Are you one of those extra-conscientious owners so concerned about how Fluffy smells that you feel compelled to shampoo her diligently immediately before every vet visit? Well…you might want to rethink that.

For starters, most vets and vet staffers aren’t as horrified by basic pet aromas as the...

OK so I’m recycling. I spent so long yesterday writing and recording this piece for NPR I didn’t have enough time to write something fun for you today. But you know I’d never let you guys go without. So consider it an exclusive sneak peak at something that will almost surely never enjoy...

The vet community is abuzz with a fresh round of hand-wringing over the issue of corporate vet medicine. Actually, the issue of Starbucks-style vet medicine has never really gone away—not since PetSmart started stocking vets along with pet foods and VCA went public. But I’ve been hearing more...

I have this lizard that lives in my back yard. He’s technically not a gecko and [embarrassingly] I’m not even sure what species of reptile claims his DNA as its own (Carolina gecko?). But he’s super-cute, as are all the lizards we South Floridians consider friendly, insecticidal neighbors.

These...

Neophobia: Not exactly a catchy buzz-word, but an entertaining one all the same. It was coined to describe the finicky behavior of those who fear tasting new foods. We all know people like this and they’re every host’s worst nightmare (I have four in my immediate family whom I cook for...

Have you heard the hype on flame retardants as they relate to pets? Cats, it’s argued in one small study, are sensitive to these PBDE’s (polybrominated diphenyl ethers).  They’re a ubiquitous ingredient in computers, electronics and furniture foam padding—and our cats might actually be getting...

We must be rapidly approaching the full moon’s maximum effects. I can tell because almost every post this week has been soooo self-centered and sensitive. I know you guys get sick of it (I can tell from your exasperated comments, at times) but here’s one more self-indulgent post on the topic...

Has anyone ever called you “cute”? Was it the kind of delivery that might have occasioned a barroom-style brawl should you have been gratefully relieved of all inhibition?

I got the “too cute and pretty” line the other day from a prospective agent I’d gifted with a sample of my writing and a...

Remember Dingleberry? He’s the cat who arrived crawling with so many fleas that his clumps of matted fur appeared to move with singular purpose: Get us off this animal, they might have said. He’s almost dead anyway.

I minced my words in my last post in deference to the owner’s ignorance (as...

There’s no accounting for some people’s taste. In fact, as a child, my pediatrician had to talk my mother down off a ledge after I was found snacking on the Purina Cat Chow.

To this day, I have strange tastes. Anthony Bourdain-style, I’ll eat anything edible as long as it’s well prepared and...

Dogs and cats both lick their wounds. Why? Because they have no chlorhexidine handy with which to disinfect their own cuts and scrapes. Sad business for them—except that they seem to manage quite well when it comes to simple cleaning. Beyond getting the big bits of dirt and basic grunge off,...

In the state of Florida, practicing attorneys are required to complete a few hours of pro bono work every year to maintain a favorable Bar status. Vets do not have similar requirements. But I’d like to change that.

If I were on the Board of Veterinary Medicine or a Florida VMA muckity-muck, I...

Yesterday’s client wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. All on staff had fumed when she failed to arrive the previous day after reporting, by phone, that her dog had gotten into her bottle of Advil (ibuprofen). The woman failed to heed the receptionist’s direst warnings, claiming she...

Dreaming of dogs is supposed to be a good omen, but what if your own dreams are continually infused with (and interrupted by) your own dog’s dreaming? Not such a good omen…especially as it applies to your next day’s general demeanor.

My eleven month-old pup has acquired a new bad habit through no...

So you know at the outset, I have serious misgivings when it comes to the concept of shocking a dog—under any circumstances. But then I also hate pinch collars with a passion—along with other oft-misused training tools. I’d rather see a shock collar well applied (yes, there’s a method to the...

