I've spent a lot of time the past few weeks thinking about gratitude, and what it means to me. I was worried that this, the first holiday season without the person who defines it for me, would be horrible and that I would have no interest in celebrating anything. Which is a valid response for sure, but I was hoping I could dredge up enough energy to participate for my kids' sake. And then a funny thing happened. I totally was into the whole gratitude thing. Although my life has had its ups ... Read more »
Daily Life
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 »
CucumberGate, Terror, Abuse, and You
So by now you've all seen the videos, right? A person places a cucumber behind a cat who's blissfully chomping away on some food. The cat turns around, spots the sinister gourd, and jumps about five feet in the air. The first thing that happened was that a bunch of people thought it was funny and shared it all over the internet. The second thing that happened was a bunch of experts chimed in warning about how this wasn't a benign thing, that cats could be permanently scarred, and that ... Read more »
I’ve Got Thick Skin, and a Fuzzy Heart
I was certain when I had kids that my motherhood chip would finally kick in, that I would finally start to react to babies the way I reacted to dogs and cats. Because surely that maternal instinct in my heart had merely been misdirected all these years, and was simply in need of a little oxytocin and fine-tuning to point it to the appropriate species upon which I should lavish my affection. Now my kids are 11 and 9 and I can say this with absolute certainty: not so much. Don't get me ... Read more »
Trick or Treat with Brody One Ear!
A special day calls for a special ear. And a poem, of course. Trick or treat! I lick feet. Give me something that has meat! If you don't, just beware- I'll eat up your underwear! Have a great day and be safe all! I get to go see Danny Elfman perform the Nightmare Before Christmas tonight at the Hollywood Bowl so I've got Jack Skellington on the mind :D ... Read more »
An Open Confession to Every Vet Tech I’ve Ever Worked With
Dear Amazing Veterinary Technicians of the World, It's sad that you only get one week to celebrate you and all that you do. The unsung heroes, the client counselors, absorbers of abuse, veterinary emotional support offerers, and in general people without whom these clinics would fall to pieces. I'd like to offer to you this week an open apology for the transgressions of my past years. I ate the last M&M. I'm sorry. I know now you probably hadn't eaten in 12 hours and really needed ... Read more »
California’s End of Life Option Act and How it Would have Changed Mom’s Death
In 2014, a young, vibrant woman named Brittany Maynard moved from the home in California she had known all her life so that she could die on her own terms in Oregon. Diagnosed with glioblastoma, arguably one of the most monstrous forms of cancer in this world, Maynard was willing to uproot her life, put her face out into the world, and share a most intimate decision with a universe of strangers in order to help people understand why someone might make the decision to hasten their death. With ... Read more »
Amidst the ashes and embers, a veterinarian saves the day
The fire came in the night, a storm without warning. At his home in Middletown, a small town of 1900 just north of California's idyllic wine country, veterinarian Jeff Smith ventured outside after the worst had passed to find only 8 of the 20 homes in his neighborhood survived the firestorm. With communication centers down, there was no way to determine when help was coming. He had no way of knowing what he was up against, or the fact that by this time only 40% of the structures in ... Read more »
Cat Lady Box: are you awesome enough?
When I say "Cat Lady," what do you picture? Or this? The old tropes die hard. And while those types of cat ladies are still out there, I'm sure, those of you who have been paying attention are probably realizing there is a new breed of cat lady out there. The Kate Benjamins and the Dorian Wagners and the Taylor Swifts, the crazy (and cool) cat ladies of the world. Though Jackson Galaxy may arguably be the most likely spokesperson for "Cat People Don't Look Like What You Thought ... Read more »
Heat Stroke is No Joke!
