I recently received this e-mail from my friend Lisa: Hi Dr. V, We went and got a Golden retriever, named Eddie, from a rescue shelter six or so months ago. He's 2-3 years old, and quite bright, as all Goldens are...he came to us knowing sit, shake, and lay down. We also have a cat, and after quite some time of the cat staying away from him, they are finally able to tolerate being around each other. At the rescue, they said they found him out and about, he had been microchipped and ... Read more »
Daily Life
Happy Friday!
Joy, originally uploaded by pawcurious. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Virtual dog kisses from Emmett to all! ... Read more »
Oooooh, this makes me mad
So here's the story: 1. Person takes sick pet to vet. 2. Person cannot afford care/diagnostics, so vet makes best guess as to condition. 3. In lieu of euthanasia, vet offers to take pet and whatever happens, happens. 4. Pet gets better with care. Hooray! 5. Vet finds good home for pet. Updates Person 1 expecting her to be happy the pet is alive and well. (uh oh) 6. Person 1 wants dog back. Vet says, OK, pay the costs we incurred, and you can have her. 7. Person 1 refuses, ... Read more »
All Dogs Go To Kevin
The vinblastine (which we had tried last week when the other chemotherapy regimen failed) was kind of a bust. It was expected, but I'll keep trying as long as Emmett feels well. Hope springs eternal. Hope also springs eternal that a 3 year old might drop some Cheerios. We're feeling good enough to beg (CHECK OUT those big sad eyes! What a ham!) so that is a good thing. Man, I love that little guy. Last week, a person who had just lost his dog in a terrible way asked me through his ... Read more »
You go PETA!
Those nasty, nasty vets at the American Veterinary Medical Association are at it again. They decided to have their annual convention in Seattle, and one of their events allowed some people to participate in a fish toss at the Pike Place Fish Market. Quelle horreur! Because, you know, veterinarians are known for, um, hating animal life and wanting to abuse it and all. Thank you, PETA, for drawing attention to this terrible and important issue of veterinarians tossing fish at a market that ... Read more »
*cough cough*
Should you happen to really, really love your vet, the Morris Animal Foundation is sponsoring the "Thank your Vet for a Healthy Pet" contest. You can submit your love in a 300 word or less short essay. The winners get recognition, accolades, and bragging rights. ... Read more »
A day at the beach
I still have a hard time dealing with the fact that I am going through this yet again, so soon after losing Mulan. I wasn't ready yet (though are we ever, really?) The pain and sadness are exactly the same, as is the sorrowful anticipation. But some things are different. I made good on a promise I couldn't do for Mulan. There couldn't be a more perfect day to take a dog to Dog Beach than there was today. The sky was crystal clear, the waves mild, the pug meetup amusingly snorty. Parking was ... Read more »
good things
Too much melancholy here! Blech! I had another doozy to wind up the week, but I'm worried the more delicate among us might start to think there is nothing in this field except heartache and hurt, then promptly vow never to come to this god-forsaken corner of the net again. That's simply not true. So I thought I would share 5 things about my job that make me happy: ... Read more »
One word is all you need
My boss is a very talented clinician. He has expertise in both internal medicine and in surgery, which makes him a great wealth of knowledge on just about anything. Except rats or hamsters, so I have some value to my place of employment. I went into work today, on my day off, to watch him do a forelimb amputation. It went swimmingly, by the way. While the tech was with the dog in recovery, I was hanging out in the back and chatting while my boss looked at some of the drop offs. Among them was ... Read more »
Hi everyone!
Hi to all of you who came from Cute Overload and welcome! I thought I would link you to the Emmett post so you can see the whole donut story in context. (Am I giving my East Coast origins away with the spelling of donut?) My husband taught him to balance stuff on his nose when we first adopted him at 1, and we've been torturing him with it ever since. Case in point. I know it's not the most original trick, but it's the best we've got. :) ... Read more »
In the mouth, folks.
We have a newer tech on staff. She is picking up on things pretty quickly, but as always there are some things you just can't learn by being told- you need to know from experience. Like today, for example. I saw a little chihuahua puppy who had diarrhea. A simple matter, really. Make sure it's not parvo, test for parasites, send home some medication. Easy peasy as far as we are concerned. But this was a person new to owning puppies, and the idea of a puppy with diarrhea was overwhelming. ... Read more »
Yikes!
Sorry for those getting the feed if you just got every post for the last week again. We had to tweak something with feedburner, but hopefully it's done. ... Read more »
A guilty admission
I was one of the 1.6 million people who put their name in for the Michael Jackson memorial tickets. What? Why is everyone around me so astounded that I did this? I was born in the 70s. He was an integral part of growing up for me. I remember when Captain Eo opened at Disneyland during the height of his popularity- the lines were six hours long to watch him moonwalk in a neon light-up astronaut suit with some goofy rainbow on the front, shooting laser beams out of his hands while some ... Read more »
The definition of success
January 2009 Dr. V: OK Mr. Jones, your pug Dudley needs a dental cleaning. Unfortunately, at 28 pounds he's a pretty severe anesthetic risk. We have a little time to wait, so how about we work on his weight and plan to do the dental in a few months? Mr. Jones: Oh absolutely! Give me that r/d card, I'm on it! Dr. V: I'm so happy to hear that you are on board! We'll see you for Dudley's weight check in a month. February 2009 Dr. V: Did Dudley miss his weight check ... Read more »
The importance of accoutrements
Seeing as how 80% of the entering class at most vet schools is female, I think a sidenote to talk about mascara in a pet blog is OK. And if you're a guy who likes mascara aka Adam Lambert, that is OK too. We do not judge here. Vets are many things, but "fashion forward" does not immediately come to mind. Sure there are some of us who are well dressed, but as a vet school entrance requirement, not so much. I would say it was maybe 50/50 in my class as to how many people wore makeup at all. We ... Read more »
Winner!
I put all the names in a hat from my Inaugural Blog Post contest, and the winner is: msubugvet! Drop me a line at drv@pawcurious.com with your information and I will get that gift certificate out to you! ... Read more »
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Well, at least to the Americans. Everyone else enjoy your weekend. :) The Independence Day holiday is one of the busiest times for animal control officers and emergency clinics. More dogs get out of their yards on this day than on any other day of the year, for obvious reasons. Panicked dogs thinking they are under attack can do the most unbelievable things in their state of duress- destroy couches, jump 7 foot fences in a single bound, bust through sliding glass doors (for real!), then, all ... Read more »
For K
(K, I hope you don't mind me talking about you here- if so please let me know and I will remove this right away.) My heart is breaking for my friend today. She has a wonderful cat Bailey, whom she adores and spoils and overall just loves to pieces. Bailey has been having a rough go of it lately- what started as an upper respiratory infection turned into a frightening series of seizures. After a myriad of vet visits, referrals, clueless receptionists and a neurologist visit, K and her husband ... Read more »
