Hardened criminal. Swimsuit model. New media revolutionary. NPR host. Animator. What do they all have in common? Their lives have been made better by having a pet. And we're not talking oh, I have a cute cat and I sometimes feed it and it makes me chuckle, I'm talking about people whose lives have been profoundly affected by the animals in their lives. I assume if you're here reading this blog, you feel it too. Something about the bond between ourselves and our pets goes way beyond the ... Read more »
Daily Life
Thank you, even for that.
This week my Facebook newsfeed has been filled with friends listing, day by day, those things they are thankful for. Health. Family. Security. All good and wonderful things, and what a lovely sentiment to take a moment out to acknowledge how fortunate we are to have what we do. I like that. I think it's safe for people to assume I am thankful for my family and their health and the nice things I am lucky to have, absolutely. But I think a more interesting question is this: What are you ... Read more »
The day of our dead
It's one of my earliest memories: kneeling on the soil next to my grandmother in her lush front yard just to the left of her Mary on the half shell, her hair tied back with her ever present babushka. She clips a dead marigold and hands it to me. I look at it, brown and crinkly in my hand, then look up at her in askance. "Look," she says, and peels back the dead leaves. Inside, a pocket of seeds spills into my hands. Mary- I called her Babcia, because in her native Polish that is how you say ... Read more »
Zombie on a leash
Those of you who watch The Walking Dead know about Michonne, arguably one of the most kick-booty characters on television today. When we first meet her, on her own after the zombie apocalpyse, she is holding her own thanks to her katana and a pair of neutered (as it were) zombies she has put on a leash and uses to avoid detection by other zombies. Even though we are now on Season 4 and Michonne has long since lost her zombies, it remains the only instance in which zombie power ... Read more »
Three things to know about the jerky illnesses
Let's imagine, for a moment, that there is a serial killer loose in your town. One by one, he picks little kids off from the local playground, and it's horrible and awful. The police are working around the clock, but the killer remains elusive. But he only ever chooses his victims from that one playground. You wouldn't take your kids there, right? Even if *most* of the kids who play there end up ok, even if the police chief says, well, it might be OK now? Why take that chance, when there ... Read more »
I had a moment
I had a moment. I admit it. A moment of just sheer utter sad, thinking on the amount of death and loss and unpleasantness that's been floating about lately. I thought of my daughter's poetry book, which she started after Kekoa died to work through her grief. Just as she was finishing up with it, now she writes about Apollo. I thought about the little shadow in the background that used to flit about. I thought about the happiness certain things bring me and the kids. I thought about ... Read more »
Poke, pay, push off
I used to work in a clinic that offered twice a week vaccine clinics. During those times, we would waive our customary exam fee (at the time it was $45), as long as the client was coming in solely for vaccines and had no health questions. We did this to provide a service to those clients who would go to the weekend vaccine clinic at the pet store instead of coming to us. I know how those weekend clinics work. They are much like the flu clinic I took my kids to last week. You go, you get your ... Read more »
How to talk to your vet about death
I'm getting Apollo's ashes back this week. I still haven't quite processed it yet, because his death lacked that months long painful preparation/ agonizing over a pet in the process of dying: The Infinite Hovering of the Big Hanging Clock. He woke up Wednesday morning, meowed for his food like always, and was dead 12 hours later. Whenever you learn of a terminal diagnosis, that invisible countdown clock that all living beings share suddenly appears. And we know that it's winding down, sooner ... Read more »
Headless dog cakes and other sundry sacrifices
Before I get into the details of this weekend, it's important to understand the massive pile of guilt from under which I was trying to emerge. One year ago this month, the chaos began. The endless lines of people rifling through our home in an endless stream had already been going on for seven months, but one year ago was when we agreed, from exhaustion more than anything else, to sell the home. All for the promise of a better education for the kids, which necessitated a move out of the ... Read more »
my sweaty self, my gym bag, my cat
One of the things they always tell you in vet school is "don't go on gut instinct alone." And this is a good point, because you can't really practice sound medicine based solely on intuition. You get a hunch, then you follow through with science to prove or disprove your hypothesis. Most of the time, though, you're right, even if you don't want to be. Like the time I was patting Nuke on his side and felt a mass pushing back on my hand. "Splenic hemangiosarcoma," my mind spit out, and an ... Read more »
World’s Most Adorable Degenerate Produce
A grape. So benign. Frozen, so delicious. Dehydrated, so raisin-y. And in large quantities in dogs, the unassuming grape goes Breaking Bad and becomes a killer. Da da duuuuum.... so let's talk toxic foods for a minute. When my friend Lili Chin over at Doggie Drawings asked if I would look over a poster she was designing of toxic foods for canines, I was so excited, because her drawings rock and I couldn't wait to see how she interpreted "bulb of garlic." The idea was to create a simple, cute ... Read more »
Do dogs get headaches?
