Archives: Uncategorized

How NOT to clean your pet’s ears

I am frequently asked to look at a pet’s ear because the owner noticed a discharge. Sometimes they will proudly say “…so I cleaned it with ______!” Often I find myself cringing. First, don’t clean it before the vet sees it – it’s like tampering with evidence (here’s my article on the importance of ear goo). Second, most things we use to clean a superficial cut...

Choosing the Right Heartworm Prevention Product for Your Dogs and Cats

My earlier article went through every type of intestinal parasite that is treated by various American heartworm preventatives. But, which product treats what parasite? It is not simple! I color-coded the parasites for each product to make them easy to spot. Oral Medications Heartgard Plus The original. The classic. There are now many other brands (generics) of the exact same...

Bonded For Life

One of the joys of living in the area of Florida that I do is that our communities are all recent construction.  Since the county has recent mandates in place that with new construction a certain percentage of land has to be set aside and designated as wildlife conservation land, we live among conservation land tracks, the largest of which is 80 acres in the center of my...

Reflections Of A Middle Aged Veterinarian

As we age, birthdays kind of lose their magic.  We may get happy birthday greetings from friends and family, perhaps a special dinner, but for most of us adults it is little more than just another day, often even working on our birthdays; another year older, another year removed from our youth.  Turning 40 today, however, I am overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude and...

Best To Err On The Side Of Caution

A retired gentleman brought his 9 year old Siberian Husky to see me last week.  His dog had been clipped by a car right in front of his house, by a kid who was texting while driving.  Luckily, the kid was not driving too fast, knocking the dog onto the ground, but from the owner’s perspective who had witnessed the while incident, it was more like a bump and startle than...

Random Act of Kindness

I had a very busy Friday today, packed with interesting surgeries and medicine cases…one of those days that it is exhilarating to be a veterinarian.  But among all of those exciting cases, it was a routine post-surgical re-check that stood out most in my mind. The owner of the dog I was re-checking is a young mother of two children and owner of three dogs who I have been...

Veterinary Acupuncture, Where East Meets West

Two very different trains of thought exist as explanations as to how acupuncture benefits the body. According to Chinese philosophy, the body contains two opposing forces: yin and yang. When these forces are in balance, the body and its organs are healthy. From this point of view, energy, called qi (pronounced “chi), flows like rivers along pathways, or meridians,...

While We Must Be Open to Alternative Medicine, We Must Recognize When Veterinary Western Medicine is Necessary

Continuing my reporting on the cutting edge field of veterinary rehabilitation, as I discussed in my previous post, Veterinary Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine, that integrative medicine is the best approach to providing optimal health care for our patients.  Being integrative mandates being open to proven alternative medicine techniques, such as the ones outlined...

The Internet Has Created a Generation of Amateur Veterinarians

I began this work week – literally my first case – with a cat owner and her kitty in a yearly visit telling me that she learned on the internet that dry cat food is the kiss of death for cats and is responsible for most of what goes wrong with them, so she took her cat off of the high quality kibble he had been on in exchange for canned food.  She made it a point...

Top 10 2013 Pet Resolutions; Final Thoughts 2012

Watch via live or archived video below:   Listen via live or archived podcast below: Thank you for another great year helping me fulfill my dream of bringing my vision and message to pet owners all over the world. It is beyond amazing to me that what started as a pipe dream to act on my extroverted and opinionated demeanor to start talking and see if anyone would listen...