Yesterday’s surgery schedule was packed tight with the standard mix of routine, uneventful surgeries…at least, that’s what you might assume after reading this list:

Canine spay, medium

Feline dentistry/X-ray fractured tooth

Feline dentistry/apply sealant

Canine eyelid cyst removal/dentistry

Canine toe mass removal

Canine mass removal/re-check root canal

Canine spay, large/videoscope ears

Sure, there...

Today, I made an interesting observation. I don’t cry that much any more at work. That may sound strange to you, but young vets cry…a lot (if my experience is any indication of the norm).

Sure, I still get misty-eyed at euthanasias (especially when clients do), but I don’t have that red-faced, nose-blowing kind of cry I used to when I was newer to the game.

My young tech couldn’t help but lose...

Last week I wrote about one of my horrific days…the kind that makes you want to run screaming into a rushing river with rocks in your pockets, á la Virginia Wolf. “To the Lighthouse!” I yelled as I made my way out the door that night (OK, so sometimes I get a little silly after a hard day).

I went home after that extra-special veterinary experience with the knowledge of a little respite headed...

Guess where I am? At the human hospital attending a sick friend’s bedside (his family’s out of town and unavailable). It’s been twelve long hours and counting—five of them spent in the waiting room in the pre-dawn hours (when things are supposed to be slowest).

Indeed, the waiting room was nearly empty when we arrived (and there was little of that behind-the scenes bustling that indicates a...

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to receive resounding confirmation of why I went into vet medicine to begin with. In my job that happens surprisingly often—a thing that makes me willing to continue to subject myself to the never-ending stream of euthanasias, vet-business issues and pet owner-related stress.

Mitigating all those things I dislike about my profession are the moments when I can...

At our hospital we have a couple of neighbors who pass by our back door more than a few times a week looking for some spare change and a little conversation. They’re homeless and alcoholic and we generally try to hook them up with what they need at the time—though we know they’re likely to buy beer when we give them money instead of food.

It’s an increasingly common problem—even for suburban...

I never get to sleep in. When I finally get the chance to play opposum for an hour after my normal wake-up call, I get jolted awake by an emergency. No, it wasn’t a client with the bloat of my nightmares. It was my mother. She lives a couple of doors down and often calls for simple things. This time wasn’t so simple. Her dogs were attacking a cat in the back yard. Happy Memorial Day to you,...

There’s a common axiom among medical people that urges clinicians to expect horses at the sound of hoofbeats…not zebras.

Translated, this means that common things happen commonly and clinicians would do well to keep this in mind when faced with an unknown disease process. So, for example, when a young dog has a cough, we should place kennel cough at the top of our list of possibilities,...

You heard right. I’ve been known to take in foster dogs aplenty, kittens in spades and the occasional wayward bird or snake. But this one’s extra-special. She’s a goat…really.

In case you think our traditional pets are the only ones at risk for abandonment, consider the case of my new foster goat: Found tied by a long, thin rope to the back of a trailered boat on our new tech’s semi-rural...