Humans For Sure Get Headaches A week ago, I decided I was going to stop drinking caffeine. Now if you know me at all, you know I adore coffee, more than almost anything else in life. If you cut my arm, skinny vanilla latte would pour out. The decision to give up my biggest vice was not an easy one by any means, but at the end of the day, health trumps pleasure, and I figured there's always decaf. I did what everyone tells you not to do, and just stopped cold turkey. Big mistake, ... Read more »
Flashback Friday: Depressed Puppy
So I was looking through old Brody photos for a Flashback Friday and found this one: Which was awesome all by itself, and then I realized he was the perfect candidate for some captions. So I turned him into a Depressed Puppy Meme. Hope you have a better long weekend than this guy! ;) (If I recall the true sadness was not being allowed to chase my mom's hellkitty around) Feel free to make your own caption, they always entertain me. :D ... Read more »
The most seriously awesome thing ever: Part 1
Short Version About that champagne thing. Let me tell you what has been going on the last few months. Dr V is writing book in little less than half a year. So all I have to do is write the book, edit it, keep Brody alive, work, and add 4 hours to every day. After I plot the dethroning of the Evil Count AwfulSuperintendent here in my school district. Long Version When I was seven, my mother once punished me by sending me to my room for an hour. Three hours later, she came upstairs and ... Read more »
The Dude’s Guide to Losing a Pet
In my thirty something years on this planet, I've never seen my father cry. I think part of me assumed for a really long time that men simply just didn't feel things as intensely as women did, which of course is not true at all. As a society, men are pressured from the get-go to bottle up any sort of sadness or grief, hammer it down, force it inward. The very word "man up" sums it up: outward signs of sadness are feminine, wussy, and will get you devoured. I don't think it's inherently this ... Read more »
Fear Me: Fear Free Practice and You
My resting blood pressure, I assure you, is completely normal. I have to state this fact again and again every time I wind up at the doctor's office, when the nurse places the cuff and then pulls it off with a thoughtful wrinkle in her forehead. "It's not normally 200/140!" I plead, hoping she doesn't direct me to the closest ER. "I just get this way when I'm in the doctor's office." She nods, and we get on with our day. I have no idea why it happens, but apparently it's A Thing. I blame it on ... Read more »
The One Thing I’m Telling You Before You Have a Kid
There are few situations I dread more than a young couple with a new pet they refer to as "our child". I'm not talking every young couple with a pet, mind you, but specifically those that refer to him or her as a kid. Though you might expect these to be the most involved and conscientious owners, and oftentimes they are, just as often you see them about a year or two later with a stroller and a decidedly changed attitude. And then you don't see them at all. Note to Allison: You Personally ... Read more »
The Veterinary Film Marketing Team Needs a Little Work
The American Veterinary Medical Association is not known for being on the cutting edge of pop culture or media relations. Like its cousin the American Medical Association, professional organizations like this all tend to err on the side of conservatism. That is just the nature of the beast, and I get that. So it is with some degree of bemusement that I noted the AVMA has recently released a 30 second movie trailer in honor of its 150th anniversary. And why, might you ask, does the profession ... Read more »
