tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67869234131732380882024-03-21T04:54:02.580-07:00Dog Days BlogA veterinarian's blog for pet lovers, and it's probably not going to be just about dogs!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-16833117880346878052019-02-12T14:56:00.000-08:002019-02-12T14:56:21.625-08:00Growing PainsOur practice is growing. To be fair, for the first year or two it would have been hard to do anything else. When I took the reins of what used to be called Gladwyne Veterinary Clinic, Dr. Genser had been seeing about 4 patients on a busy day. Now we see 30 patients on an average day. I am grateful for every single client that walks in my door. I am equally grateful for every single employee that helps me to give the most amazing care to each and every client. It is really hard to do things the same way that we used to when we have grown from myself and three incredible employees to the amazing team that we have now. Those are the growing pains. <div>
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Somebody called me to say that maybe I should go back to the way it was. That maybe I wasn't doing a great job anymore. I suppose that I needed to hear that. Don't worry though, I won't go backwards, because that really isn't an option. That would mean abandoning some of my work family, and well, that just cannot happen. I'm sure it would mean abandoning some of the clients and pets that we care deeply about also, I am not willing to do that either. </div>
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I remember many times my daughters complaining about different things that were most likely growing pains, my 13 year old son complaining about them almost weekly now. I don't want them to stop growing. I cannot stifle their growth and continue to treat them like children. I cherish my memories of their baby, toddler, tween years and all that I learned from them during those years, but I look forward to every new day with them as they grow and evolve into something totally different and beautiful. </div>
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That is what I think is happening to GAH. It is growing and evolving into something beautiful that I am proud of and stifling the growth so that we can remain the same isn't an option. We are figuring it out, from little things like adding another phone line and adding a few hours here and there to major things like talking to architects and the township about renovating our space so that it works better for everyone. Soon the growing pains will go away, and we won't be awkward anymore. But just like I'll still recognize and love my babies when they are all grown up, you'll still recognize and love GAH.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-33877373989775782792018-03-27T04:38:00.002-07:002018-03-27T04:42:20.805-07:00Treating Frustration<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW66214713" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW66214713" paraeid="{fa05d0f4-9bc9-472f-9eea-96c9c95c28f8}{157}" paraid="1630840795" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Yesterday I found out that somebody who I enjoy seeing very much was feeling disappointed with the care I was giving her pets. She felt like they were still having so many problems, and that maybe another veterinarian could do a better job. Because I have enough years of experience under my belt, I wasn't even a little bit insulted; instead I was tremendously worried that my team and I didn't do a good job of treating frustration. I had already thought last night of a few ways that I might hope to regain her trust, but today I had a revelation about how I would prevent this from happening in the first place in the future with other clients.</span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW66214713" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">So</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> what happened today?</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> For about 7 weeks I have been going to physical therapy twice a week. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Af</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ter</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> a visit to a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">rheumatologist</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and a frustrating diagnostic session, she recommended physical therapy </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">amo</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ng</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> other things. While every time I saw Logan, the therapist, I felt better, it seemed really fleeting, like any exercises that I continued to do at home weren't helping and I was back to square one at every visit. Luckily, Logan is a great therapist and I trusted him and felt</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW66214713" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">that I should keep going, but today I knew for sure that I should keep going. Logan did something </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">smart</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. At my first visit, during my initial evaluation I filled out a long </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">questionnaire</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW66214713" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">about my symptoms and why I was there. Then he asked me to do several things and wrote a bunch of stuff down. Touch your toes, stand on one leg, turn your foot to the right, now the left....so on and so on. Then, unexpectedly today, I filled out the same </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">questionnaire</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. I did </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="AdvancedProofingIssue SCXW66214713" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">all of</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the same tests. Together we compared the results. I had improved significantly. Yay! </span><span class="EOP SCXW66214713" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW66214713" paraeid="{fa05d0f4-9bc9-472f-9eea-96c9c95c28f8}{207}" paraid="654660881" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">I had gotten really frustrated, even depressed thinking that I was always going to struggle with this problem and that no matter what I did it wasn't better. Without an objective way to measure it, I had not really known that I was getting better. