Sense a theme on Dolittler lately? It seems I just can’t keep myself from addressing the most obvious killer problem in our midst: pet obesity. 

But how do you know if a pet’s fat? And just how fat denotes obesity? These are just a couple of problems I face in my daily life as someone who advocates for the best care of my individual patients.

Take the 158-pound Labrador retriever I’ve been...

Have you ever known a somnambulist? You know, a “sleepwalker”? If so, you’ll know this disorder, though usually benign, can sometimes lead them into odd situations where they do things like raid the fridge, drive the car or climb on the roof. 

How about this one: Have you ever been sufficiently startled (out of a deep sleep or otherwise) that you reflexively defended yourself? 

Something...

Things in Miami don’t happen the way they do in the rest of the US. Unlicensed usage of dangerous chemicals is my newest example. After being accidentally fumigated with a variety of bug-killing chemicals (whose true provenance we’ll likely never know), this gorgeous kitten suffered a variety of neurologic effects that ultimately rendered him homeless.

I know what you’re going to say....

You think cancer’s so bad? OK, so maybe it is given the alternative of perfect health. But consider that cancer is eminently treatable. In fact, for cancer cases there’s a great deal veterinarians can do to prolong a perfectly comfortable life, sometimes well beyond all predictions so that pets can achieve normal lifespans.

The words cancer, neoplasia, tumor, oncology and malignancy may fill...

Yesterday’s patient was a well-fed Shih-tzu. About four years old, this little specimen of her breed was the picture of health—except for the prominent pudge about her waistline. When questioned about her diet, by way of treading delicately in the direction of her “excess baggage,” her owner fessed up to little Chi-chi’s problem with food:

“Doctor, she just does not like to eat. I have to...

Last week one of my nineteen year-old patients died. Or rather, as the euphemism goes, I put him to sleep. In truth, it was a race. If I’d been a few seconds slower he would’ve beat me to it. Such was the extreme of his advanced decrepitude.

Foxy had been blind, deaf, chronically disoriented, episodically anxious, unable to walk without assistance and periodontially challenged in the extreme....

Homer was a couple of weeks old when I found him…maybe 21 days at the most. A young couple brought him in after finding him—I can’t remember where.

His eyes were swollen shut. I recall the presence of maggots. Though the couple requested he be euthanized on account of his certain blindness and disgusting appearance...I couldn’t do it.

How can I describe my feelings at the time?...

I was a...

Sometimes I wish I could reach out through the telephone lines…and strangle someone. 

This time it was the owner of a Rottweiler whose bitch just bore her second litter out of the same sire...in seven months—despite my strong recommendation to never do so again.

The first litter suffered a 91% death rate (by day 9, 10 out of 11 live-born pups were dead, succumbing one by one until a lone,...

Yesterday was my birthday. In a misguided attempt to celebrate this auspicious day with me, my first patient of the day took a whopping chomp out of my left hand.

As is my usual style, I made no exclamations or accusations and simply whipped out a muzzle, sparing just enough time to write “Watch!” on the file in bold letters and utter a few words of exculpatory explanations.

Now, this would...

Maybe you’re not aware of this but some vets are scared of pet insurance. All that paperwork, red tape and the fear of something even more sinister: the specter of managed care that lurks behind every policy.

Me? I’m not so worried that one day how I practice will be altered by my patients’ policies. I’m more worried that my cases won’t get the benefit of the care I can provide. The way I see...