How about a fun one? Here’s Slumdog in his Halloween splint. And below, another few pics of his rooster getup amid his “flock.” I’ve seen better costumes (go to Lincoln Road on Miami Beach on Halloween weekend and the dog frocks will astound you), but it’s pretty funny to us.

How about yours? Submit your own photos in the comment section and I’ll judge for myself. The winner gets a free month...

Last Sunday’s Style section of the New York Times bravely plastered not-so-stylish images below the fold on its front page: A sliced-up hog carcass alongside a cleaver-wielding student of animal slaughter under the title, "Slaughterhouse Live."

Saw III references notwithstanding (it is Halloween week, after all), the idea was not so much to disgust as to showcase the apparent delight some...

I’m in trouble. Big trouble. I have this house guest coming this weekend. And this week she just happened to author a PetConnection feature post titled, “There’s no such thing as a ‘partially’ house-trained dog.”

It’s a problem why? Because I have a dog who’s not housebroken. There. I’ve said it: “My name is Patty and my dog is not house trained.”

Copping to it in public, however, is not...

Last month’s patient had perhaps a 90% chance of survival. Too bad I didn’t find out until after I’d euthanized her.

Just in time for Halloween, I’ve finally decided this scary story is worth telling. Equal parts cautionary tale and vehicle for personal catharsis, this patient’s case began with a near-tragedy: the owner’s.

After a personal medical emergency left her days in the hospital,...

Got a hedgehog? Kristen Zorbini-Bongard does. She loves Harriet so much she pays $80 a year to Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) to protect her from the possibility of a financial “stop-treatment” decision (AKA, economic euthanasia). This information courtesy of Public Radio International’s This American Life, where one of last weekend’s segments treated the topic in surprising depth.

Though...

I promised I would keep you updated on the reproductive antics of my goats and I don’t intend to disappoint. With this post, I offer you yet another voyeuristic glimpse into the sex life of our common agriculture species.

But this time it’s not all about speculums, pipettes, cold storage tanks and frozen sperm. Nope. This time, ladies and gentlemen, it’s about the birds and the bees and the...

I’m at the feed store once every week or so. Standing in line behind the same counter at which I bought my first pair of riding boots and my first leather halter, I should be feeling contentedly nostalgic. Instead I spend my time explaining...

...why a rottweiler should not receive the same dose of Ivomec as a Maltese (and that no, a quarter teaspoon measure is not good enough).

...that...

Here’s an issue for you: Ever been to the veterinary hospital to pick up some heartworm medication and been told it’s time for a test before they can sell it to you or script it out? Been denied by the online pharmacy based on your veterinarian’s unwillingness to offer a prescription until she sees you again?

It happens all the time. Owners want a prescription product so they can responsibly...

In this week’s post on my Slumdog’s recent need for sedation, the tranquilizer known as acepromazine was addressed in response to a round of questions. As in––Why wouldn’t you use this tried and true veterinary drug on your own dog?

When I offered my answer, I received a comment urging me to be more clear about “ace” so that pet owners wouldn’t get a one-sided view of this popular drug. In...

Dr. Bruce Silverman was one year behind me in vet school at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a loudmouth back then and he's a loudmouth now (and I say that in the nicest of ways). You can say whatever you want about opinions, but when they're thoughtful and well written, I'll take 'em.

Here's his take on one veterinary business microcosm: Chicago's. His observations represent the sign...

Ever wonder what it takes to keep a pet safe after surgery? In some cases it’s simple, as when a calm animal can be easily left in a comfy crate for long stretches at a time. No, it’s not ideal but it’s fair. After all, pets need a chance to heal and most won’t comply without physical restrictions on their often injurious behavior. 

Other times it’s much tougher. Crazy bouncy Labs, loudmouth...

You may not be one to scour online reviews in search of your next great veterinarian. Indeed, it’s not how I would recommend anyone find the best provider for any kind of service they might seek. Still, we all know people who use these as a starting place, or perhaps to confirm that a friend’s referral stands up to the internet test.

Veterinarians know this too. That’s why plenty of us detest...

Every animal hospital in the world is a target for this kind of problem. Owners cite behavior issues, severe pain or seizure activity that’s only in evidence in the home environment. They often exit the hospital with a paper script or a bottle of pills for their pets' troubles.

All hospitals keep track of these drugs. Smart hospitals may even let the pharmacist do it for them (at our hospital...

Ever wonder what it is that goes on behind closed doors on your pet’s big day? After your pet is whisked away by the veterinary staff for hospitalization, surgery or a dentistry, what happens to her? If you’re the curious type, I’ll bet you’ve pondered this and more––as in, “Why can’t I stay with her? Why can’t I watch?”

