Cancer. It's scary stuff. Every day, I hear another story of an elderly dog and cat diagnosed with neoplasia, and my heart hurts for those dealing with it. Without a doubt, cancer sucks, and every new breakthrough is a gift. There's lots of theories and evidence pointing to different causes of cancer. Food, say some. Chemicals, say others. Vets peddling food and chemical-laden vaccines, say many. And I'm here to tell you this: They're right. What? Say it ain't so! It's true. I've been ... Read more »
World Vets
Arya of House Potcake
One thing I've learned about going on vacation, is that I don't like to relax. How can I, when there's so much to do and so little time! I want to see ALL THE THINGS! And most of the time I vacation with my husband he responds with a blank stare and a "why would you want to do all of that?" So this time around we went to Turks and Caicos, a small island chain in the Bahamas whose island upon which we landed is only 38 square miles, so I think he assumed he would have me boxed in by ... Read more »
Bosnia floods- when the world isn’t watching, donate a dollar
Massive floods in Bosnia and Serbia are the worst they have seen in 120 years. The world has been silent on this issue, in large part. In a place that is still struggling to recover from years of war, it's hard to comprehend the magnitude of this disaster. Understandably, the people in the affected regions have had little time or money to address the many thousands of animals affected by this disaster. Tens of thousands have died in landslides and floods, and thousands more are still in ... 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 »
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 »
Community
I grew up in a small New England town, surrounded by what by today's standards would be considered 'nosey' neighbors. To this day I remember their names, the Kerrys and Kellys and Jeffreys and their parents who had no problems doling out discipline, dinner, and hugs in equal measure. I've lived in many places since then. I can't tell you what my neighbors' names were; I'm not sure I knew it even then. When I was in vet school, a five year old boy down the street drowned in his pool. When a ... Read more »
Helping Animals in Moore
Every animal disaster is a little different than the one before. The infrastructure may be fairly intact, or devastated. Local roads to receive supplies may or may not be accessible. The presence of local organizations and their willingness to help plays a major role in what constitutes an appropriate response. That is a field that is hard to navigate each and every time since the landscape is constantly changing from one disaster to another. What doesn't change? Who needs help. Why we do ... Read more »
Inspiration in Action
When you hear the word "veterinarian", there's a pretty standard picture that jumps into most people's heads. The woman or man in a white coat, stethoscope around their neck, patting a dog who's perched on a metal exam table. Maybe, if you work with large animals, the vet is standing outside, in coveralls. But the idea is the same- vets go to work and serve the medical needs of clients and their pets. And that is a wonderful thing. It is what most of us do. But the amazing thing about our ... Read more »
Don’t Be That Vet
On Saturday, I'm boarding a plane yet again and jetting off- strangely enough- right back to Orlando, the last place I went on a trip. The last quarter of 2012 was a blur, and then I had a break the last few weeks. If you consider moving and unpacking a break, that is (it's about as restful as sleeping on a bed of nails, for reference.) I'm not exactly ramping up again, not quite. It's just a wee side trip to the North American Veterinary Conference to man the World Vets booth, one of the ... Read more »
And then the rescuer drowned: Dumb Vet Tricks Part 5
Being set up in the house with all my computer equipment finally reassembled means I can do what I've been wanting to do for quite a while: fill you in on more of the disaster response trip I did with World Vets in Nicaragua. I think the last time I had left it, we had just spent a day in the classroom learning disaster response techniques and were about to put our skills to the test. Day 2 was the water course. I'm not the strongest swimmer, so this was the part I was a wee bit nervous ... Read more »
One man wolf pack
I admit, sometimes I feel like a lone wolf out here in the veterinary world, wandering aimlessly in the backwoods of Facebook while my more distinguished colleagues do things like invent CPR simulator dogs and dart rhinos and perfect orthopedic surgeries. I, on the other hand, put aside the glory of a specialty and focused on becoming the best GP I could be. I did it quite well. I treated untold ear infections, spayed I don't know how many dogs, and saved too many carpets to count from the ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: Rescue Me
I've tied more knots in things over the last two days than I have since suture week at vet school. Knot after knot after knot after knot. But we have to: it doesn't matter how brave your rescue attempt is or how fast you make it to the victim, if your knot bites it, so do you. So practice we did. I thought I would show you a couple of teaser pics from our water day. This is Bobby, our willing disaster victim. Bobby routinely tumbles into rivers, falls down cliffs, and needs to be lifted from ... Read more »
Be the Change with a Shelter Drive By! Small effort, big reward
As many of you have heard, it's National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, though to be fair the news cycle has been dominated by other events. Such is life. As regular readers may remember, I usually end this week with the Blogathon, a 24 hour marathon of posts with prizes and fun, and potentially zombies. But life happens and things evolve, and as it so happens I will be on a plane on Saturday, on my way back to Granada, Nicaragua. I am doing a one week course in Technical Animal Rescue ... Read more »
Disaster Response, Sandy, and Good People
It's been a rough week, right? I think everyone can pretty much agree with that. There has been an awful lot of awful going on. That being said, it's also been an earth-shattering shake-by-the-shoulders to everyone mired in the mud leading up to Tuesday's election that maybe it isn't the only thing in the world that matters. Oh yeah, there's an election tomorrow! I almost forgot. Amazing how quickly things become less important when people's lives are getting washed away on a large ... Read more »
On the eve of a ten year reunion
My ten year vet school reunion is coming up this weekend. I'm not going, not because I don't want to, but because I just couldn't manage to get the weekend away. It kind of stinks because I really did want to go and see what everyone has been up to over the last long decade. I'll admit I wrestled with feelings of inadequacy in the months leading up to this. I have friends in the CDC and friends heading prestigious academic departments at vet schools and friends running huge practices and me, ... Read more »
Surf and Spokes and Supers
Surf OK, so first things first- yes, we surfed in our first competition and no, we didn't win (the well deserved honors went to the always amazing Surf Dog Ricochet, as it should.) I will be posting about it when I get back later this week and I have the rest of the pictures. I always had a ton of respect for the So Cal Surf Dog group, but after seeing them in action in competition I love them all even more. As busy as everyone was with their own dogs, many of whom were in multiple heats, I saw ... 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 »
Wordless Wednesday: Where in the World is Dr V?
I have a hard time myself getting a grasp on all the places I have been fortunate enough to visit in the last two years. To say it has been immensely rewarding is the understatement of the century. I am writing today from Granada, Nicaragua, at the World Vets Latin America Training Facility, where I'm observing the last few days of the immensely successful summer training program for vet students, pre-vet students, and tech students. Cathy said she was pleased with how the project was going. ... Read more »
