This is the first Kentucky Derby I can recall not watching with bated breath—in fact, I didn’t watch it at all.

Like a junkie in withdrawal, I kept looking to my watch as it approached post-time, hoping a good book would prove sufficient distraction. I’d decided I wouldn’t be a part of it this year—or ever again.

Now, after the flurry of phone calls I’ve just received, you can be sure I won’t...

Florida’s the new Oklahoma…or Tennessee…though neither Bible Belt state has actually come out and banned the fake bull testicles that swing grotesquely from truck tow-hitches and (dangerously) from the back of low-riding drag racers.

Thanks to Dolittler BFF Gina Spadafori at PetConnection (who somehow remembers even the most vulgar of my past posts) comes the news that Florida State lawmakers...

Toss ‘n runs haven’t been very common at our place since the late seventies and early eighties. The early nineties saw a spike. And it’s been a slow trickle ever since…until now.

There’s nothing worse than seeing a box with kittens on the doorstep or a dog tied up by the back door when you come in to work in the morning. Mostly they’re young and rehomable and we can handle the extras. But if...

Have you received the emails? I have. They warn of severe reactions to ProMeris, a new flea and tick killer made by Fort Dodge. Disorientation, salivation, vomiting, difficulty walking…all have been reported by a handful of users of the product, which contains amitraz and metaflumizone.

Their testimonials have made the rounds on the Internet lately, frightening me and many others away from...

A new survey shows that veterinarians love their online access. But they don’t necessarily want to talk to YOU when they log in. And they often don’t like your surfing habits, either.

Results of the so-called Digital Clinic Study commissioned by the AVMA and AAHA  were released in February at the Western Veterinary Conference. The goal was to find out if vets are online and if so, what they’re...

New research indicates that pets are increasingly found to harbor toxic chemicals. It seems it’s not just your tuna-fish sandwich anymore; it’s Fluffy and Fido, too.

The Environmental Working Group studied pets for the first time in its attempt to come to grips with the widespread nature of toxic chemicals in our midst. Everything from Teflon to flame retardants and mercury were found in pets...

The Associated Press offered us a story last Friday on the sad state of affairs when it comes to big black dog love. Apparently there’s something about these guys—or about us—that makes humans more likely to cringe when they see one headed their way during a sidewalk stroll.

What’s more alarming than just basic big black dog angst is that adoption rates at shelters are supposedly lower for...

Chiropractors offer a unique brand of medicine to millions of people suffering primarily musculoskeletal disorders. For the past twenty years, chiropractors across the US have actively sought to make their knowledge available to pets, too. 

Chiropractors have been practicing their trade on animals—unofficially—since their profession’s inception. It seems that the benefits of this branch of...

You might have heard of her. She’s the ten year-old fourth-grader who so longs for vetdom she’s conquered the online coursework required to be certified as a "veterinary assistant." It’s clear Courtney Oliver has ambitions. But the news of her success hasn’t been as well-received in veterinary circles as it has by parenting blogs across the Web. 

Some reject her claims to hold this...

It’s not just the economy that’s withering. It’s the hay in the fields in the parched Southeast and the fat on the backs of horses who would consume it. It’s also the skyrocketing price of grain and the fuel required to move it. An NPR report this morning treated me to another sad story of increased equine abandonment with these explanations for owners’ rationale.

A veterinary industry...