While a local news station was out at a park reporting on the death of a bulldog from heat stroke the day before, they came across another dog who was very close to heat exhaustion, if not stroke. This is despite the warning signs at the park entrance. Though you'd think people would get it by now, some people really don't. To make matters worse, the reporter spent time talking to the ranger about the dog's condition and showing them pouring water on him while neglecting to mention the number ... Read more »
Grief is a hot potato
Ever since I started this blog, and even moreso since writing All Dogs Go to Kevin, people write to tell me about their pets who are no longer with them. They used to apologize for writing, or say they weren't even sure why they were telling me about their pet, but most people don't do that anymore. I think they know that they don't need to explain. As followers of the blog know, I love birthdays. Birthdays are fun, and I love love love that my birthday coincides with National Dog Day. I ... Read more »
SuperBrode is back- but now he’s BIONIC!
Our hero SuperBrode has been enjoying the relative peace and quiet of Muttropolis, lounging in semi-retirement. However, evil was afoot! The Malevolent Mast Cell Maniac was on the loose, wreaking havoc on SuperBrode and the good citizens of Muttropolis! When we last left our hero, he was recovering from their last vicious battle... SuperBrode survived, but it cost him dearly. Or should I say....D'Early? Nonetheless, he was well on the road to recovery- Something ... Read more »
Ask Me Anything TOMORROW on reddit! (Plus reddit primer)
If you know and love reddit already, here's the short short version: Tomorrow (8/11/15) I will be on Reddit doing an AMA from 2-5 PST (5-8 EST) on /r/books. I'd love for you to join me! If you don't know reddit, you might need a more involved primer: What is reddit? Reddit is a website where people talk about, well, just about everything. Some people talk about football. Some people talk about cars. Others talk about knitting, politics, cat videos, just about anything under the sun. As a ... Read more »
Lend me your ear
Get it? Because we're short one over here. Warning: Blood ahead. When it comes to my dog, I am just as nuts as any other client. I can't think logically, I panic, I just gnaw on my fingernails and try to figure out what's the best thing to do. For this reason, I had no interest in doing Brody's surgery whatsoever and instead entailed the services of my friend, board certified veterinary surgeon Dr. Tracy Frey of Soft Surg and the lovely staff at Animal Urgent Care, who took amazing care of us ... Read more »
Pet Doctor Barbie and the Pet Food Dude
It's been a while since I've done a Pet Doctor Barbie post. It's past due for a new episode, yes? I think it's time for Pet Doctor Barbie to meet one of her self-appointed arch nemeses, Pet Food Dude. Episode 8 Hi Mrs. Sandford, good to see you and Muffin. It's been a while! I'm really glad you're doing housecalls now. I want to get Muffin's bump looked at again. OK, I'll just look at my notes here- 1 cm, top of head...mm hmmm... So where we left it one year ago was that you ... Read more »
Save tons at the vet! How to keep your dog from dying of cancer
As a veterinarian, I've seen lots of cancers: lymphoma. Melanoma. Osteosarcoma. Hemangiosarcoma. Mast cell tumors. Wait, those are just my own dogs I'm talking about. When I factor in my clients, I think I've seen it all. Dogs get cancer, at very high rates: about 50% of senior dogs die of it, if the statistics are to be believed. Why? Well, if you read overly simplified, graphics-intensive websites by people who really don't know what they're talking about, they will tell you that they know ... Read more »
The Big 5 of Vet Med: You know you’re a vet when….
If you have ever had the good fortune to go on safari, you know that everyone talks about the "Big 5": rhino, lions, elephants, cape buffalo, and leopards. The term was coined by game hunters and refers to the difficulty in getting all 5 because of their ferocity when cornered, but now is mostly used by safari operators as a virtual checklist of animals one must see in order to consider it a successful outing. When I was working on the book, I tried to pick out a combination of stories that ... Read more »
Painting the Roses Red
It's pub day! The book is out at long last! I really hope you all enjoy it- All Dogs Go to Kevin has truly been a labor of love. (That link goes to my new website. Did I mention I have a new website? It's been so busy around here I think I forgot.) Last weekend I went to Warwicks to sign the preordered books. Brian and the kids were at ComicCon, so I went to Warwicks by myself. It was a short task, no more than 20 minutes, so I couldn't figure out why I was so bummed about going alone, and ... Read more »
