You’re so unsure. And that’s an understatement. You know it’s time...but then you really don’t...perhaps you think you could never be sure. After all, it’s a life you’re taking into your own hands...your beloved life...the one you raised, shared so much with and adored unconditionally throughout. 

You need time. But do we veterinarians always give you a chance to reflect carefully on your...

Remember my ugly hen? Well, it seems she’s got a back story to her. The upshot? Her name’s not Chicken Little...it’s Elsita. 

Since I know some of you enjoy following the story of my goats (who are hoofing it up in their efforts at biological deforestation of my previously jungly back yard), I figure you might like to get occasional notes on the progress of my back yard flock and...

OK, so that’s another one of my salacious titles. You’re not really going to profit––not financially, anyhow––from trapping backyard strays and local ferals. You will, however, entertain yourself while attacking your neighborhood’s stray cat epidemic in a satisfying way.

No longer will you be one among the whining minions clamoring for better municipal animal control. No, you’ll be...

On this Valentine’s Day I have a special idea in mind. Here's some background in advance...

While in veterinary school, my class was lucky enough to enter clinics (late third year and all of fourth year) with a veterinary social worker's omnipresence as part of the curriculum. 

As a group, my class (as many before it, I’m sure) entered clinics considering this ageless woman a tad creepy...

Will it be on the blanket-topped, stainless steel table, surrounded by friends and family? Or will it be a quiet affair with your veterinarian...in your back yard?

An increasing number of pet owners are beginning to realize they have a choice in the matter. Many veterinarians will do house calls for euthanasia...if you ask. At-home euthanasia services (practitioners who dedicate their...

Your cat’s been diagnosed with diabetes...or your dog with Addison’s disease. As much as your veterinarian explains the situation, issues handouts and takes your wigged out phone calls, there’s only so much you can glean from any one mind. You need more. 

That’s when you take to the surf, cavorting about the waves of websites chock full of information. But how do you know the information...

There is an etiquette to every practice under the sun. Whether you’re a lounging lizard intent on staying alive through breeding season or a dog entering ground zero in a puppy park, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. So, too, should you consider your approach to switching veterinarians.

You’ve been with your vet for years, but sometimes you get the feeling your pet may...

I have family that just moved out to the San Francisco Bay Area. Attached to their dogs as they are, they’d begun stressing about finding the right vet right long before they’d pulled up roots in New York City. So of course, they asked me to hook them up.

Contrary to popular opinion, we veterinarians don’t have an automatic function that allows us to know who the good vets are in any given...

Ever wondered what it means when you contemplate the purchase of pet foods labeled “human grade”? 

I’ve always thought it a murky designation given the FDA’s lax regulation of pet food. When even our human supermarket fare gives off mixed signals on the labeling of everything from “green” and “organic” to “heart healthy” and “lower fat,” can you blame me for my yellow-eyed perplexity?

I...

“Speaking truth to power” is a great topic for a post penned in the hours between Martin Luther King Jr.’s 80th birthday celebration and the inauguration of our first African-American president…even if this is only a pet health blog.

His continued pursuit of this theme, expertly pioneered in the civil rights arena by MLK, is my primary wish for Mr. Obama’s presidency. We can only hope that...