My client is in tears as she carries her standard poodle into the lobby. There was no appointment because the problem came out of nowhere. “It’s like he had a stroke,” she suggests as we hurry to an exam room. And that’s certainly how it looks. The poor dog can’t keep his bearings. His head […]
I’m suspicious right away. His dilated pupils don’t seem focused on anything in particular, and his usually chipper demeanor has been replaced with a vacant haze unmoored from time and space. His head lists to one side before jerking back to center, like a student fighting to stay awake in a lecture. His eyes squint […]
From hookworm to heartworm, our pets can shelter no shortage of creepy crawly horrors. But few are as renowned as the tapeworm. The mere mention conjures images of people wasting away as the parasite secretly steals their lunch. Indeed, some have even tried harnessing tapeworm in a desperate (and dangerous!) bid to lose weight. There […]
She’s such a delightful dog, and you were lucky to find her at the shelter that day. But what exactly is she? Her cheese-curl tail evokes a shiba inu. Those droopy ears are all spaniel. And only a schnauzer could have gifted her those magnificent eyebrows. Everyone who meets her spots another breed in the […]
My patient, a 12-year-old Labrador, is showing his age. Arthritis has settled into those old bones, and he’s not as active as he used to be. But he’s still a happy dog, living out his golden years in peace with a family that loves him. We’re just finishing up, but his owners have one more […]
It definitely wasn’t there yesterday. She looked completely normal before bedtime, and now there’s an oozing 3″ sore over her left hip and she won’t let anybody near it. Some dog owners are all too familiar with this story, but if it’s your first time seeing a hot spot, it can be alarming. They appear […]
It’s flu season for us humans, and the advice really couldn’t be more simple. Get your flu shot this year and every year. We are social animals who spend most of our day in relatively close physical proximity, and it’s very easy for us to get each other sick. Vaccination may provide an imperfect defense, […]
The leaves are crunchy beneath my feet, the comforter is back on the bed and every single thing on the menu has been ruined with an overdose of pumpkin spice. Must be autumn. This is also the unusual time of year when we hang skeletons from our front doors. If you’re a normal person, they […]
There are few concepts more quintessentially American than gathering friends and family for a gluttonous grill-out followed by a gratuitously deafening show of explosions in the sky. While a simulated artillery strike makes for a perfectly sensible human celebration, our pets understandably tend to interpret the ruckus as the end of the world. Indeed, veterinarians […]