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">To be fair, this isn't a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW66214713" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">brand new</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> idea for veterinary medicine, it's just one that I had forgotten about until Logan reminded me and I had my own experience. </span><span class="EOP SCXW66214713" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">I feel </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="AdvancedProofingIssue SCXW66214713" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">really lucky</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> that studying veterinary medicine gives me a great foundation to understand human medical problems. It makes it possible for me to be a good advocate for myself and makes it easy on my doctors, I don't really expect them to hold my hand and explain things to me.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Knowing that my dear client is frustrated </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">reminded me that just because I know what she should expect with her </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">pet's</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> diagnosis</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, doesn't mean that she does and a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="ContextualSpellingAndGrammarError SCXW66214713" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">10 minute</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> run down at every recheck wasn't enough</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to keep her from getting frustrated with less than 100% resolution of her p</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">et's </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">p</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">roblems. There is to be a new normal, and she doesn't know what that is. </span><span class="EOP SCXW66214713" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">From now on, I am going to do a better job of giving people a way of knowing if their pets are making progress</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> It will give me a better way of knowing if what I am doing is working anyway, and then both of us can do better. It's going to start with a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">question</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">nai</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">re</span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and a checklist and a little more hand-holding.</span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW66214713" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Guess what GAH team, a few more checklists are coming your way! </span><span class="TextRun SCXW66214713" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW66214713" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="font-family: "calibri" , "calibri_msfontservice" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-70957611624432552772013-11-07T12:35:00.000-08:002013-11-07T12:35:35.990-08:00Work Hard, Play HardI had a great conversation with friends last weekend. Both of the women that I was hanging out with are highly successful, and both have worked really hard to get there. We were all talking about just that....hard work and how difficult it can be to find young people with our same work ethic. Luckily, I have found great people to work at Gladwyne Animal Hospital with me so far, and we are looking to hire more. If any of the candidates coming to interview happen to read this beforehand, here is a piece of advice that will make me like you more: do not say that you want "work-life balance".<br />
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I find the phrase "work-life balance" so annoying. I feel like you could insert the phrase "do everything half-assed". For example: "I would really like to find a career where I can have work-life balance." You could also say: "I would really like to find a career where I can do everything half-assed." I think that a much better phrase is "work hard, play hard". That says to me, that you want to give 110% while you are working and do the absolute best that you can, then you want to focus 110% on whatever it is that you do while you are not at work the rest of the time. Work-life balance is only achieved by working hard and playing hard. If you are doing your best all of the time, whether it is at work or at play, then you have work-life balance. You create it, you don't ask for it in a job interview. <br />
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Could you imagine a working border collie herding sheep and then just thinking to himself, "Jeez, this is taking too long, I got most of them, I would really rather go chase a ball, I am going to stop now." (Border collies are smart, they could possibly go through that thought process...) No, he is going to work hard and play hard and be a happy dog. <br />
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Be where you are. When you are at work, be at work, when you are at home, be at home. Don't think about what you need to do at work while you are at home and vice versa, then you have work-life balance. Your boss cannot give it to you. <br />
