As a college student I spent a couple of summers working the reception desk at the practice I (still!) work for. My bosses thought it would be a good idea for a future veterinarian to learn every aspect of a veterinary hospital’s workings (and because, truth be told, they had a hard time with reception staff turnover during this time).

At first, I was frustrated at being confined to “the...

Ever wondered what you would do if you suddenly woke up one morning to find your child’s ears acutely painful and it turned out to be your new puppy’s doing? Indirectly, of course, that’s exactly what happened to my neighbor and longtime client, Manny.

I work in a strip mall in South Miami next to a Cuban bakery that’s been there ever since I can remember. Manny is the owner and, like his dad...

Oops, I did it again! Last week it was the kitten (now healthy and living la vida leche with a feline foster mama), this week it’s a six month-old, mixed-Dane puppy who managed to find himself dumped, presumably after contracting a nasty case of demodectic mange (AKA, demodex, or “red” mange).

That’s how it happens. A pup can be cute as all get-out for the first couple of months but after a...

Walking along St. Mark’s Place while in Manhattan late last Saturday afternoon, my sister and I beheld a common East Village sight—a colorfully eccentric homeless man…and his dog.

Jessie James, a five year-old pit mix, appeared well fed and thrifty. She and her owner, a ruddy-faced, white-haired Vietnam vet, are a well-known fixture in the neighborhood. Everybody knows and loves them…hence,...

Remember K-9 Down? This is an organization aimed at training cops, rescue folks and military personnel to deal with their working dogs’ injuries. I blogged on this a couple of months ago after meeting the group’s fearless leader on a veterinary cruise (yep, we have those). I was so sold on the concept I promised to lend a hand if I could.

To that end, I’m in New York City today so I can help...

Omigod my dogs are dumb! I love them to pieces and we share an amazing bond but there’s no doubt about it: My dogs do not offer me much intelligent company—not compared to the likes of a Border collie or pit bull. A member of this latter breed was the smartest dog I ever had, bar none.

But these Frenchies of mine? They wouldn’t survive a day out in the wild at their mental pace.

It’s not just...

Last night was the variously dreaded and heralded meeting of Miami veterinary minds on the topic of Comfortis, one of the newest flea killers on the market.

As we snuggled into the dimly lit room’s conference-esque interior, wine glasses in hand, thirty or so of us were treated to a dermatology-themed lecture on the major issues facing flea-carrying pets. As waiters shuffled around, filling...

My household has become embarrassingly exemplary of why snake-keeping is fraught with perils. In my acceptance of a reptilian pet (an "I-can’t-keep-her-can-you?" giveaway I took on 18 months ago), I thought I knew what I was in for.

Namely, frequent mice feedings (mostly live because my local snake store seldom stocks frozen ones), yucky snake-poopy cage cleanings and enough human-serpent...

“Conspecifics” they call them; members of the same species. Though goats will easily accept company from humans and horses, for example, they do best with those of their own kind.

After all, goats are herd animals. They’re social. They have a pecking order to some extent and seem to follow the leader (generally the smartest, most adventurous troublemaker). But they warm up to each other...

Just made it through customs as of 10 AM EST. It's a good thing they didn't ask about all the baby goats I sidled up to in Cozumel with all the blisters around their mouths. In that case I'd still be in lockdown getting decontaminated and quarantined on some pier in Fort Lauderdale instead of posting pre-next week. (That was a vet joke. The goats were healthy, really.)

Though I was stressed out...