There's so much going on in the world today and so much conflicting information, sometimes it's hard to tell up from down and left from right. Like all of you, I'm watching the news intently and trying to balance reasonable precautions without lapsing into panic mode. Here, have a picture the dogs begging for popcorn. That always helps me: I'm not the ultimate authority on epidemiology, but I am surrounded by people who live and research in this space. I trust what they say, so I pass it ... Read more »
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Would You Have Done What this Doctor Did?
*Warning: mentions suicide* As I sat on the couch with Ollie sprawled over my lap, I sighed and mentioned to my husband that, yet again, another veterinarian has died by suicide. She was a mother with two little boys, a practice owner, and by all accounts seemingly happy. We can guess all we want about what desperation, what chemical lies, were swirling in her brain- but we will never know. This sort of thing was shocking once, but now it’s a dejected “oh no, not again.” You’ve probably ... Read more »
I Told a Big Old Lie
I told a big truth and a big lie all in the same day, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I was on my way home after a busy weekend at the AVMA convention in DC. Somehow, after 10+ years of this blog and a book and constant writing, I had figured out that hey maybe storytelling is kind of your thing and there might be a way to help my colleagues do the same. So I spoke about the importance of storytelling in our work, and it was great, and it reminded me of my roots here at ... Read more »
What You Should Know About the FDA Alert on Grain Free Dog Foods
A recent FDA alert about the possible connection between grain free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy has been gaining momentum. I'm getting tons of questions about it, and I'm learning as much as I can too. Let me start by saying this: we ALL want what's best for our pets. We might have different approaches for getting there, but that's the goal. For the video version, check out my interview with Dr. Lisa Weeth, DVM, DACVN: You can tell by my intense face we were having a GREAT ... Read more »
Two Words With Anthony Bourdain
My interaction was limited to two words and they weren’t very exciting ones. I’m not impressed by celebrities. I lived in LA for five years surrounded by them, and other than looking over my shoulder and saying, “Oh, you’re right, there’s Ashley Judd” I kept my interactions to a minimum. I guess I should say I’m not impressed by Hollywood celebrities, because there are other people with whom I am very much starstruck, people I would wait in line for hours to meet and ... Read more »
This One Little Tip Could Save Your Dog’s Life
At pawcurious, we’re both saddened and bemused when scrolling through the clickbait pseudoscience of “natural pet advice” websites. We decided, initially, to post a Top Five List of some of the just plain bad advice commonly dispensed by people with no formal education in veterinary medicine, science, or critical thinking. But after getting through just one, I was so exhausted by cutting through the garbage caked on like tartar on the teeth of dog who’s had nothing but anesthesia-free dentals ... Read more »
I’m Here, and I’m Also…Somewhere Supercool
I launched pawcurious in 2009. Can you believe it? Close to a decade ago. The landscape then was vastly different: Blogs were the hot new thing- like, it was cool to be a blogger, people still carted around huge DSLR cameras, and people were willing to invest in reading long stories about people's struggles with organic baby food preparation (long live the mommybloggers!) The blog has always been a reflection of the fact that I want pet owners to know things, to ask questions, and to have ... Read more »
Merry Christmas from Brody
Whenever I've lost someone close to me, I have the same dream within a month: in this dream, they return to me, healthy and whole. We have just that moment to be in each other's presence once more; and then they are gone. It has happened with pets, with my grandparents, and with my mother. It is comforting to think in some form, they are well. Then I wake up with a bittersweet taste on my tongue. In that brief moment it was real, my brain fooled into thinking they were there with me: ... Read more »
Here’s Who I Blame for the High Cost of Vet Care
In 2014, I got a whole bunch of people fired up by writing a piece called "No Obamacare for Dogs" that spoke to the issues people face when they arrive at the vet ER without enough funds to pay for a pet's needed care. And here we are now, three years later, same old same old. Somewhere, in the United States, a pet has arrived at an ER and the owner was unable to afford the estimate. Chaos ensues. Nothing new, really, and here we are again waiting for someone else (read, the veterinary ... Read more »
Why I Hate That Stupid Mom Pie Quote
"A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." -Tenneva Jordan Last week, my husband sold the U2 tickets he bought for us back in January because it conflicted with my daughter's school play. I'm not gonna lie, it was painful, but sometimes you have to put things aside when you're a parent. I say sometimes, though, because I think that's an important distinction to make in the Pinterest era where everyone ... Read more »
Mars Bought a Bunch More Vet Clinics- Now What?