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Now, a note to my husband: If you just read this and are thinking "What??? She just said all of that and she totally worries about work while she is at home!" You are right, but I am trying to work hard and play hard and not be half-assed. I think that writing it down helps.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-12240019732470431592013-09-05T09:51:00.000-07:002013-09-05T09:51:39.280-07:00Inundated with InformationI love back to school time. Even more than New Year's Day, I find the beginning of an academic year energizing. I have loved it since I was a little girl, getting new shoes, a new lunch box, organizing all of my notebooks and folders....it always felt like I was prepared to accomplish great things. I loved being a student myself, and I love watching my children as students. As they cover and decorate their books, sharpen their pencils, and pack their book bags, I am reading through the numerous documents sent out by the school district about their plans for educating my family. Luckily, I have time to do this because of my amazing and competent team at Gladwyne Animal Hospital taking care of everything expected and unexpected that happens there day to day. <br />
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Last night, though, after a full day of kicking butt in surgery and appointments (a topic for a future blog post), I nearly threw the whole pile of back to school papers away. Here is why, and next is how it relates to veterinary medicine:<br />
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I was struggling through the most poorly written document on the introduction of a type of computer called Google Chromebooks to the tools that students will have access to during the school year. I didn't even get to the end of the letter, but on the last page there was a consent form to sign that had, thankfully, a bottom line: my child will need a username and password to be assigned by the school district. Fine. I am sure that Google Chromebooks are a good thing, but the document was so poorly written that I was not only bored before finishing the first paragraph, I was wondering who the district staff member responsible for writing it was. That person needs to know that I trust the district to make decisions on implementing new tools, and if I wanted four pages of information on Google Chromebooks, I would have gone to the internet and read some clearly stated information about it. (I did that this morning.) What I wanted from the district was about four sentences: "We have decided after researching the evidence to use "x" in the classrooms. In order for you child to take advantage of "x", you need to do "y". Here is how to do "y". Please contact us or go to "z" web page if you have questions about "x" or "y"." That would have been ideal, but if they really felt the need to give a large amount of information, they should have proofread it. The letter was awful.<br />
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How does this relate to dogs, cats or veterinary medicine? I hope that I have earned the trust of my patient's owners and that they know we are always there to answer all of their questions any time. With that, I think that most of those very busy people really just want to know clearly and concisely what I think the problem is, and what action they need to take to solve the problem. At that point, if they have questions, I have answers. <br />
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Lower Merion School District has earned my trust. The teachers and administrators have not let me down. While I still love back to school season, I do not have time to read infinite pages (nor do I want to see that much paper wasted) about policies and procedures. I trust that the policies and procedures are valid, and if I have a question, I'll ask. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-24860069666524761292013-02-21T12:28:00.000-08:002013-02-21T12:28:28.604-08:00Two ears and one mouthI read a commentary article in a recent JAVMA (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association) issue that made me feel pretty good. It was entitled "Reactive versus empathic listening: what is the difference? Before I started reading, I was pretty sure that I knew the difference. After reading, I felt grateful that I have been practicing empathic listening for most of my life. I found the article both interesting and inspiring, and made me want to make sure that I do not forget just how important listening is.<br />
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It seemed funny to me, though, that an article needed to be written about listening as a way of coaching veterinarians who are practicing reactive rather than empathic listening. <br />
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In a nutshell, here is the difference: Reactive listening is listening with the motive of formulating a reply. Empathic listening is listening with the motive of understanding the concerns of the speaker. Reactive listening will most often result in a response that is based on the listeners point of view, and usually involves interruptions and interpretations. Empathic listening, if there is time, will usually be more rewarding, because the goals and problems presented by the speaker will be more fully understood and addressed. <br />
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There were many times when I first started practicing that I felt like there wasn't enough time to really address the concerns presented in an appointment or I even failed completely addressing only what I thought the problem was. When I opened Gladwyne Animal Hospital and could do things my way, I decided it was important to make my appointment intervals longer than the usual 15 minutes. It is so important to me that people have enough time to get comfortable and remember everything that they wanted to say. I am able to just listen without interrupting. The funny thing is that I learned how to do that over thirty years ago! I am the youngest of six kids, and my older brother Jeff has always given sage advice. One of the things that he always used to say to me was that "You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. You are supposed to listen twice as much as you talk." He is usually right. <br />
