Archives: Uncategorized

The positive side of the Michael Vick controversy

It may seem strange that a veterinarian can find anything upbeat emanating from such tragic and disturbing crimes as those committed with the venue and financial backing provided courtesy of Michael Vick. But once one can get past the outrage and sadness evoked by such events and step back with a clear mind to watch how the aftermath plays out, there almost always is some...

Veterinary Medicine Enters the New Millenium

I am proud to report that last week, my practice made a very significant transition from traditional x-ray film to digital x-ray. Instead of burning the x-ray to a film that has to be developed, the image is instead captured digitally and virtually instantly transmitted to a high resolution plasma screen that remains saved on a vast database. This cuts x-ray turnaround time...

Webpoll Suggests Pets Increasingly Fed Top Quality Diets

I am both surprised and pleased that our sister site’s (Web-DVM.net) most recent webpoll indicated that a commanding percentage of pet owners are opting to feed their pets top quality diets, despite economic circumstances being less than rosy across the country. According to our webpoll, the question and results from 205 total participants were as follows: I Feed My Pets...

CATalyst Names Its 2009 Top 10 Cat Friendly Cities

The CATalyst Council, an association of the veterinary community, academia, nonprofit organizations, and animal welfare organizations, announced their 2009 top 10 most cat friendly cities, according to a Fox Business report. In no particular order, the aforementioned top 10 cat friendly cities are: Tampa, Phoenix, San Francisco, Portland (Ore.), Denver, Boston, Seattle, San...

Beware of Exotic Animals In Your Neighborhood

Do you live in close proximity to tigers, lions, alligators, grizzly bears, chimpanzees, or other potentially dangerous wildlife? Well according to a report by MSNBC.com, Susan Williams, a citizen residential Okeechobee, FL, had no idea that she had such animals living right next door, until she called Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission amid neighborhood rumors...

It’s Just A Dog

I was sent this moving essay by e-mail from a staff member of my clinic. I was so touched by it, that I felt compelled to share it with my readers: It’s Just A Dog From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a dog,” or, “that’s a lot of money for just a dog”. They don’t understand the distance traveled, the time...

Portuguese Water Dog: The Next First Dog??

As reported on the basis of inside accounts by all the major cable news networks, the Obama’s tentative pick for a White House puppy is going to be a Portuguese Water Dog. This may seem like a good choice for the Obamas, given the allergies the girls suffer from (PWDs do not shed and are considered to be hypoallergenic), the fact that PWDs are generally very friendly and...

Depressed Economy Making General Practioners More Proficient

Since veterinary medicine does not require residency and board certification in a given specialty to practice, the majority go into practice right from veterinary school and practice what is known as general medicine and surgery. This leaves a wide range of skills attained by the general practitioner, with some leaving most highly technical diagnostics, procedures, and...

Hail To A Fallen Hero

As reported by TBO.com, black Labrador Retriever Marley spent a 9 year career as a search and rescue dog, with tours of duty that included crawling and sniffing through the World Trade Center ruins after 9/11, and performing her duties amidst the destruction of 8 different hurricanes. According to Marley’s owner and handler, Captain Mark Bogush, no matter how devastating...

Florida Couple Has Deceased Dog Cloned

5 years ago, Nina and Edgar Otto of Boca Raton, Florida, lost their beloved yellow Labrador, Lancelot. According to a recent Associated Press article from January 28, 2009, deeply saddened by the loss of their Lancelot, the Ottos had samples of his DNA frozen, guessing that some day dog cloning would be available. Just 10 weeks ago, their wish came true, as a biotech company...