You ever have one of those moments where the stars align just so and you say, “I’ve poured my heart and soul into this thing and I just know there’s no way it will live up to my expectations” and yet it does and you’re left in shock? That was my weekend at Uncharted Veterinary Conference, and I’m not saying that just because I helped plan it. It was that good. As good as the conference was, the travel sitch getting to and from was equally bad. It brought balance to the force with extreme ... Read more »
travel
Five Things You Need to Know About the Delta Pet Policy
The internet was abuzz this week with word about the changes to Delta's pet flying policy. And as tends to happen, people got about 75% of the way there before they took a sharp left turn and read it incorrectly. Here is what you need to know: 1. Headlines saying "Delta no longer allowing pets as cargo" are wrong. As of March 1, 2016 pets will no longer be allowed as checked baggage. This does not mean pets over 30 pounds will be allowed in the cabin. It means they must fly as cargo, ... Read more »
Have Fido, Will Travel
Heading out for the holidays with Fido or Fluffy in tow? Bringing your pet with you can be a great alternative to boarding or housesitting, as long as you plan ahead and make sure you are prepared with pet-friendly accommodations. There's few things worse than showing up at Grandma's, dog in tow, only to have her stare in horror at your dog and say, "I didn't know you were brining HIM," while pointedly stroking her Persian cat and glaring at you. Assuming you know what you're going to do when ... Read more »
Hi, I’m Dr 3
Man oh man, I have been so remiss on the blog this week. In my defense, I have been running around at SuperZoo all week, checking out new cat and dog stuff and in general thinking and talking about pets for three days straight, but I've had so little time in my room to post about it as the good folks at the convention center weren't in the mood to provide wifi to us writing types. C'est la vie. It was great and I saw some of my favorite people, and got to meet some new favorite people, and I got ... Read more »
Oh, the places in the Midwest you’ll go
When I was in college, I worked for a very prestigious urologist. I think most of you remember that. The Viagra researcher from Beverly Hills. Anyway, he had a beautiful office in Santa Monica, a home in Beverly Hills, and as a pre-eminent ED expert he was flown to male sexual dysfunction conferences all over the world, you know, Bora Bora, Fiji, Reykjacik, where he would stand flanked by, and I'm not joking, two enormous blue pillars and talk about how Viagra would change the world. (Well, he ... Read more »
This is why I don’t travel with family
Passengers on a flight from Detroit were held aboard a plane at Chicago's Midway Airport for more than two hours after a female passenger was suspected of having monkeypox, officials said Thursday. The woman had been travelling in Uganda, according to officials, though they didn't say when. She boarded a flight from Detroit to Chicago and while on baord, developed a rash. A family member told flight attendants that they suspected this woman had monkeypox, so the Chicago Fire Department called ... Read more »
Trolled by travel
Veterinary work is an emotionally charged field. Rarely are people in an ambivalent, steady state sort of mind the way they are, say, at the gas station, or buying bananas at the grocery store. They are either happy because they have a cute young pet getting routine care, or stressed because their pet is ill/expensive/having surgery/waiting too long in the exam room. You get the picture. So I'm used to dealing with stressed and angry people. You have to be. There are ways to defuse ... Read more »
Up in the Air
I always find the end of conferences such a melancholic time. Half the people have left, things are getting broken down, and it's just you and the hum of hotel air conditioning. That is why I ty to leave before the bitter end, so I don't get too despondent. That is what I had planned for BlogPaws. Wraps up Saturday night, and I was going to book it out Sunday morning before I had time to be sad it was over. Well, Irene had other plans, such as winging through DC the very moment I was ... Read more »
Airlines, young pets and the travel conundrum
This recent post over at Petopia about the tragic death of a young kitten who was being transported from Utah to Connecticut really made me sad. And then it made me angry. Here is the gist of things: A family purchased a hairless Sphynx from a breeder. On January 22, the breeder put the 11 week old kitten on a Delta flight from Utah to Connecticut. The plane landed in 7 degree weather, sat on the tarmac for nearly an hour, and, sadly, the cat died. This was totally preventable. TOTALLY. ... Read more »
Fear of flying
Caroline from Ezri Dog shares her experience with the hassle of trying to bring a pet into the UK. After dealing with this a few times myself- it's a nightmare! I have only this to say: Pay one of those services that will help you get organized, or commit to doing a ton of research. They are very, very particular. Thank you to Caroline for this great post and good luck to you both with the move! In just 3 1/2 weeks, I have to put my puppy on a plane. In cargo. Before we decided to get a ... Read more »
Creatures in the Blue Lagoon
In a small lake somewhere close to the Canadian border in the Pacific Northwest, the mallards slumber. Until the loud hairy Goldenbeast arrives, that is. ... Read more »
Holiday Road- Part One
We survived our 10 day vacation- 5 on the road, 5 at the lake. I'm not sure the proportion of driving to vacation is one I'd consider optimal, but all things said and done I'm really glad we got the chance to make the trip. For all intents and purposes, we covered the entire expanse of the I-5 from Mexico to Canada: 1400 miles and change each way. The dogs look so excited and happy at the start of the trip. To be fair, they always look this way. ... Read more »
Dog Haiku- Vacation Edition
Real camera packed Can only access iphone Thus the crappy pics Calm sapphire blue lake Belies the impending doom Hurricane Brody. ... Read more »
When puppies die, who’s to blame?
One of the duties I most dreaded at a previous job of mine was evaluating the dogs for a local pet store. The pet store owner would go pick up new shipments of puppies at the airport, drop all 14, 16, 25 crates off at the clinic, and one of the vets would have to 'sign off' on the puppies before they headed to the store. The puppies all came with paperwork from the, ahem, "breeder" (aka puppy mill.) We would look at them to check for heart murmurs, cleft palates, that sort of thing. The dog ... Read more »
