I am becoming increasingly convinced the communication gap between veterinarians and clients is the number one problem we've failed to solve. We're just not on the same page a lot of the time, it seems, and it makes me sad. I can't read a single article online without coming across "veterinarians are money grubbing pigs that suck" (true blog title) and someone else saying "if you can't afford x/y/z/q you shouldn't have gotten a pet, jerk." I feel as though this is perhaps a bit extreme, but it's ... Read more »
Daily Life
The calm before the storm
Oh my goodness. One week from tomorrow and it's going to be one of the most important days of my life: right up there with graduating, getting married, having my kids. I will be an official published author. Aieeee! I dreamed of this long before I thought about going to veterinary school, back when I was seven and I pulled every book off my shelf and artfully arranged them around the house playing bookstore ( Or was it library?) When I sat under the kitchen counter reading National ... Read more »
Charity Treat: Newflands Hoki Oil and AFARNYC
Perhaps you are the magnanimous sort. "Dr. V," you say, "I ordered the book but I don't need the free Halo or Sleepypod stuff or PetHub tag or Dog + Bone collars or Groom Genie or any of those items you are giving away, not even the awesome little activity book with coloring pages and a word search featuring ANALGLANDS and DEMODEX." You are an ascetic. You don't have a pet. You're decluttering. OK, I get that. But surely you aren't opposed to a donation in your name, right? I have a ... Read more »
Safe and styling travel: The Auto treat featuring Sleepypod Clickit and PeaceLovePaws!
It's summer- heck, the fourth of July is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, and you know what that means. Traffic. Sitting on the road. Making sure your pet doesn't get carsick. That sort of thing. Carsickness aside, the biggest risk to pets with travel is the danger of an unsecured pet- for the pet himself, and for you. Unsecured, a pet is a projectile during an accident, and even in minor crashes there is a very high rate of injury when pets escape and run into traffic. Even a ... Read more »
Bites for Books: Halo Pet Treat to Eat!
We are almost to the end of our treat selections and they are going fast! All you need to do is order 2 copies of the book and you get a treat- it's like free goodies from heaven! Today's treat comes to you courtesy of Halo Pet Food, a long-time friend of the blog. They are ingredient-focused, with an emphasis on no chicken meal, by-product meal, or rendered meat. You may be familiar with the brand as a highly philanthropic company, with their freekibble.com site donating hundreds ... Read more »
Tags for Tomes: PetHub and Lost Pet Prevention Month!
July is Lost Pet Prevention Month, and that's a huge deal. After all, the fifth of July is the single busiest day of the year for shelters, due to a cross-the-country habit of loud explosives sending panicked dogs and cats screaming out the door the night before. If you think your pet is a flight risk, there's still time! Talk to the vet about anxiety prevention measures before you need them. Acepromazine, that old stand-by sedative, is actually a terrible choice as it does nothing to ... Read more »
Confessions of an Agnawstic
A few weeks ago, while my publicist was asking online dog lovers if they might be interested in reviewing my book, he came back with a question: "Do you recommend Science Diet or raw?" he asked. "It's really not an either/or thing," I said. "The book doesn't talk about nutrition at all." "Well, one of the people we approached said they only write about things from a raw food perspective," he said. "Oh, then they don't want my book," I said. "It's just from a dog lover's perspective." ... Read more »
The vet will see you now- for entertainment purposes only
A year ago, my husband gave me a telephone number and said his insurance company now had phone consults available. 24/7, from the privacy of my own home, I could call in and get "seen" for ear infections, get a prescription for Ambien for travel, even get marriage counseling, should I desire it. I only used it once, but I was amazed that at 10 pm I could just call and talk to some random person and 15 minutes later pick up a prescription at the 24/7 Rite-Aid. I'm not going to lie, I think it was ... Read more »
Bowls for books: Sleepypod Yummy bowl Travel Treat!
