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...

For the past week-and-a-half, our small hospital has been hosting a very special feline. Her name is creatively lacking, perhaps, but something soulful about this old girl made “Momma Cat” seem so apropos I didn’t have the heart to veto it.

Momma Cat is a cool kitty not just because she’s easy-going and grateful, but also because of her impressive provenance. This cat survived five days in a...

For the past eight months, I’ve been putting together this genetic disease library for Embrace Pet Insurance. It’s a labor of love and a well-paying job––not to mention a great review of the 120 most common genetic diseases we see in companion animal medicine. Problem is, it’s also depressing.

Why? Because every time I get to the end of an article (on, say, spina bifida or elbow dysplasia)...

How hard is it to keep those pesky porphyrins at bay? In case you’ve never heard the word before, a porphyrin is the rusty colored pigment that gives white-faced pet owners good reason to look their pet’s mug askance. Because if 1) your pet’s face is pale and 2) her tears spill over, well then––voilá!––you’ve got tear staining.

Sad-eyed pets the world around may not care a whit whether the...

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...

Here’s one for you: My mother recently noticed that cat food coupons are more enticing than dog food coupons. They’re not only more plentiful than those for dog foods, she notes, they also offer far better deals (which is doubtless a maddening concept for a coupon-clipping, cat-less pet owner). 

What’s up with that? Considering that––veterinary-wise, anyway––cats are second-class citizens...

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...

How much should a veterinarian explain up front before your pet undergoes any given procedure or prescribes any drug or product? It’s a question that came up in this past Wednesday’s post on microchip risks and one we’ve treated here before with respect to non-steroidal pain drugs and the inherent risks of anesthesia. 

Here’s the exchange:

"The problem I have with mircochips is that vets...

I’ve got this problem, you see. I collect and stockpile old drugs. It’s something I feel compelled to do whenever a med on our shelves goes past its expiration date. I’ve also been known to ask clients for their leftover tabs and caps after their pets have passed into the beyond. (Tactfully, of course.)

I know it sounds kind of tacky––not to mention borderline illegal––but I can’t seem to...

Nothing is 100% safe. Nothing. There’s no perfectly safe flight, drug, car ride, surgery or sidewalk. Any drug, food, supplement or medical device with the power to help you also has the power to hurt you. That much we know for sure.

It’s the cure vs. kill conundrum and it’s a big deal when it comes to all kinds of veterinary subjects. Usually it’s the anesthesia and the commonest drugs that...

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:...

Living in Miami as I do, the strains of Haitian suffering in the wake of this devastating earthquake are all too palpable. It’s the rare South Floridian who’s not close to someone who’s suffered a personal loss, consoled a bereaved friend, or considered flying the few miles it takes to reach our Caribbean neighbors to lend a hand and help alleviate the kind of suffering we can only...

Yes, I will be in Orlando at the North American Veterinary Convention (NAVC) this upcoming week. Some of you will also be visiting the famed Mouse's homeland. As always, feel free to email me so we can meet up, have some coffee, hang out at the piano bar...whatever. And if you’re shy, consider that you can always come and catch me speak about pet insurance and shelter medicine on Monday...

VMDiva.com. I love everything about my new BFF's blog except for the fact that I didn't come up with the title myself. Dr. Jennifer Koehl is a Pennslvania vet who graduated from Penn's vet school 5 years after I did. Which means she probably got the blogging itch at roughly the same time I did (9-10 years post-graduation).

Here's a brief interview with her so you can hopefully get to know a...

Here's a tough one: How would you handle the inevitable onslaught of clueless clients should you ever take the plunge and enter the wild world of companion animal veterinary medicine as a pro? Will you wield rough words when necessary?...or will you have a perpetually soft touch, killing them with kindness regardless of their crimes?

Here's a recent scenario to help test your mettle on the...

Ever wondered why some people get called “hobby farmers” or “hobby breeders” while others are referred to as pros? I do. It’s both amusing and frustrating to me when those who raise animals in small production settings are characterized as “hobbyists.” 

hob·by (hŏb'ē) n.: a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.

hob'by·ist n.: one who engages in a...

Here’s a spicy topic I recommend you bring up any time you’re planning on ruining a perfectly good dinner party––one attended exclusively by dog people, anyway. It’s a surer bet than raising religion or politics, even. And all you have to do is mention this: 

Dogs are not the den animals as many of us have long supposed. They spend more than 95% of their lives outside in the open, not huddled...

It happens every year in South Florida. One winter night it'll dip into the thirties and next thing you know there's a plague of lizards upon us. They're sprawled in the road, belly-up on the porch, and falling out of trees on your frigid morning run. 

Whether they're the noble nuisance species we call the common iguana, the small, brown-green and gecko-ey Anolis carolinensis or the exotic...

In case you’re in need of an on-the-fly test to ensure your dog or cat is free of disease, all that’s required is an online trip to Amazon, eBay or PetCo and it’s in the bag. Whether you’re worried about heartworm, ehrlichia, lyme, feline leukemia or those pesky intestinal parasites, you’re in for a treat: a simple mail-in kit that makes at-home diagnosis a breeze.

All you need to do is......

I make house calls. I’ll even price them on a sliding scale basis should my clients have trouble paying their bills. 

Jars of jam? I’d gladly accept jars of home-made jam in lieu of payment. Sure, it might mean lots of jam but I’m willing to take one jar a month for a couple of years––if only because it means you truly value the service rendered and the relationship we share. 

Thanks, Patti,...

Here are my New Year’s resolutions for 2010:

Quit smoking. (Oops...I already did that back in November. How convenient. Check.)

Get organized. (This was last year’s resolution, too.)

Compete in an Olympic distance triathlon. 

Unfortunately, this last one is going to be a problem. Though I’m a strong swimmer and a decent biker (not that I don’t disgrace myself when clipping out of my pedals...

It’s never fun and I know I’ll never get used to it...but I am getting better at it.

No, I’m not talking about treating canine bloats or blocked cats. This time it’s all about the nasty-grams I’m a magnet for. Somewhere on my forehead it must say, “Got a beef with veterinarians? I’m all yours!”

It’s frustrating, really––especially when I do my very best to write daily posts and answer...

Just before bed last night I decided to rescue a group of almost-too-ripe avocados from near certain death-by-compost. I peeled, pitted and sliced them then slathered the wedges in a lime vinaigrette so spicy with garlic you’d have to be a serious fan of the stuff to enjoy this dish. And I am. 

Problem is, Slumdog turned out to be a fan as well. While rearranging things in my too-full fridge...

We rang in the new year in South Florida style: A round of stone crabs and a home-made dinner, a group howl with the dogs at my parent's house (you should try this cathartic trick sometime), then some Perrier-Jouet at the Biltmore, a close-up fireworks display and, unexpectedly, a party-crashing escapade courtesy of my sister’s brash antics.

It was great fun...until we arrived at home and...

It’s over. Another zero-defined, multi-year chunk has come and gone as of midnight last night. And I, for one, say “good riddance!” Out with the old, clean slates and all that. 

Somehow this kind of pithy thinking appeals after a decade rife with intense personal stress and could’ve-done-better decision making all around. All of which leads me to believe I’m in no position to make...