You have probably been hearing a lot about canine circovirus. So have I. You may have heard some conflicting things about this virus. So have I. Because I love you all and I want you to know what I know, I've spent the day trying to make sense of the information that's out there. Here's what I know so far and why I'm not recommending mass panic at this time. Part 1: It's the food Here's how the story evolved, as far as I can piece together. 1. In mid-August, P&G pet foods issues a ... Read more »
Picks of the Litter
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 »
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 worst situation in the world
A couple of days ago, the wonderful Dr. Nancy Kay posted a story I hope all parents (human and pet) read about the trend of kids and dogs in pictures getting into potentially scary situations. If you haven't read it yet, she punctuated the apprehension she feels seeing pictures like this: And this: with a story from her own practice, where a parent disregards her attempts to help her children interact with their dog more safely. And the story ends, after the dog bites one of the ... Read more »
Little pink blankie
That thing? That Tuesday thing I've been fretting over for weeks/my whole life? Is now a Wednesday thing. No one in the universe is more anxious about this than me, but in case you were wondering why I haven't posted any pictures of me popping a cork yet....yeah. But in this case, a one day delay is fine and I PROMISE I will explain everything then. And in the meantime, a story. On Friday, I told my colleague Dr. B, for whom I am now working once a week, that I would go to appointments ... Read more »
Birdsong
Hands "You have surgeon's hands," said Mr. Veri, and I believed him. It was one of the few things my Jon Lovitz-esque physics teacher had said to me all year, and I had no idea what prompted it or what level of experience he had with hand divination, but it sounded like a kickass thing to have, and I held onto it. He saw my hands, but he didn't know my heart. I didn't either, so I can't blame him for setting me up for crushed dreams down the road. I went into veterinary school sure of two ... Read more »
Food Rules for Dogs
It's generally accepted that of all the controversial people food trends out there, the paleo/raw/low carb/low fat rules of ingestion, the one thing everyone seems to agree on is Michael Pollan's Food Rules, which at its core is this: don't eat so much processed food, and don't eat so much food in general. Agreed, and you can certainly extrapolate this to pets too. However, with over 50% of US pets overweight or obese- a condition with definite and real consequences- I'm more concerned with ... Read more »
In the Game of Boys, you win or you die
Every once in a while I find myself remembering just how similar we are to our primate relatives; how, when the trappings of modernity are removed from our dextrous fingers we regress to our most primal of behaviors with nary a glance backwards. You don't even need to travel to a different continent to explore indigenous tribes or venture out with an anthropology researcher intent on dissecting human behavior. You just need to go camping. Preferably with a large group of young boys. When ... Read more »
Spay Day, that Golden study everyone’s talking about, and why I still happily remove testicles.
Today's the day- 2013 Annual World Spay Day! I have to tell you, it doesn't tickle the old joy centers quite the way, say, Ben and Jerry's Free Ice Cream Cone Day does, but it's here and I'm glad it exists. Now, two things to note before I give my thoughts: 1. Although it's called "Spay Day", the event encompasses both spay and neuter. Nobody's trying to leave the fellas out, I think it just rolls off the tongue better this way. 2. Yes, I know it's a Humane Society of the United ... Read more »
Muscle Memory
Scientists have long been fascinated with the concept of "muscle memory", that subconscious part of our brain that controls movement without us having to think about it. It's what allows us to do complicated tasks such as riding a bike or typing "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" without having to stop and say, OK, I need to contract my left hamstring while extending my right quadricep and all those tricky things that go into motion. It's what allows me to tie a knot during surgery ... Read more »
Please God, let me go with my face in a plate of chocolate chip ice cream
Friday things were getting bad, Kekoa's leg was aching. So you know, it's time to go, But not without some bacon. Saturday was super great, All day long we ate and ate, Venison, rabbit, gator too, All day feasting through and through. And when Sunday came around, Gray and rainy, under cloud, I sat down and then I cried, Cause it was time to say goodbye. When the doctor gave the shot, My dear dog, she felt it not Because she had - don't get me wrong- In her paws, ... Read more »
Dog person through and through
I've always been a dog person, unabashed, and proud of it. From the time my first Lhasa bit me at eight years old, then snuggled into my arm before pooping in my shoe, it was all over. I'm helpless. Cats were a creature I had to work at liking. We never had one growing up; in fact, until veterinary school, I never lived with one. Now that I have Apollo and have come to appreciate their unique characteristics, I can't imagine my life without one. I wouldn't quite say I'm a cat lady, but I do ... Read more »
Do What’s Right
Last night at the North American Veterinary Conference I was sitting with a group of wonderful veterinary students, and we were chatting about practice and whatnot, when all of a sudden it occurred to me that I was the senior veterinarian in the group. As in, the things I was saying were now the Pearls.Of.Wisdom from on high, and the idea that I've been doing this long enough to have wisdom to impart is simultaneously horrifying and delightful. Wow, I'm the wise one! Good Lord, I'm the old ... Read more »
Don’t Be That Vet
On Saturday, I'm boarding a plane yet again and jetting off- strangely enough- right back to Orlando, the last place I went on a trip. The last quarter of 2012 was a blur, and then I had a break the last few weeks. If you consider moving and unpacking a break, that is (it's about as restful as sleeping on a bed of nails, for reference.) I'm not exactly ramping up again, not quite. It's just a wee side trip to the North American Veterinary Conference to man the World Vets booth, one of the ... Read more »
Who needs Crossfit when you have a dog?
Like many of you, I started this new year with an extra pound or two that leaped- LEAPED, I tell you- onto my hips when I wasn't looking. The cookies held me down by force and shoved themselves into my unwilling face at the Christmas party. Nonetheless, I'm now in the process of evicting this unwanted excess material, and since we moved, that means I need to find a new exercise routine/ gym. I thought about CrossFit. I really did. But it sounds like boot camp, and not in a good way but in a ... Read more »
It’s OK to be angry- the topic I hate to revisit
It was the day after Christmas, which is how these things always seem to go. I looked at the x-ray on the monitor and smushed my lips together at what I saw. "That looks terrible," I say to my friend Kristen, also a veterinarian. She nods glumly. A lytic, destructive bone lesion. Pretty cut and dried for cancer. Survival statistics for cancer depend on a lot of things, but one of the main prognostic indicators is type of cancer. Bone cancers are notoriously nasty and challenging to treat. ... Read more »
The Best Moment I Never Saw: The Rose Parade moment everyone’s talking about
January 1, 9:15. I'm sitting in the grandstands on Orange Grove Blvd enjoying my first trip to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Earlier, in the chill dark morning mist, I and a handful of other lucky press saw the Natural Balance Canines With Courage float lined up down the road, and I got to meet the delightful and utterly gracious Dick Van Patten while he warmed up inside a roadside trailer. When the Canines with Courage float, a full scale replica of the new Military Working Dogs National ... Read more »
Celebrate Love
Friday, 11:30 am. I'm wandering the halls of the Orlando Convention Center as it's gearing up for this weekend's Celebrate Dogs event. I've already been there since Wednesday, working on a couple of projects before the main event, but now I'm just wrapping up interviews with Beatrice and Lambchop, otherwise known as: Stella on Modern Family; and Yakult on Suburgatory: I was really happy to get the chance to meet these celebrity dogs up close and personal. This is the first year the ... Read more »