Those of you subscribing to my RSS feed experienced the ill effects of my inexpert moblogging last weekend. This Miami girl was in Stowe, Vermont enjoying the scenery when the Vermont-sponsored wireless wigged out and uploaded my post thrice in a row. So much for smooth use of technology. So let...

Michael Vick didn’t play football for the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. And he may not be playing for a couple of years once the courts have their say…perhaps ever if fans care enough to quash NFL ticket sales or deplete TV ratings. Though the latter scenario is as unlikely as a conviction...

One of the most common dilemmas in veterinary neurology is the question of how to address the concept of medicating epileptics. Do we ply them with meds to soothe the seizures or treat them with the benign neglect of a drug-free existence?

Seizure disorders are common in pets, perhaps more common...

Few maladies impress my clients quite like a pendulous ear swollen to ten times its legal limit. That’s what most ear hematomas look like when they arrive. Parents newly initiated to the charms of this disorder are invariably impressed—and, dare I say it—overly concerned.

Of course the pet is...

I’ll confess: I used to be one of those low-confidence surgeons who shivered at the thought of a spay. No, not just the big, fat “dreaded dog spays” I wrote about last month—even the teensiest of spays would find me quaking in the clogs I didn’t feel fit to fill. It’s a common enough malady...

This is not a post about dentistry, though that’ll nestle snugly here under today’s topic: client compliance. It’s the ultimate pet peeve for every vet I’ve ever met and a reason many of you often cite for steering clear of vet medicine as a career (then I’d have to deal with all those...

Though I risk incurring your ire with this post, I submit it in protest to the claims that I am so noble a veterinarian I deserve the adulation you so often bestow upon this mere mortal. In truth, I am but a simple human, rife with failing you cannot imagine save by observing your own worst...

Tuesday brought an unexpected little miracle. It arrived in the guise of voraciously hungry little stray male kitten. He was riddled with fleas, sported no fur over his ears, face feet and tail and suffered raw pink patches over his back and belly. The tiny white and gray 8 week-old thing was a...

So it’s time I addressed a high-profile pet welfare issue that’s been knocking around uncomfortably in my head for a couple of weeks now: FlexPetz. Have you heard of it? It’s a service for pet-loving people without the time or the inclination to care for a pet round-the-clock. A thorough...

Have you ever heard of a teacup cat? I saw the first two examples of these at the hospital today (yesterday by the time you read this). They’re littermates—little ragdoll “teacups” (roughly 30% smaller than they should be). They were twelve weeks old and looked little bigger than your typical...

I got to thinking I'd been spending too much time with lawyers recently when a colleague’s recent disaster case had me wondering…is this malpractice?…or is it just one of those inexplicable things that happens in animal medicine? On first blush, it sure seemed like a classic case of sloppy care....

So you know, human docs often wear scrubs because it’s the only way to respectably wear a comfy pair of pajamas to work. Most physicians don’t really need them unless they’re going into the OR. (Even then, we would hope they’d put on a fresh pair—not the one they’ve been wandering the hospital...

How about a monstrous topic now that we’re suffering the summer doldrums in the extreme (at least here in Miami)? Traveling falls under the category of “monstrous” because it’s one area where industry has notoriously failed to catch up to consumer demand. Here I refer more to the actual...

Now here’s a colorful topic you’ll be sure to enjoy: sex among our animal brethren…and its efficacy. Ordinarily, this is not a topic you’d think to relate to animal welfare, but in the bizarre world of thoroughbred horse racing, anything’s possible.

Remember back to when Barbaro’s fate was...

There’s something about the fundamental relationship between emergency hospitals and regular vets that breeds a little distrust…ill will…or in some instances, just plain enmity.

“Why’s that?”you might well wonder. Don’t emergency facilities give general practitioners the luxury of living without...

No, this is no advertisement for Advantage and its familiars. This is the truth and consequences of fleas on pets—even indoor pets, as this case will prove.

Dingleberry (so named for his long fur’s talent for capturing stray fecal balls in the litterbox) was a beautiful black Persian cat we’d...