Although it may be more convenient to order online and have your prevention and medications delivered, consider ordering these drugs through your vet. Often mail-in or online rebates from the veterinary office reduce the price considerably. We rely on sales to survive, to pay our staff, to pay our local county and city taxes, to keep the doors open.

How are heartworms transmitted??  Via mosquito bites. So why the general assumption that dogs can get it, but not cats?  Maybe we think most cats are indoors, that they aren’t at risk? But mosquitos can come inside and bite you, so why can’t they bite your cat?

I am reminded on a daily basis, that most clients do not have a good understanding of heartworm prevention.  How does it work? Why do we test every year, even if they give the medication every month? Why do we need to give it all year round?

 If I could feed a cat the perfect, evolutionarily appropriate diet, it would be a squirrel/mouse/rat/etc in a can.  Since I have not seen these “novel proteins” over the counter (and I am saying that with some sarcasm), then we will have to make do with the canned options that are in front of us.  

My role as a wife/mother has not changed, and at times, has become more time consuming.  There has to be some sort of balance so that my family and my patients get all the time they need with me.

We learned to avoid certain triggers, to pick up on his body language when he was about to explode, and to prevent any major injuries over the last decade.

I know we want to show off our new cute fluffy puppy and we want to socialize them, but the dog park is the germ equivalent of a NYC subway station (kinda, not really, but you get the point).  

Unfortunately, saying goodbye to a loved one is a part of life that we all experience at one time or another.  It is never easy.  Whether it happens naturally, or whether we choose to assist them, we are very saddened by the loss.  We had to say goodbye to a very special gentle giant this week, Kodi.

The best analogy I have heard from a specialist was this “If you get constipated, do we cut your rectum off??  NO.  Then why is it okay to cut their male anatomy off for a urinary obstruction?”

Maybe you think that veterinarians have well-behaved, super awesome, best-ever animals with no problems..... we don't.  We usually end up with broken, abandoned, neurotic, medical disasters.  We love them to death and always have great stories to share about their problems.

I was asked this question three times this week, so I thought I would write about it.  The answer is "Yes, we are only open until 4".  The short answer I usually give everyone; "if I'm burnt out, I can't help anyone."  This goes for my patients as well as my family.  

Overall, I felt like a street walker :).  I am not comfortable with selling anything (like flea/tick products, etc.), never have been.  Now I had to sell myself.

So last night, I decided to write about what keeps me up at night.