Ever wonder how a group of veterinarians arrives at a conclusion? Stressfully. 

Long story short: We had this argument. About fifteen of us went back and forth on the merits of a free spay/neuter event sponsored by a South Florida veterinary group, for which I serve as an officer.

We’d already done one event. (Here’s the post on its success.) Now we were talking about doing it four times...

OK so here’s where I confess: I don’t like to trim toenails––nor do I relish delegating claw detail to my staff. And no, it’s not because we’ve got better things to do and can’t be bothered with the lowly pedicure. It’s more that I can’t stand the stress of the event. 

The problem: By and large, my canine patients hate having their claws clipped. Though a few of my owners have trained their...

A recent study of veterinarians came to an obvious conclusion: Vets should not practice medicine on themselves. Not only is practicing medicine outside the scope of our licensed-to-do duties a not-so-effective means of accessing healthcare for ourselves...it’s also technically illegal. 

Yet veterinarians do so every day. And so do you, though perhaps not with access to the arsenal of drugs...

Seriously, everyone was best kept far away from me yesterday after my Saturday morning disaster client. I even found myself apologizing to a waitress after snapping at her when my lunch order arrived all wrong. “It was a bad, bad pet owner’s fault,” I was forced to disclaim when everyone at the table looked at me as if I’d suddenly grown horns. 

But enough about the sorry aftermath, here’s...

As if it’s not already tough enough to discuss weight loss, veterinarians get treated to a range of excuses for why their pets are tipping the scales. Broaching the “o” subject is itself an adventure, one which is commonly met with defensive postures, nervous laughs or just plain disdain. 

At the outset of any conversation on the subject of extreme body mass and its ills, with fat pet as...

How many times do I have to say it before my clients digest the recc? Spare your pet the nightmare fecal rod and BYO sample...please!

Do I really have to post a statement to that effect in the waiting room? Given the reluctance-slash-memory lapse on my clients’ part when it comes to snatching a fresh sample pre-visit, the 8.5 x 11 poopy poster goes up this week.

Much as I try to make the...

Dear Readers: 

I have been writing daily posts on Dolittler for three-plus years. I stay awake late every night researching new topics and I wake up early every morning to click them into my computer. I know you value this because about 2,000 of you keep coming back day after day to see what’s new. 

I write 500 to 1,000 words on Dolittler every single day (mostly without fail) while...

Every year I attend “the world’s largest veterinary convention” in Orlando Florida. So known for its typically teeming attendance, this year’s version of the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) seemed a tad subdued, population-wise…and I think I know why.

Attending a conference is practically a mandated thing according to our professional requirements for continuing education (CE). It...

Has your veterinarian ever graced you with his or her phone number? Was it by way of offering her best clients a chance to call her in the event of a serious emergency? Or does he give it away indiscriminately?...just in case.

I practice in the middle of a triangle of emergency hospitals. None is further than a mile or two away. Furthermore, my preferred place happens to be right across the...

After you’ve rescued a puppy from a nasty foreign body to the tune of an easy-handed bill for $800 the owner claims he left his wallet in the car. He then tucks Fluffy under his arm and skedaddles, never to be heard from again. That was a couple of years back. (This, after I did him a “favor” on the bill as those of you whose pets have had foreign body surgery can attest.)

This scenario has...