One quiet Thursday afternoon, a young man in fatigues came running into the lobby, a beagle cradled in his arms. She was not in good shape. As it would turn out, Sandy had lymphoma. There was not much we could do, and the young man- a veteran of multiple tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan- made the difficult decision to euthanize her. Sensing the need for solitude, the staff cleared out of the room, leaving me alone with him and with Sandy. It was only then that he started to show his ... Read more »
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John Paul Pet Product Review and giveaway
Winners: Annette, Keighter, and Shannon! I will get those out to you as soon as I have your mailing info (you can send it through the contact form). Hope you like them! I had big plans for this post, but with THUNDERSTORM 2010 looming down it kind of put a crimp in my idea. (Read: we get one thunderstorm every 24 months or so around here, and the county pretty much shuts down in mass panic, blackouts, that sort of thing.) So I thought I would keep it simple. As we learned in Wednesday's ... Read more »
Nulo Challenge: Skinny Jeans
I don't really know what the dog equivalent is of fitting in a pair of skinny jeans. They aren't vain that way. They lack the human tendencies to feel shame, thus have no issues with muffin top fear or the like. Either way, Koa has lost enough weight that people are starting to notice- which although she doesn't know it is a big milestone. Pets reap the benefits as much as anyone else of a healthy weight. Yesterday, I was watching Koa and Brody standing together and noticed how she is ... Read more »
Sometimes I forget I’m not like other people
Scene: Joann's fabric store. Dr. V on her lunch break, perusing fabrics for an upcoming very special crafting project. In the background, two 'normal' looking women pushing babies in carts. The carts are piled high with calico, fabrics with little kewpie dolls, and fuzzy velour. As Dr. V looks on, the two women begin arguing loudly over which gingham best matches the fabrics they're selected for their quilt/baby bedding/whatever. Woman 1: Excuse me, can you help settle an ... Read more »
Tails from the Vet Clinic: Paging Dr. Groomer
I can provide witnesses to this exchange. ... Read more »
We are not alone
Thank you for the kind words yesterday. I'm taking today to reflect and regroup, but fortunately I have a wonderful guest post from Dr. Sarah from Friends of Humane Society de Tijuana to share with you today. It is a beautiful reminder to honor all creatures great and small. See you tomorrow. As we traveled down into Tijuana two Sundays ago, I knew I had another long day in front of me. We were coming to see Sr. Juanito, a very humble man near the age of 90 years old who rescues street ... Read more »
Little Earthquakes
When I was little, we lived across the yard from my father's parents. In the morning, I would burst out the backdoor, run across the small but immaculate vegetable garden my grandmother faithfully tended, and jump through my grandparents' front door in search of hugs and cookies. Ignoring my mother's moratorium on 8 am sugar, there was always a plate of Stella D'oro cookies on the table in the foyer. Mary was as close to the personification of Mother Nature that you could ever hope to find. ... Read more »
Picture of the week: Interloper
Rescued from our pool filter basket, where he was making a mighty attempt to swim out. Word on the street is that he is a San Bernadino ring-necked snake. There's not much a 6 inch non venomous snake can do to look menacing, but he stuck his tongue out and tried. Finding ourselves properly chastened, he was returned to the terra firma in the backyard. We sure do have a lot of critters around here. Yesterday we saw an orb spider the size of a golfball (and I'm only very slightly ... Read more »
LAPW: Spotlight on the oldsters
I have a soft spot for senior pets, if you couldn't tell. I love their deliberate steps (assuming it's not a reflection of undertreated arthritis!), their thoughtful glances, their calmness. Being a senior pet is to have mastered the art of good pet-dom: I am your faithful companion and I no longer feel the need to eat your shoes. I'm featuring my favorite rescue today, Retrievers and Friends of Southern California. As the folks from whom I adopted both Emmett and Koa, they have a special ... Read more »
Under the harvest moon
When I was little, there were two things I wanted to be when I grew up, neither of which ironically enough was 'veterinarian.' One was a palaeontologist since I loved dinosaurs so very much. The other was an astronaut. I could stare off into space for hours, transfixed by the infinite nothing stretched out before me. My life is very terrestrial these days, involving neither digging for fossils nor soaring into the clouds, but little things can take me right back to where I was as a kid. When ... Read more »