We welcome our veterinary overlords! Well, kind of, but not really. Yesterday's announcement that Mars PetCare acquired VCA for 7.7 billion was a shocker to everyone I know in the pet care industry, which just goes to show you us peons are always the last to know. Disclosure: I am speaking only for myself here and from my own experiences. I spent part of my career at Banfield, which is part of the growing Mars empire. That wasn't the case when I joined, when veterinary clinics were almost ... Read more »
Giving Tuesday- I’m Giving to You!
Hey guys- long time no talk, right? I miss you all. I'm here, though as you probably noticed less so than I used to be. It's by design- lots of stuff in the works as always, and figuring out how this little blog fits in to all of it is always something I think about. People are reading fewer words these days, looking at more pictures, listening to more podcasts. How do we continue to stay in touch in a world whose canvas is ever-changing? Do I even want to try? (Yes. You should always try.) ... Read more »
Thank you Veterans
Dogs have been members of the military for many, many years, but they weren't always seen as soldiers. At least to the leadership. During the Vietnam War, when the troops withdrew, the dogs were left behind as 'surplus equipment.' To this day, that fact haunts many of their handlers, who knew without a doubt that these loyal canines were nothing short of soldiers themselves. It is not an easy job. More than 500 dogs are deployed serving the military at any given time. They protect, serve, ... Read more »
Grungy Dogs rejoice: Neat Treat Groom Genie and Paw Sponge are here!
When you live with a Golden, you get very accustomed to fur tumbleweeds skittering across the floor, wet footprints marking the tile, and a standing order for lint rollers. It just comes with the territory. I've also become somewhat of a connoisseur of brushes; brushes for removing undercoats, for dematting, for general purpose grooming. So when I was sent an unassuming Groom Genie to test out, I figured, "here we go, another one for the grooming bin." Then I tried it. I don't know ... Read more »
On the eleventh day of clinics
On the eleventh day of clinics, my kitties gave to me: 10 dogs a-derping 9 beggars prancing 8 screws a-stabilizing 7 mites a-swimming 6 Old Souls Graying 5 Moldy Rings! 4 Gastric Grommets 3 Dead Pens 2 Blown Up Gloves And a linear Foreign Body! ... Read more »
I do not have Ebola (I think)
Back when it was just a foreign concept whose name was limited to public health journals and the occasional horror movie, my sister and I used to joke about Ebola. Every time we got the flu and felt like garbage we would text each other "Ugh, I have Ebola." It was shorthand for "I feel very under the weather at the moment." But now that it's finally happened, this snaking into the global population that public health experts have warned of for many years, we stopped joking about having Ebola ... Read more »
A Scotsman, a bulldog and a blonde walk into a spa…
I'm having one of those months where I think everything important is weeks and weeks away, and then all of a sudden it's coming up tomorrow and I am caught completely unaware. It's feast or famine 'round these parts. Take the last two weeks, for example. So. Two weeks ago, I went up to Los Angeles to shoot a segment for ABC's The Lookout. It's part investigative journalism, part consumer reporting, and part entertainment. My segment: costly accounting mistakes. Kidding. It's about ... Read more »
The Exquisite Pain of Impatience
You know how when you plan a vacation for a year, it's all well and good but the last week before you go is torture? It's kind of like that. I have this bottle of Dom in the pantry. I got it for my wedding in 2001. I haven't touched it all these years, not even for any of the following occasions: 1st anniversary 10th anniversary birth of first child graduating vet school buying house selling house But next Tuesday, I might be opening it. I might be ... Read more »
