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 »
dogs
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 »
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 »
Dog person through and through
I've always been a dog person, unabashed, and proud of it. From the time my first Lhasa bit me at eight years old, then snuggled into my arm before pooping in my shoe, it was all over. I'm helpless. Cats were a creature I had to work at liking. We never had one growing up; in fact, until veterinary school, I never lived with one. Now that I have Apollo and have come to appreciate their unique characteristics, I can't imagine my life without one. I wouldn't quite say I'm a cat lady, but I do ... Read more »
Get your puppy and kitten fix here. One day only.
Every little kid who wants to be a vet someday says it's because they love puppies and kittens and think we get to play with them all day. And then we smile, trying not to look too discouraging, as we encourage their dream while thinking of all the cancer euthanasias, anal sac abscesses, and "it-just-started-yesterday-I-swear" 10 centimeter pedunculated, bloody masses. Some people thrive on all that stuff. Me, I never got beyond the 10 year old version of being a vet. I like preventive care. ... Read more »
How I learned what kind of dog I am
Like many pet lovers, I waste a lot of time asking myself the question, if I were an animal, what would I be? It's really not as easy a question to answer as one might think. The obvious first answer, of course, is to look to which kinds of animals you own. There's certainly a correlation there, as anyone who has spent time looking at a veterinary exam room can attest to. The short, squat bulldog owners. The wiry, nervous bird owners. The little wrinkly elderly with the little wrinkly ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Senior Pet Products.com!
Congratulations to the winners! $50 gift card is Barbara Hubler $20 gift card is Keri Dominguez $20 gift card is Julie Hust After a particularly bad month, I said to my friends that I felt like a car whose warranty had just expired. Every organ system has just fallen to bits all at once. I've spent the latter half of the summer catching up on my winter '10 reading in doctor's waiting rooms. I've been poked and prodded over just about every linear inch of my rapidly deteriorating ... Read more »
