I had to laugh. Mrs. B. and her daughter, Stephanie, came in this morning for Mickey’s SemiAnnual Examination. Complaints on his form for today were “check two lumps” and “holds his left front foot up.” “How long has Mickey been limping?” I asked before starting the examination. Stephanie chimed in first, “He’s doesn’t ever limp, [...]
Independence Day, July 4th, is upon us. For two weeks or more the tents from which fireworks are sold have been up and doing a brisk business. A few “pops” have been heard in the neighborhood. Many dogs have fears about thunder, gunshots and other sharp or rumbling sounds such as fireworks. In the southeastern [...]
I’m having a dream. And I’m afraid I’m going to wake up. In the dream my sister and I took our father to an assisted living facility in Corpus Christi and had the manager show him around. He was falling over himself to get registered for the available apartment right on the spot. I still don’t believe it. In [...]
Fritz and I started our day with a walk. In the South Texas heat. And humidity. If it were not for the Corpus Christi Wind it would have been unbearable. Today, however, is not about Fritz and me, or exercise, but about my parents. They are 87 and 85 and my sister, Beverly, informed me, [...]
Today I got to meet my father’s dog, Fritz, for the first time. You may recall that we previously discussed the circumstances of Fritz’s adoption. Fritz is absolutely adorable. While I’d seen pictures of him, they don’t begin to do him justice. He has streaks of brown and black in his hair, the kind ladies [...]
Corneal ulcers in dogs and cats are known to be very painful. We veterinarians can tell by the way pets squint when they have them. Some dogs’ eyelids can be nearly impossible to open because of the pain. In addition, we know from people that corneal ulcers are reported to be the second-most-painful physical abnormality [...]
My wife, Brenda, and I just finished watching Marley and Me. It was a nice little movie about the most ill-behaved dog ever to exist. In fact, husband “John”, played by Owen Wilson, said that Marley outdid even his own worst behavior the day he pooped in the ocean at the dog beach. In the [...]
In view of the record-setting heat wave we’re having in the Southeastern United States it seems an appropriate time to address heat-related problems in dogs. The obvious applies: if your dog is to have vigorous exercise, don’t do it in the hottest parts of the day. Limit activities to early morning and early evening, or [...]
Saturday we began a discussion of fat dogs and I mentioned a dog, Bear, who is a “self-regulator.” Such dogs are unusual, as most dogs for whom too much food is put out will eat to a point of gluttony. Self-regulators, on the other hand, eat just enough to stay healthy and then stop. Our [...]
The theme for today? Fat dogs. Again. It’s not even 9 AM yet and I’ve already seen two. We found Jasmine to be overweight at her visit last year and set a goal weight of twenty pounds. She weighed in at 30.7# today. Jasmine’s weight difficulty stems from a common husbandry practice I call “smorgasbord [...]
A few days ago we reported on Jack, who had run upon some marijuana in a duffle bag in a public park. Jack, we are happy to report, is now doing fine. Jack’s story reminded me of an event that occurred during my senior year at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Each night the [...]
Food Allergy can be one of the greatest everyday diagnostic challenges in the practice of veterinary medicine. Food allergy, in dogs and in cats, can look like so many things. And can, at the same time, look like nothing you’ve ever seen. Take inhalant allergies, for comparison. When a pet is allergic to dusts, pollens, [...]
Continuing the theme we began yesterday of being a good and safe guest with medications and suitcases I want to share a couple of stories that occurred in our own home. The first was funny. My wife called the hospital and asked for me. She had an odd question: “Given the choice of bran cereal [...]
“Close that suitcase! “And keep it closed!” I’m sure that’s what the lady wanted to say to her two elderly vistors. A regular client of our hospital brought her middle-aged mixed-breed dog in with an unrelenting thirst. He was drinking and urinating and drinking and urinating and despite all of the drinking he was still [...]
I’m pretty sure Art Linkletter has a copyright on “Kids say the darndest things,” but there’s no arguing that it’s true. This weekend, as one of our hospital’s employees was performing after-hours kennel duties, she brought along her ten-year-old son, Brandon. Noticing two Italian greyhounds in their cages he said, “Mom, what’s wrong with those [...]
Diabetic cats seems to be the theme of the day. Two special patients tended to stand out today. One is Buddy, who isn’t diabetic. Yet. But Buddy is overweight and thinks one of his jobs is to clean up his food bowl and Marabell’s, too. You see, Marabell, his housemate, is a slow eater and [...]
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