Most veterinary hospitals have a policy about owners in “the back.”...

I had an exceptional day at work yesterday. Too bad it was of the impressively depressing kind. Three diabetics––all very sick––made it through my door. All three made it back out...as their owners picked them back up and took them to the internal medicine specialist’s place for more intensive care than I could provide. 

So you know, I’m happy to treat diabetics in my hospital. But by the...

Today is National Pet Obesity Awareness Day. It’s a special day on which we recognize the immense rotundity of America’s household creatures with an eye towards alleviating their unnecessary suffering.

But this needn’t be a national day of mourning. As we ponder the debilitations of arthritis, the cardiac risks and the diabetic leanings we’ve subjected our pets to by way of “treat-itis” and...

Today over on PetMD’s DailyVet, I’ve penned a post on the subject of declawing and the debate that rages within veterinary medicine over its legal status. As if the issue wasn’t contentious enough, California’s inner battles have served to highlight the divisions among our ranks with respect to the procedure’s appropriateness in our surgical arsenal...or lack thereof.

Personally, I detest...

I tend to talk a lot about kibble-feeding in cats. As in, play catch with the kibble by throwing it across the floor. If you do this often enough, it’ll help whittle away her sagging waistline, I say.

Recently, some of you have reprimanded me: “You’re recommending ‘kitty crack’! Everyone knows dry food is bad for cats!” But is it really?

Pound-for-pound, kibble has always out-sold canned cat...

I have the best luck. My veterinary surgeon boyfriend holds a rarefied kind of certification human and veterinary surgeons share. It grants him the ability to perform research and lecture on all kinds of fiddly limb deformity-fixing techniques. Yesterday his talents came in very handy.

Slumdog is the newest addition to my family. Every bit of this puppymill pug mix signals that he’s worthy of...

Conde Nast has got me pegged. I’ve been a subscriber to Gourmet Magazine on and off for the last twenty years. Vogue is the only fashion rag I’ll actually spend money on. And if I had the time, I’d read Wired and The New Yorker cover to cover. Most other magazines are far more worthy of my recycling bin than my attention.

Yet Conde Nast (publisher of all my faves) has recently decided that...

It never fails. I write a column that mentions a product––no matter how innocently––and the corporations inevitably come out to get me.

This time I happened to address the obvious: Carrying a Taser stun gun to prevent dog attacks in puppy park settings is a bad idea. Dogs have been known to die. Unfortunately, I phrased it like this: “Though [Tasers are] considered relatively safe for humans,...

You’ve heard about the new blogger rules, right?

According to the Wall Street Journal...

“Under revised rules announced Monday, the FTC will require bloggers and celebrities to clearly state when they receive cash or "payment in kind" for endorsing a company's products or services.”

As a blogger, you might think I’d chafe at the concept of anything that restricts my current freedoms, but...

No, your pet does not have a hang-up about his burgeoning mirror image. She does not hide at home in embarrassment when she could saunter saucily down the street in all her Rubenesque glory. Nor will he shrink under your critical gaze as you consider his striking resemblance to that ottoman you saw at Pottery Barn.

No, pets are not like us. They do not suffer the slings and arrows launched by...

The Supreme Court has agreed to take on a case pertaining to the First Amendment as it applies to animals. And that’s a good thing. When the highest court in the land is willing to review a legal matter that affects animals directly, it speaks to the growing concern for their welfare in all sectors of society.

At issue is that, according to court watchers, the Supreme Court is likely to rule...

You’ll all be pleased to hear that this week’s string of public policy-related animal rants has come to a close. You’ll have to forgive me as sometimes my mind goes on a tear and there’s no way to rein it in until it’s expended itself (and I’m pretty sure it has).

This post will hopefully make up for some of the stress with a couple of interesting tidbits you may have missed in the world of...

If you live in Seminole County, Florida and you want the least expensive pet care to be had, you can mosey on over to the shelter and get tax-subsidized, full service veterinary care––which, of course, means that members of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association (FVMA) are up in arms (yet again).

Not only do many FVMA members rail against tax dollars applied indiscriminately to the...

Here in Miami I get plenty of clients who send an “agent” to do their veterinary business. Instead of seeing a pet owner face-to-face, I get the happened-to-be-available husband, the housekeeper, the man-servant or the could-care-less son who happens to be home from college. 

As I muddle through my obligatory history-taking in these cases, it’s clear there is no bond. In fact, it inevitably...