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 »
Daily Life
West Coast Meets East Coast
Westminster was so much fun. I can't wait to go home and sort through all the pictures. For my first time there, it was an eventful experience. One, there was drama. There's always drama at these shows to begin with, it seems, but this year was extra dramatic. I know lots of you already know about the controversy about Westminster breaking ties with Pedigree, and all I can say for now is that I am going to do all I can to get a better understanding about what happened and report back to you, ... Read more »
Feast or famine and the mental block of learning DSLRs
My life is a long series of monotonous daily routines punctuated by brief and terrifying moments of outright insanity. Take this weekend, for example. On Sunday, I'm running in the Helen Woodward Puppy Love 5K on the inaugural Team Iams with an ace group of dogs and friends. Brody and I are super excited. And by excited, I mean, Brody is excited for a long walk and I'm just now realizing I should have spent more time training and less time sampling Girl Scout cookies. No matter. I may ... Read more »
Them cookies are serious business, people.
One of the reasons many vets give for choosing their profession is, "I like animals better than people." It's not a good reason, mind you, and those with misanthropic tendencies learn to cover it up pretty quickly or else have a rotten career, but I will tell you from experience that well, it's true. I've been working on it. I actually get along pretty well with people, as far as I can tell. But every once in a while I experience one of those penultimate human experiences that I'm supposed to ... Read more »
Fashion Xanax
If I seem a little stressed in the next couple of months, I have a good excuse: we are going to try and sell our house. I say "try", because this is one of those housing markets when upon saying "I'm going to put my house on the market" the universal response is, "Well, good luck with that." We're staying in the area- after seeing all those pictures from Colorado this weekend I think it's safe to say I am actually quite content here in San Diego, thanks- and the decision is one that has more ... Read more »
Cat Lady Undercover
Anyone who's read this blog for a while knows I identify as a dog person. In this world, you're one or the other, it seems, but just because you lean towards one doesn't mean you dislike the other. I happen to like cats a lot, too. Which is why I took my daughter to check out the 2012 San Diego Cat Show this weekend. It really is a different world. Much like a dog show, there are 'rings' where the cats are judged. There's none of this running around in a show lead, however. The cats ... Read more »
Hello Olive
Our friends Jeff and Shelia recently brought home a poodle puppy, Olive. Now, I love these guys to begin with, but when they told me how they prepared for a new dog- being inexperienced owners- I loved them even a little more. They waited three years, until the time was right and the kids were old enough. They researched exhaustively, picking a knowledgable breeder who spent hours with them visiting, teaching them about the breed, and making sure they knew the importance of early ... Read more »
Sometimes it’s better not to wait
A lesson I should know by now. This afternoon, I saw Koa nosing about by the pool. She never noses about by the pool. So I investigated, and sure enough, a dead mouse was floating in the pool. I suppose I should have spared more than a passing moment to feel for the poor drowned rodent, but my first and immediate thought was, how the heck do I get rid of that? Because as I learned the hard way, there is nowhere in the yard that is safe from Brody's investigational prowess. The dirt in ... Read more »
Game on
I don't watch a whole lot of football, normally. Living in San Diego, it's kind of depressing. We have the Padres and the Chargers. Now, I know my husband will disagree vehemently, but they aren't very good. He will defend the Chargers to the death, but they never win much, and it's sad to get your hopes up over and over and over only to be robbed of glory each and every time. No fun. I can say this because I grew up in Boston. Back then, the Celtics and the Lakers were in the midst of their ... Read more »
Dogs are predictable
The thing about living with a dog is, they tend to behave in a very predictable manner. So when bad things happen, you can usually trace it back to an error on your part, and/or follow the trajectory of all the future things that will arise from it. Case in point: Koa has now realized that when she is left alone for more than two minutes, the best way to assuage her anxiety is to lock herself in the pantry and eat away her stress. This has happened three times in as many weeks. It's ... Read more »
So a dog walks in to a sushi bar…
First, a note: I fully support the efforts to bring awareness about the dangers of SOPA. And if you happen to have no idea what I'm talking about, or why Wikipedia and reddit don't work, well, the info is all out there. SOPA/PIPA stinks, and as a small potates blogger, the implications horrify me. That being said, I decided not to black out the site for two reasons: I doubt this site going dark is going to be the tipping point for anyone to say, "well, I thought SOPA was a good idea, but ... Read more »
Exercise with your pups the easy way
I always get intimidated when I read exercise tips from exercise pros. Invariably it's some triathlon veteran with incredible abs who promises to get you ready to do your first ironman in six months' time or less. And for me, as someone with a busy schedule and kids and knees that shudder at the thought of a 15 mile run, I want something a little more realistic. And it can be done. Anything is better than nothing, and a moderate approach is a little more accessible than a marathon training ... Read more »
I’m only *kind of* violent
Ever since I was a little kid, I've been particularly sensitive to depictions of violence against animals. My mother learned early on that I couldn't handle Tom and Jerry, the Roadrunner cartoons, or Sylvester and Tweety. "But he's a carnivore!" I would cry sympathetically. "He's just hungry! Turn on the Snorks, Mom." And that holds to this day. But apparently I was much less bothered by anything involving humans wailing on each other. Shortly after graduating vet school, my husband bought an ... Read more »
A pet’s worth
We didn't get a whole lot of education on the topic of the law while we were in school. Too much other stuff to cram into four short years to spend much time on something that changes with some regularity. But at the time, the general consensus was this: from a legal standpoint, pets are property, and as such, your liability in terms of the law is limited to the replacement value of the pet. That has changed with some rapidity. A Texas court is just one of the most recent cases in which a ... Read more »
Bostons, Breeders and the surreptitious obtaining of important phone numbers
I think it's interesting that the newest competition at the AKC/Eukanuba show in December was called the "Breeder's Stakes". I know they meant it one way, but really, there is a lot at stake, and I'm not talking about the cash prizes. It's defining 'good breeder'. There is a circular conversation going on in the world of animal lovers about what constitutes a "responsible breeder." Most people who breed their dogs call themselves a responsible breeder, even if they're not. Even if they are ... Read more »
AKC/Eukanuba: Stealing Smooches
Everyone knows you should start the New Year off with a kiss. I love kisses. I live for kisses. Unfortunately for me, when I'm at work most dogs are not really that happy to give smooches. Sure they do at first, but one go with the thermometer and the honeymoon's over. This is one of the reasons I was thrilled to throw on my civvies and hit the Meet the Breeds booths at the AKC/Eukanuba show as a regular Joe. I thought, maybe I could ask owners about their dog's proclivity for herding ... Read more »
Epic Bad
We had a great New Year's Eve. Well, some of us did, at least. My parents offered to watch the kids so that my husband and I could go out for the first time in a decade. Being well past the expiration date for things like heading downtown with the hordes, we decided to check out a new restaurant in our area that was opening on New Year's Eve instead. So we got there, only to find that it was technically a private event for family and friends. No matter, said my husband, and somehow talked ... Read more »
Scenes from a holiday
The holidays are exhilirating. Well, for most of us, at least. Some find them merely exhausting. While others use them as a time to indulge in the most ironic of activities, such as opening a "Good Dog" ornament from under the tree and chewing it up. Indeed. Hope you all had a great one! ... Read more »
