The look on the doctor's face was more bemused than annoyed as he tried to explain what happened to the centrifuge we were supposed to be bringing to Nicaragua for the clinic. The valuable piece of medical equipment had been confiscated by a leery customs official the day before, and the shifty eyed official wouldn't release it to us without running it by his boss. Who would be in tomorrow. Mañana, the official said. Come back mañana. So a local veterinarian, who understands the language ... Read more »
musings
Class of 2014: 5 steps to loving your first job
We're about one month away from colleges and universities turning new grads loose on the world, a day of joy and, if I recall correctly, complete, abject fear. 2014 is a rough year to graduate vet school. In my day (cue Dana Carvey Grumpy old man voice), back in the middle of the dotcom boom and a perceived 'veterinary shortage', the world was at our fingertips, a lush green forest ripe for the plucking. Now new grads are being forced upon a Dune-like landscape filled with such ominous ... Read more »
Grumpy Vet is not amused
I was debating going to SXSW this week, but as it didn't come to fruition I needed to rely on my husband's reporting back to let me know all the stuff going on and if it was really worth the four figure ticket price. "They have animal stuff here," he said. "You can get your picture taken with Grumpy Cat." Really? I asked him. "Yes," he said. "There were lines out the door last year. She's here again." "The cat is at a tech conference?" I asked again, trying to get my brain around ... 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 »
I want to go where they went
I do not profess to know what happens to us after we die. Even those who have strong faith in what will happen to us after we go are sometimes unsure of what happens to our beloved pets. And to them, I quote the great Will Rogers: "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." When someone close to me passes on, be it person or pet, I have a dream about them a week or so later. I don't know why, if it is a quirk of my subconscious or an actual visit or who the ... Read more »
