People sometimes ask me why I keep this blog. What would motivate anyone to wake up early or go to bed late just to write something alternately pedantic and soul exposing? Here’s my secret: If I hadn’t forced myself to start writing things down, I might not have the chance to rid myself of daily demons that would otherwise plague me. And I might have progressed to the deadening burnout common...

I never used to think much about stitches. I thought them a necessary evil in the war against open wounds and surgical tissue apposition. No longer.

All the restrictions against bathing and grooming after surgery? Throw them out the window…when you’ve got a perfect closure with no visible stitching.

Of all vets, I should love stitches. I sew, knit and boat—so you should know I adore knots of...