I love Christmas. But I hated Christmas working emergency as a veterinarian. I euthanized more pets in the two weeks surrounding Christmas than I did in the surrounding three months combined. This is a consistent, repeatable phenomenon common to all clinics- a combination of holiday stress, low funds, and the uncanny knack of pets to get very sick at the most inconvenient of times. Yesterday, in a clinic in the Pacific Northwest, a woman went into the emergency clinic with her beloved dog, ... Read more »
Daily Life
Bad Santa: Or, how I blew a dog’s chance at the National Obedience Title
I recorded my homecoming on Monday. I really did. I wanted to document the joyous reunion between me and my loving dogs. It went a little something like this: Opening: My hand on the doorknob. Whining behind the door. Me: HI GUYS! cacophony dogs running amuk kisses Me: I missed you SOO much! *looks up* screams And scene. ... Read more »
Low Cost Spay Neuter Myths and Facts
I'm here, I'm loving Orlando, and I'm sick as a dog. Which stinks, to put it mildly. So, I'm focusing my energy on things like standing up and walking, but the posts will come. Make sure to check out Facebook and Twitter as well, where I'll be posting lots of candids. In the meantime, I have a post about a topic we got into a big discussion about a couple of weeks ago: I loved Dr. Becker's recent article about whether or not vets should offer spays for below cost. His answer, in a ... Read more »
I need to be a triplet
As you're reading this, I'm probably either getting patted down by a TSA agent or winging my way over the country on my way to Orlando. (By the way, no one tell my kids that Orlando is the home of DisneyWorld. I'm already in enough trouble as it is with them.) But I'm not going to see Mickey or the Harry Potter park (though trust me, it's tempting) because I already have enough to keep me busy with the AKC/Eukanuba show to fill an average 36 hour day. I printed out all the events that are ... Read more »
I swear we have better toys here
My daughter had her first sleepover this weekend. It was a long time coming. Her very best friend, a girl she has known since kindergarten, is near impossible to arrange any sorts of playdates with. Her mom works full time. Her dad, a retired police sergeant, is busy running the older son around to after school activities but has a rule that the daughter cannot have playdates without her mom or dad there. Given this statute, let's just say I didn't even bother pursuing a sleepover with ... Read more »
The Road to AKC/Eukanuba: Dress for Success
Here's the thing about dog shows: They are a to-do. I'm not the pro source about dog shows, as you know. I'm learning as I go, and the more I learn, the less I know. It's fascinating, the work that goes into becoming a champion, the hours spent grooming and training and driving from place to place and competing in the hunt for titles. But at the end of the day, for me, it boils down to this: people who are really into showing dogs are absolutely, 100% nuts for canines. And that I get. I ... Read more »
A Very Macabre Christmas to You and Yours
Among the many things I inherited a love of from my mother, such as books and weird medical cases, are Christmas ornaments and crafting. Every Christmas since I was little, we would get an ornament in our stocking, and when I moved out, I took my collection with me. It's a lovely way to have a little nostalgia every December when we set up the tree. I have done the same for my kids, so when they are older they can survey their pile of Tow Mater and Barbie ornaments the way I look over my ... Read more »
Merry Christmas, kids. I poisoned the dogs.
