is anything like ... Read more »
The most seriously awesome thing ever: Part 1
Short Version About that champagne thing. Let me tell you what has been going on the last few months. Dr V is writing book in little less than half a year. So all I have to do is write the book, edit it, keep Brody alive, work, and add 4 hours to every day. After I plot the dethroning of the Evil Count AwfulSuperintendent here in my school district. Long Version When I was seven, my mother once punished me by sending me to my room for an hour. Three hours later, she came upstairs and ... Read more »
The Dude’s Guide to Losing a Pet
In my thirty something years on this planet, I've never seen my father cry. I think part of me assumed for a really long time that men simply just didn't feel things as intensely as women did, which of course is not true at all. As a society, men are pressured from the get-go to bottle up any sort of sadness or grief, hammer it down, force it inward. The very word "man up" sums it up: outward signs of sadness are feminine, wussy, and will get you devoured. I don't think it's inherently this ... Read more »
Fear Me: Fear Free Practice and You
My resting blood pressure, I assure you, is completely normal. I have to state this fact again and again every time I wind up at the doctor's office, when the nurse places the cuff and then pulls it off with a thoughtful wrinkle in her forehead. "It's not normally 200/140!" I plead, hoping she doesn't direct me to the closest ER. "I just get this way when I'm in the doctor's office." She nods, and we get on with our day. I have no idea why it happens, but apparently it's A Thing. I blame it on ... Read more »
The One Thing I’m Telling You Before You Have a Kid
There are few situations I dread more than a young couple with a new pet they refer to as "our child". I'm not talking every young couple with a pet, mind you, but specifically those that refer to him or her as a kid. Though you might expect these to be the most involved and conscientious owners, and oftentimes they are, just as often you see them about a year or two later with a stroller and a decidedly changed attitude. And then you don't see them at all. Note to Allison: You Personally ... Read more »
Some wins feel extra awesome
When I decided to go to Otovalo, Ecuador for the latest World Vets trip, I knew it had a reputation for being one of the most busy trips. How that idea of being busy actually translates into bone numbing exhaustion is another story entirely. Whether or not it was worth it depends on how you feel about what you have accomplished at the end of the day. Located at approximately 8,000 feet up in the Andes, Otovalo has a long history as one of the most important crossroads in the range. Unlike ... Read more »
The worst situation in the world
A couple of days ago, the wonderful Dr. Nancy Kay posted a story I hope all parents (human and pet) read about the trend of kids and dogs in pictures getting into potentially scary situations. If you haven't read it yet, she punctuated the apprehension she feels seeing pictures like this: And this: with a story from her own practice, where a parent disregards her attempts to help her children interact with their dog more safely. And the story ends, after the dog bites one of the ... Read more »
A Scotsman, a bulldog and a blonde walk into a spa…
I'm having one of those months where I think everything important is weeks and weeks away, and then all of a sudden it's coming up tomorrow and I am caught completely unaware. It's feast or famine 'round these parts. Take the last two weeks, for example. So. Two weeks ago, I went up to Los Angeles to shoot a segment for ABC's The Lookout. It's part investigative journalism, part consumer reporting, and part entertainment. My segment: costly accounting mistakes. Kidding. It's about ... Read more »
