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Speaking of pets | Animal Care | Animal Diseases | Cats are not little dogs | Creepy Crawly Parasites | Wildlife and exotics | Vet Life and It’s not just a vet life | Out and About | Howlidays
Speaking of pets
Pets in Uganda
We do not know what poverty is in the United States. We went to Africa to help animals, but what I saw when well beyond the animals. I got in late at night. Ellie and Moses picked me up at the airport with my two fifty pound bags of supplies. I didn't look...
2018 AVMA Conference
I woke up in Denver this week. Actually, I woke up Sunday morning at 6:18 a.m. to a series of texts from a client asking when I would be in the office that day. Even when I mentioned that it was six AM where I was, there were a couple more texts. Normally,...
5th Graders Come To Visit Guardian Animal Medical Center
We were in early last Thursday. We had to be. The fifth graders were coming! They would be arriving at 9:30 a.m. and we had to have all of our treatments done and stations set up before they arrived. This is the ninth year that Mrs. Muncy has walked her...
Animal Care
Buy Local
Local purchasing is a preference to buy locally produced goods and services over those produced farther away. It is very often abbreviated as a positive goal, "buy local," which parallels the phrase "think globally, act locally," common in green politics." It used to...
ER Shift
I worked at the Animal ER yesterday. It makes for a long day when I pull a shift there. My morning started at Guardian Animal. There were cases to be checked, wildlife to be fed, and surgeries to be readied to go home. And appointments. Saturdays are hectic in...
Don’t Eat That
Derby came in during the time of ice and no power for many, including my house. This 16-month-old doodle wasn’t feeling well. Derby was not eating well, but the first thing I noticed was that she was walking hunched over. This is often a sign of belly pain. COVID has...
Animal Diseases
Rabies And The One Health Initiative
The One Health Initiative is a movement to forge co-equal, all-inclusive collaborations between all healthcare providers. Veterinarians are used to taking treatments and medications from human medicine, but our important role as human health protectors is...
Respiratory Syndrom in Dogs
On my way in Friday, my phone rang. Morning phone calls are never good. “Doctor, where are you?” “Seven minutes.” Steph doesn’t care where I am. She wants me there. I can tell. “What’s up?” “Roxie is here, and she is in respiratory distress. We have her on...
What You Need To Know About Cushing’s Disease
They say things come in threes and such was the case last week. Hydi, Molly, and Dixie were all in for Cushing’s tests. Cushing’s is a disease where too much cortisol is produced by the adrenal gland. Cortisol is a natural steroid produced by the adrenal...
Cats are not little dogs
How to Make Your Cat Smell Better
Cuddling up with your feline best friend is undoubtedly one of the best parts of being the parent of a cat. When you have had a long day, there is little better than snuggling up on the couch with your furbaby on your lap. Running your fingers through her...
Why you Should Get your Cat a Scratching Post
If you are new to feline ownership, you will probably create yourself a list of all of the essential items that you need to buy when you first bring your new furbaby home. While bedding, a litter tray, and food bowls are almost certain to appear in your...
How to Teach Your Cat to Use a Litter Box
Setting up your litter box One of the most common reasons that cats fail to use a litter box is because it is set up all wrong. Placement is one of the most important aspects of successful litter box usage, so it is crucial to get it right. Each household...
Creepy Crawly Parasites
What You Need To Know About Parvo
It started Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. with two black lab/Weimaraner puppies, Tucker and Tank. They were coming from the ER, where they had been diagnosed with parvovirus. Parvovirus is a very common, highly contagious viral disease that is very resistant...
Gut Feelings
I had a feeling standing in the room. I was looking at a young terrier type dog. The owner was a young, very smart elementary school student. She disliked the poster on parvovirus in my room. I calmly explained that all owners didn’t understand like she...
Wildlife and exotics
Blue-Footed Boobies
Someone asked me what my goal for visiting the Galapagos was. At first, I didn’t know how to answer. The Galapagos is a bucket list trip for everyone, isn’t it? I’d known about the islands for decades, but it had never seemed possible to go before. It was so far from...
Happy, Healthy Iguanas
I can't picture what walking up on their legs looks like. Can you paint a word picture of that? Zee and I just returned from a long overdue trip. Zee had just graduated from Wooster with dual degrees in theater (behind the scenes) and history. I had not been out of...
Dolphins 2 of 2
Sometimes, I miss my former life in the Coast Guard. Although I would not admit it at the time, I loved the time at sea. Although, as a trusted young officer, I often stood the midwatch in the middle of the night, I enjoyed being on deck during the day. How...
Vet Life and It’s not just a vet life
The Waxing and Waning of Grief: A Reflection on Loss in Veterinary Medicine
Grief is a constant companion in veterinary medicine. As a veterinarian, I’ve seen it in countless forms—from the quiet moments shared with a pet in its final hours to the overwhelming sorrow that floods in when the inevitable can no longer be postponed. But the grief...
Pet Article: Plastics in the Ocean
Diving Deep: A Veterinarian’s Perspective on Ocean Conservation As a veterinarian and avid wildlife advocate, I’ve spent my career nurturing animals and educating others on the importance of conservation. Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to combine my...
Pet Article: Continuing Education
Continuing Education in Veterinary Medicine: A Commitment to Excellence As a dedicated veterinarian licensed in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, and the Northern Mariana Islands I understand the critical importance of continuing education in maintaining the...
Howlidays
Gratitude 2021
It is November 1st! I almost forgot! It is time to start my annual tradition of daily affirmations of gratitude! I started many years ago to help counteract the negativity that was rampant on FaceBook and other social media. Now, it is just good practice. Today I am...
Let the New Year Begin
I gave myself a gift for the holidays and took a month off writing. My best friend said I couldn’t write about all the stresses of COVID again for a while and I needed a break, but the text came in from my editor at 1:02am last night that he didn’t have a 1/5...
New Year’s 2021
New Years is a big holiday for me! Not New Year’s Eve, that seems too much gluttony, excess and lateness for my age, but the start of a new year. A time to reflect on where we have been and where we and especially I am going. The whole staff will get together next...