Poor Apollo. He is now presiding over the fifth fur-monster to infiltrate his quiet life. Perhaps there is some secret camaraderie amongst our shadow-shaded friends, or maybe we just got lucky, but this is the easiest doggie transition we've had yet. Kiki/Koa/Ricola is pretty ambivalent about him. I now have TWO pets exceedingly difficult to photograph. That's OK. It's a throwdown challenge for my husband to work with the infamous photographic challenge. I work with a cat lady. I don't mean ... Read more »
Daily Life
So long and thanks for all the fish
I was terribly saddened to read the news yesterday that a trainer was killed at a Sea World park in an incident with a captive orca. It's not the first time this sort of thing has happened- it's not even the first time it's happened with this exact same orca. We live fairly close to a Sea World park, and I view it with an uneasy apprehension. We went a few times in school when I was a kid, and I remember the focus at the time on Sea World's conservation efforts and education. At least ... Read more »
Adjustments
Every time I bring a new pet into the house, I have a week or two of complete and utter panic, thinking I've made a huge mistake, this is a terrible match, and we'll never make it work. Then we figure it out and all is well. Honestly though, I haven't had that moment yet with Kekoa. Granted it's only been 2 days, but she has pretty seamlessly integrated into the house so far. Brody is jealous- make that insanely jealous- but they are getting along just fine, no arguments over resources or ... Read more »
Kekoa
As some of you astute observers noted, the person standing above the black lab in the last picture yesterday was indeed wearing Pet Doctor Barbie boots. 37712 came home with me. And promptly was outfitted with a shamrock hat by my daughter. She is much more compliant with our family's costuming requirements than Brody has been. They say black dogs are the hardest to adopt. They are hard to photograph, they say. Pish posh. ... Read more »
Rescue Stories
Hey man, what are you in for? Biting a kid? ... Read more »
Things that shouldn’t surprise me
For all of my kvetching and moaning and mumbling about how some people are just rotten, the truth of the matter is that I generally have a pretty optimistic view of people. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, to assume their intentions are good, that they want what is best and trust me the way I trust them. I still hold that this is generally the case. I don't know if I am willfully obtuse or just pigheadedly determined to look for the best so I don't renounce my membership to the ... Read more »
The good old days and the new reality
This morning, my awesome tech told me her lab injured his eye while they were on a hike. She brought him over and I lifted his lid, expecting signs of a corneal scratch, maybe a bit of plant material. "Something's wrong," I said, looking more closely with the ophthalmoscope. We both took a sharp inhalation at the same moment as we realized that there was a cactus thorn going straight into his eye, poor guy. We sedated him for a better look, hopeful that the little tiny bit still protruding ... Read more »
Flip the lip Part 2: Dental care at home
I will tell you, and I will stand by it until the day I die, that dental cleanings are an extremely important and helpful measure in keeping your pet healthy. My teeth are white. My gums aren't red. My teeth aren't falling out of my head. And I still get cleanings twice a year. Visible disease is not the only sign your mouth needs care. Every once in a while, someone will come in a few months after a cleaning and point out the fact that there is, again, some visible plaque. "How come?" they ... Read more »
Sonnet XVII
When I was in high school, I loved to write poetry. Sonnets, limericks, haiku, you name it, I did it. Something about the juxtaposition of the rigidity of the writing structure with the creative challenge of expressionistic thought was very appealing to me. I never said it was good poetry, though. That is why I majored in biology. These days, I limit my poetry to once or twice a year, and I present it with the clear disclaimer that it is bad poetry, which doesn't make it any better but at ... Read more »
C’est l’amour
Ah, Valentine's Day. A day for lovers and candies and cheesy Vermont Teddy Bears. A day for teenagers flush with first love to nervously make reservations at Olive Garden, grade-schoolers to anxiously choose the least mushy classroom Valentines exchange cards, and men the world over to grumble at the price gouging at the florist while simultaneously knowing they have no choice in the matter unless they want to sleep on the couch for a month. It's the lack of sincerity that makes it so ... Read more »
A quick clarification
See, here's the problem with being a person who occasionally- just sometimes, mind you- engages in a wee bit of hyperbole, or perhaps an "original interpretation" of things to make a point: When you're being dead serious people still think you're kidding. In regards to the last post, I had several people comment in passing to the effect of "ha ha, you wacky vet you, that is a really silly Barbie trashy waitress outfit that you turned into a pretend actual Mattel product. Good job!" I could ... Read more »
Meep meep
Brody's been a monster when it comes to counter surfing. At first it was annoying, then it became really annoying, but now it's gotten to Category 5. I actually had just consulted my trainer on Wednesday to see what she would suggest to stop this behavior. Obviously not leaving food on the counter would be the most easy solution, but I don't want to feel like I can't put a sandwich down, run to answer the door, and have it disappear. The final straw came this morning, when he got into a bunch ... Read more »
Posting Under the Influence
I had an allergic reaction to *something* today. I have no idea what. All I know is that at 4 pm, I broke out in hives and started to itch so badly it was physically painful. I looked in the mirror and was greeted with a rather horrific sight. The last time I looked like this, I had eaten an entire orange as a dare. I know I'm allergic to oranges, so it wasn't an entirely unexpected outcome and in fact I probably deserved it, but I hadn't eaten a single item of fruit today. After ruling ... Read more »
We’re all humans here
Part of being a professional is the expectation that we are to act, well, professionally. They don't teach a course on professionalism in vet school- it's one of those absorbed-by-osmosis things, I think. As far as I can tell, the best way to be a good professional is to pretend you are a Vulcan at all times. If anyone has a better trick please let me know. I'm at a loss for a better definition. It means not getting into fistfights in the parking lot. It means not wearing platform flip ... Read more »
V.I.B.
It's a mark of my inattentiveness that I almost let this whole big one year anniversary pass me by! Today is the Pawcurious One Year Anniversary! One year ago today, I shared the story of the dog who pulled my shirt down in pursuit of 100% client satisfaction and my life hasn't been the same since. What a year it's been! Let's see, what has happened in this momentous year on the blog? 1. Emmett died 2. Callie disappeared 3. Guinea pig died OK, that is seriously depressing. Let's ... Read more »
The mike has landed- just need to know what to say
1. The Hounds for Haiti auction is completed and the final tally once every auction is paid for will be $1436.49!!! Which is totally amazing. Thank you so much for all the generous donors and the fantastic people who bid on everything. Many of you did both. FWIW I will never, ever do this again, so I'm glad it was a success on this one and only occasion. Between the hidden "deductions" and Paypal's weird policies and everything being held in escrow for 3 weeks and being investigated by eBay ... Read more »
The Ruffolution is here!
January 29, 2010- Stunning the digital media world and tech insiders alike, Apple today swiftly announced a new product right on the heels of the much discussed iPad. Introducing the iPawd: The best way to experience pet ownership, adoration, and companionship. Hands Down. Ingenuity By digitizing the household pet, we've streamlined the pet ownership process from start to finish. An all-in-one experience Surf the web. Check your e-mail. Take it for a walk. Whatever your day has in store, ... Read more »
The Golden Boy
I was in the office yesterday, dusting, when I came upon Emmett and Mulan. They aren't doing much in their pine boxes, just sitting around waiting for something interesting to happen. Much like they were in life, in fact. I don't want to scatter their ashes yet because we're debating moving in a year or two and I'm still feeling terrible guilt over abandoning Nuke's ashes, buried under a willow tree at my last house. So they wait. I run my finger over Mulan's name, and sigh. "Mulan," my ... Read more »
