Archives: Pets

The Dog: Con Man or Opportunist?

“You give them an inch, and they take a mile!” Yep, we’ve all heard that saying before. But what does that mean when we speak about our furry children? Well, my intrepid pet parent, it means that Fido has learned more about who we are than most of our dear friends! You see, our dogs (notice I’m purposefully leaving out cats in this conversation; they’re a whole other...

Exceptional academic achievement, thousands of hours of animal volunteer and work experience, 8 years of rigorous schooling, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of student loan debt to fulfill your dream of…working for Walmart?

Most of us have heard conspiracy theories about the New World Order we are destined for through the alleged diabolical intent of secret societies such as the Free Masons. To conspiracy theorists, I say forget the Free Masons!  They should instead be focusing their attention on Walmart and their New World Order mission as it continues to grow its increasingly massive share of...

The Common, Possible Silent Killer That Most Dog Owners Are Not Aware Of – Canine Idiopathic Vacuolar Hepatopathy

Idiopathic vacuolar hepatopathy is a chronic inflammatory liver disease seen most commonly in small to mid-sized terriers, but can be seen in any size dog or breed.  Vacuoles are small structures in the cell membrane that are normal for certain types of body cells.  They are not normally present in the cell membrane of liver cells. Certain circumstances can lead to formation...

There’s a First Time for Everything (including blogging) (or, a veterinarian’s diary in the digital age)

Have you had the guts and support of those around you to chase the dreams you’ve had since you were knee-high to a grasshopper (for those of you who aren’t Urban-Dictionary-ing (yes, I used that as a verb!) that phrase, it means ‘really young kid’)? Well, I am happy to shout from the rooftops and mountain tops that I have been a very blessed and fortunate soul; and not...

Xylitol, A Common But Largely Unkown Killer Of Dogs

This story is about Reggie the miracle Puggle (Beagle, Pug cross) who has more lives than most cats.  He is a lovely dog but has an uncanny tendency to get himself into trouble…mostly due to his insatiable desire to anything and everything!  I will not get into all of other trouble Reggie has gotten himself into, as this article is about xylitol toxicity, but suffice it to...

Daily Dog Walks Are Far More Than Just Exercise!

This post is more a personal story, but I hope others can learn from my revelation. Last week two of my dogs got into a fight with each other. I don’t know what was said, but they were both extremely upset, and we had some minor injuries. There had been tension between them before, but this was the crescendo. So of course, I am addressing the issue. Building the confidence...

Why Needing A Root Canal Made Me A Better Doctor

I historically seek out the positive sides of most unfortunate situations, but when I found out I needed a root canal on my right upper incisor, the only positive sentiment that I could muster was that there are many people dealing with far worse than this. My tooth saga began 30 years ago playing hide and go seek in the dark in the basement of the house I grew up in. ...

Why Is Heart Worm Treatment In Dogs Such A Long And Drawn Out Process?

When you find out your dog (or, in many cases, foster dog) is heartworm positive, you want to fix it! Let’s treat him and get rid of these heartworms! You know they can be deadly if not treated, so why wait? Then, when you learn how long the treatment takes, and we can’t start just killing worms right away, it’s a bit of a buzz kill. Why do we have to drag this out?...

Pets whose lives changed from weight loss

Obesity is, in the majority of cases, brought on by simply overfeeding. But you can turn things around! If you read my previous article on the tragedy of obesity, you need to know there can be happy endings! We just need to acknowledge the problem and intervene as early as possible. Here’s two success stories of dogs for whom weight loss saved their...

Pet weight loss tips and tricks

If you read my earlier article about the health risks of obesity, you might have been inspired (or scared!). If your pet needs to lose weight, the time to start is now. First, accept the fact that weight loss takes time – often months. If you have a large dog who has mobility issues, losing weight is hard, because exercise is obviously limited. If you have an obese cat,...