If I were to list all the categories of questions I get in order of how frequently they hit my email inbox, the hands-down winner would have to be the Q on canine vasectomies. As in, “My veterinarian won’t perform a vasectomy on my dog. Where can I have one done?” and “Do I have to fly my pet down to Miami to get my dog a vasectomy?”

All this attention simply because, once or twice (OK, so...

It’s time to attack obesity again. This time with stuff. Because God knows we love pet stuff. So why relegate its acquisition it to the holiday gifting season? Yes, there’s always a reason to shop and this time you’ve got a great excuse.

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) in its never ending quest to whittle down our pets’ waistlines, has issued a press release on the merits of...

For the purpose of this post, think what would happen if your pet ran out in traffic and got hit by a car. Let’s say just one bone was broken and you’re breathing a sigh of relief, thinking: cast, pain in the rear, but it’ll heal. That is, until your veterinarian starts in on the subject of surgery. As in...

“You have two choices, surgery or no surgery and here are the risks and rewards,”...

Last night I attended the mid-week showing of Cavalia, the Canada-based equine spectacular currently taking the US by storm.

Considering the accolades and effusive praise it received from my friends and colleagues, wouldn't have missed it. All I needed was a good enough excuse to blow more than my monthly entertainment budget on one night's guilty pleasure. Luckily, I found one: My son's 12th...

Spied on the front page of The New York Times this morning: “Heel. Sit. Whisper. Good Dog.” Surgery to cut the vocal cords of barky dogs is losing favor, it reports. Amid such current front page news as food coupons for hungry Haitians and Gates’ POV on “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” comes the “news” that debarking is no longer on the “in” list.

While I’m gratified that the New York Times took the...

Three recent success cases (I really needed those) turned into three special thank-yous. Among them, a request: "What would Dr. Khuly like as a token of my gratitude?" 

Fielded by an intrepid receptionist, the query was answered with no hesitation: A donation in her name to the University of Pennsylvania's Shelter Medicine Program. 

So you know, we don't quiz our staff on what kinds of...

What is it about tails? For some reason, humanity seems to abhor nothing more than a caudal appendage. Unless an animal’s got a prehensile version, it’s only going to get in the way. Best get rid of it, we say.

Many breeds’ tails are docked within days of birth. Others have the tail-lessness bred into them through fancy genetic tricks. Cats are not immune to the shenanigans, nor are plenty of...

For the past week I’ve been aware of a scary condition affecting at least a score of dogs in South Florida. It’s a hindlimb weakness that leads––within hours to days––to paralysis.

It seems to work much like botulism poisoning would so that dogs eventually succumb to the effects of the disease once they can no longer power the muscles they need to breathe with. Essentially, they...

For the past week-and-a-half, our small hospital has been hosting a very special feline. Her name is creatively lacking, perhaps, but something soulful about this old girl made “Momma Cat” seem so apropos I didn’t have the heart to veto it.

Momma Cat is a cool kitty not just because she’s easy-going and grateful, but also because of her impressive provenance. This cat survived five days in a...

For the past eight months, I’ve been putting together this genetic disease library for Embrace Pet Insurance. It’s a labor of love and a well-paying job––not to mention a great review of the 120 most common genetic diseases we see in companion animal medicine. Problem is, it’s also depressing.

Why? Because every time I get to the end of an article (on, say, spina bifida or elbow dysplasia)...