Let me preface this by saying it isn't Christmas in my house until it looks like an elf exploded in the foyer. It doesn't excuse what happened, but it's important to the story. On Saturday, my husband and I went out to dinner while the kids spent the night at the grandparents' house. Before we left, I surveyed the mess that is "middle of Christmas prep" with some trepidation. There was trouble everywhere. Breakable ornaments, garland, boxes piled to the ceiling. Most of it is pretty ... Read more »
Stilettos and Vuvuzelas: The Road to AKC/Eukanuba
Last year I had the pleasure of attending the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. I felt a little bit like Alice in Wonderland while I was there. I had no idea what to expect, my world being that of cages and operating tables. Down the chute I went, past bedazzled leads and ornamental throws covered in Corgis. And there, on the other side of the door, I entered the surreal world of the dog show: Here is the White Queen, windswept and amiable; (This by the way bears a striking resemblance to ... Read more »
CSI San Diego: The Scapegoat
When I saw the box of popcorn chicken sitting all alone on our still undecorated Christmas tree, I was befuddled. "Is that a KFC Christmas ornament?" I asked. The kids shrugged noncommittally, which I took as an affirmative. How would I know? I haven't eaten there since the Clinton administration. This was Grandparent work, make no mistake. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized that it was not a KFC box-like ornament, but an actual empty box, trash, that one of the kids had stuck ... Read more »
Everyone’s a cynic
"Come to my store!" exalted my daughter, pulling me up the stairs. I obliged, wondering which of my possessions she was going to try to sell back to me this time. That one has always been possessed of an entrepreneurial spirit. " I have bracelets," she said, gesturing to an array of beaded items she had crafted using the bead kit she got for her birthday. "And neck-a-laces," picking up a pair of Mardi Gras beads she inherited at some point. I picked up a bracelet. "How much?" I ... Read more »
Keep off the grass
A couple of months ago, we started having problems with our sprinklers. Because we live in what is basically the desert, this means that within one month most of our backyard was dead. Not that the grass was ever in great shape to start with, I suppose. Anyway, we are slowly trying to put it back together, starting with two little patches of what has been dirt for a very long time but was at one point grass. For now, it is again. "Do NOT," my husband said, "under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES let ... Read more »
Rug Doctor Saves the Day (and a mini giveaway)
Welcome back! Hope everyone here in the States had a lovely Thanksgiving. And in celebration of that and all the work it took the rest of the weekend to put the place back together, a post about cleaning products, something with which all pet owners are all too familiar. I bought my car six years ago. Six years ago, I was obsessed with the idea of a black car with a beige interior. Sleek. Contemporary. Gorgeous. Six years ago, I was also very naive, with a nine month old who had yet to start ... Read more »
Black Friday Wishlist
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and managed to keep the pets away from all the good stuff! :) And now- da da duuuh.... let the holiday insanity commence! You can't pay me to go to the mall today. I don't care how good the sale is, it's not enough for me to deal with the scary elbow-y masses and the disheveled store racks and the fisticuffs in the parking lot. Plus, my sister is out visiting, and she has her shih tzu with her, and I think I need to get some pictures of her dog while ... Read more »
My Type: Strong, Silent and Hairy
I went to the gym this morning, although it's not my favorite thing to do, because I know I need to accumulate a little exercise karma in advance of all the pigging out that's going to be happening tomorrow. Such is life. I joined the Y this year, giving up my 24 Hour membership for a variety of reasons: The Y has lots of stuff for kids The 24 Hour has been overrun by Pauly D wannbes who hog all the machines and are generally totally obnoxious If there's one thing the Y has going for ... Read more »
Guest Post: Dr Patrick Mahaney Promotes Pet Cancer Awareness Month on petMD
For this hour, another fantastic post from the multi-talented Patrick Mahaney, who in addition to his work on his own site and Teddy Hilton is also now blogging at petMD! Thank you for sharing this great post, Patrick! This article appeared on petMD as part of Dr Mahaney’s The Daily Vet series. The photo is of Quinn, one of my patients who valiantly fought his cancer battle but has since passed on (see Memorial for Quinn the Border Collie Mix). Cancer. The Big C. The Crab. Regardless of ... Read more »
Have you hugged a vet today?
Whenever someone makes a reference to vets, I have to step back for a minute and look at the context. Are they talking about veterinarians or veterans? I am a veterinarian living in a military town, so in my world, it's 50/50. What an honor to share a name with this group, though, isn't it? This weekend is my big blogathon, my biggest fundraiser of the year. I'm going to spend the night at a big cat sanctuary and have fun and shenanigans and post a bunch of stuff and hopefully help out a ... Read more »
Insomniac
I have had the worst insomnia lately. I don't know what the deal is. I lay awake, totally exhausted and ready to die, but my eyes betray me and snap open and there I lay, till 1, till 2, looking at the ceiling and thinking about nothing and everything. I suppose this will bode well for me this weekend, this whole no sleeping thing, but for now, it stinks. Because I'm the zombie. Although I'm awake, I'm useless. I thought I would try to continue the Africa recaps for you but 1. I'm in St. ... Read more »