If you're wondering if the entire blog has gone to the dogs lately, the answer is yes. This blog is All Dogs Go to Kevin, All the Time....through July 14th. That's when the preorder part is over and I'm either kicking back with a bottle of champagne and planning the next book or crying inconsolably in a parking lot somewhere when I find out I sold less copies than William Hung's newest single. I don't want that, at all, which is why I spent so many hours staring over my husband's shoulder while ... Read more »
Dog Plus Bone: The Stylin’ Treat Collar for posh pups
The preorder incentive campaign for All Dogs Go to Kevin is swimming along, but because you all are so awesome I really wanted to share some extra special items as thank yous for all your support. Today I want to introduce you to the Stylin' Treat: A snap or martingale collar from the wonderful team at Dog Plus Bone! Dog Plus Bone is the brainchild of owners Anne and Ivan, who set out with one goal: "to create simple, honest, classic products that enable you to enjoy more ... Read more »
How Emmett helped save me from depression
When people ask me what my book is about, I feel silly saying, "Dogs," so I've been trying to refine it. I got a little further: "3 Dogs," and then, "3 dogs who were really important to me and also it's about my friend Kevin and a funny play on words," and then I took a break. It didn't really hit me until my mom got sick: This is a book about the purpose dogs have in our lives, about how they are here for a discrete space and time and change us for the better in very specific ways. And the ... Read more »
Profound Things
I wrote my mother's eulogy the day of the service, this Sunday. I was stuck. I wanted to share all the profound things we had said to one another over the years, but we just didn't have that kind of relationship defined by meaningful, deep philosophical conversations. As I sat with Brody's head in my lap, it occurred to me that we also did not share in deep conversations, but it never lessened our bond. As soon as I thought about that, it all started to come. My mother was not one for ... Read more »
Just keep swimming
Has it already been a week since my mother died? I feel like I've been in a haze, dropped in the middle of the ocean and swimming only because I have to, not because I actually know where I'm going. I've found a new appreciation for Dory, a different nuance in Finding Nemo. I don't know why life insists on dumping everything on us all at once instead of pacing things one month at a time, but it seems to be a rather consistent theme. What I'd like to be doing right now is sitting in bed with ... Read more »
Book updates, giveaways, and TREATS!
On we soldier, because that is what we must do. A few months ago, my mother asked to read the galley of All Dogs Go to Kevin, and I said, "No, you have to wait till the book comes out like everyone else." Later that afternoon I felt terrible about that so I said, "OK, I changed my mind, here you go." She read it in a day then called to tell me how much she loved it. I am really, really glad I changed my mind. I imagine things are a bit chaotic for her right now but I have high hopes she'll ... Read more »
Brain Food
Did you know tomorrow is National Donut Day? Donuts have always held a special place in my family's heart. Mystical, you might even say. I grew up in New England, where Dunkin Donuts are as ubiquitous as Starbucks and McDonalds. Driving through for a box of Munchkins was our way of celebrating, commiserating, or simply getting a sugar fix. For my grandfather, the Dunk was also a neighborhood gathering place where he went to shoot the breeze, down a jelly donut with a coffee regular (it's a ... Read more »
And still we are here
So here we are. I wake up every morning and do what I have to do, because that is what you do, and write articles about broken toenails and plan for the book release, and then when I pause in my activities I remember: oh yes. That. It wasn't a bad dream. I have done what I am supposed to do. We held hands and stood in the face of a futile fight, and laid down our weapons. You may come, death. We do not fear you. And yet now that we have welcomed him, he hesitates, the rotten bastard. We ... Read more »
The 5 Gratitudes and the Very Important Question
Today marks five weeks since my mother's diagnosis with aggressive Grade IV glioblastoma, five weeks since my family's lackadaisical spring was hit by a grenade that launched us into the surreal world of watching someone next to you on the beach suddenly snatched away by a rogue wave and pulled, slowly but inexorably, off by a receding tide. I thought I would be much more angry than I am, angry at the unfairness of a universe that takes her in such a cruel manner while it leaves behind the ... Read more »
The Everything in Nothing
I know I've been remiss in posting, and I wish very much I could say it's because I've been so busy creating amazing and exciting book campaigns and creating a plan to hit the NY Times Bestseller List in July. I still want to, don't get me wrong, and I still plan to at least give it ago. But that's not why I've been quiet. I guess you could say I've been doing nothing. Nothing. Let me explain. I've said to many people when I started working with as a hospice veterinarian two years ago it ... Read more »
