There’s an unwritten rule within the vet set that goes like this: bites happen and we’ll inevitably suffer through a few. This is so well understood that in the wider world it’s even been codified such that only unprovoked violence typically earns a dog a dangerous dog designation. And violence in a veterinary setting is never reasonably categorized as unprovoked. 

Not so in one Colorado...

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal offered us an unprecedented glimpse into the lives of the dogs that serve overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. These dogs work primarily as explosives sniffers, alerting with enthusiasm each time they ID C4 in the sand.

It’s all fun and games for the dogs, we’re told. I’ve even been privy to some up close and personal stories after meeting a childhood friend of my...

In California, those who would abuse of our animals may soon be getting a taste of what sex offenders get treated to nationwide: their names, addresses and places of employment will be listed in an online database accessible to anyone who wants to know who and where they might be. This, according to yesterday’s New York Times:

“The proposal, made in a bill introduced Friday by the State...

It’s time to attack obesity again. This time with stuff. Because God knows we love pet stuff. So why relegate its acquisition it to the holiday gifting season? Yes, there’s always a reason to shop and this time you’ve got a great excuse.

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) in its never ending quest to whittle down our pets’ waistlines, has issued a press release on the merits of...

For the past week I’ve been aware of a scary condition affecting at least a score of dogs in South Florida. It’s a hindlimb weakness that leads––within hours to days––to paralysis.

It seems to work much like botulism poisoning would so that dogs eventually succumb to the effects of the disease once they can no longer power the muscles they need to breathe with. Essentially, they...

Yesterday’s post on PetMD treated the controversial topic of BSL (AKA, “breed specific legislation”). OK so it may not be that controversial among the peteratti (i.e., smart pet peeps like you), but rest assured there are plenty of ill-informed politicians looking for a quick way to impress their constituents with laws like Miami’s sweeping, 25 year-old pit bull ban. 

But not all states and...

By now, some of you have heard the news that two common animal drugs manufactured by Teva Animal Health have been recalled. Unfortunately, my two in-house colleagues never got the memo on the toxicity tied to certain lots of these injectable drugs. In fact, if I hadn’t checked our stash last month when fellow blogger Christie Keith called on this issue, our hospital might’ve still been dishing...

Greetings from the world’s largest veterinary conference!

Yeah, I know I didn’t post yesterday. Forgive me, it’s just that I’ve been here at the North American Veterinary Conference trying very hard to take in all the sights and the sounds––not to mention the data (scientific and otherwise). All this while suffering what is arguably the most disorienting blow to one’s modern sensibilities:...

It looks like the FDA is finally getting in on the 21st century’s approach to social media marketing. Now that its Center for Veterinary Medicine is hosting a webinar this upcoming Tuesday, I guess their net-savviness status is official.

But the FDA’s vet sector isn’t going to stop there. No, it’s looking beyond the Twitter to help get its message across when alerts happen and basic news...

Surprisingly, yesterday’s Wall Street Journal dedicated a slice of its weekly Health section to the use of aromatherapy in pets. Though it could have elected a less cheeky tone, the author of "A Scent to De-Stress Pets" actually did the topic some justice, citing literature instead of pointing to the potential silliness of a subject that, on the surface, sounds as if it would treat doggie spa...