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Interestingly, while I was thinking about writing this blog post, I was waiting for a Doctor appointment of my own. I waited for 45 minutes with no interaction when I finally, politely, told the receptionist that I would have to reschedule. She told me that she was sorry, but the doctor had 40 appointments scheduled for today, and was behind. Of course he was behind! How can you possibly see 40 appointments in one day!!!! None of the patients could possibly be getting the chance to be empathically listened to. I was glad that I had decided to leave. I hope that nobody ever feels that way in my office, and it is my goal that they never do. <br />
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I will admit, though, that sometimes after a full day of empathic listening in appointments at work my kids get the short end of the stick. Sometimes they sound like the teacher from Peanuts, you know "wha wha wha whaaa, whaaa,whaaa...." and I may have said yes to some requests to which I should have said no!<br />
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This is me learning to sit quietly on my brother Jeff's lap. Early lesson in listening skills....</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-27060357217045766992013-01-31T09:45:00.000-08:002013-01-31T09:45:19.356-08:00Informative and reassuring, or overwhelming and off-putting...I ask myself this after nearly every new puppy or kitten appointment. There is just so much information to share with a new owner, especially if they have never had a pet before. If the new puppy or kitten came from a shelter then I feel like I am overwhelming and off-putting. If the person went to a breeder or pet store, then I feel like I am informative and reassuring. That is a bummer, because I really love when people can rescue their new addition from a bad situation, but I feel like they never get enough information. So as frustrating as breeders and pet stores can be sometimes, they do make that new kitten and puppy appointment easier somehow. <br />
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Here is some support for how I am feeling. Yesterday, I saw a friend in an appointment with her new kitten. The kitten is absolutely adorable and she and her 3rd grade daughter are in love with him after only one short week. They made an appointment for a check up just so that they could be sure that they knew what they were supposed to be doing even though the foster family said "that everything has been done already" at the adoption event where they went to rescue him. Well, if "everything" means neutering and a Rabies vaccination, then sure, everything was done. I cannot even be 100% sure that the Rabies vaccine was done, the paperwork just didn't jive in some instances. For example, his birth date was October 20th, and the first vaccine was given on October 27th. I doubt it. That would be pretty strange. So, after examining this sweet thing and reviewing all of the paperwork, and checking for the microchip that was supposed to be there and wasn't, we discussed all of the findings and the to-do list. <br />
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The findings: He is an adorable kitten with a lovely disposition. He has the usual complement of shelter/rescue cat problems which are; ear mites, worms, a resolving cold, and very stinky gas. I can fix all of that with relative ease most likely by asking his new owners to employ my to-do list, but is that overwhelming and off-putting? Do I seem like I must have some vested interest in a pharmaceutical company (nobody is mentioning Pfizer in particular, here...). <br />
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The to-do list: First of all, consider a Leukemia and FIV test and consider a series of Feline Leukemia vaccinations and installing a Microchip since he didn't have one like he was supposed to have had. However, with the remainder of the must do items on this to-do list, maybe we should spend the money elsewhere. Treat the ear mites, send out a few serial stool samples to ensure that we eventually eliminate the scary zoonotic (transmissible to people, even 3rd graders!) parasites, deworm him right away before even waiting for a stool sample, begin applying topical applications of Revolution monthly to maintain a parasite free environment, start a special diet with prebiotics to help eliminate the stinky poops while we wait for the parasites to go away and for his little belly to straighten itself out, and go from there. When I say go from there, I hope that it doesn't mean test him for FeLV and FIV because he isn't getting better.<br />
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Can I really expect this person to now have a discussion about routine care and wellness after all of this has been thrown at them? Would it be ridiculous to suggest that they come back for another appointment in two or three weeks just to discuss wellness since we had to gloss over wellness so quickly? <br />
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Why do foster families and shelters mislead people by saying that everything is done, you just need to make a donation and you are good to go? Most often, these pets are far from "good to go" and the people end up spending about as much as they would have if they had purchased their pet in the first few weeks. I am not suggesting that people purchase rather than rescue their pets, I just wish that they were made aware of the potential problems and expenses that they may incur. In this case, I am lucky, because my friend wants to do the right thing, and without even knowing there was a problem, made an appointment. But what if she had just waited until the Rabies vaccine was due next year? Well, chances are she would have never made it that far before the diarrhea began, but if she did, that poor little guy would have suffered with ear mites for a whole year! I am willing to bet that his ears would never recover to a completely normal state if it had gone untreated.<br />
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I hope that I was informative and reassuring, but I am afraid that I was overwhelming and off-putting. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-90092821868254859352012-03-15T13:26:00.000-07:002012-03-15T13:26:26.009-07:00I can finally get some sleepCats and dogs eat crazy things, and those crazy things can occasionally get stuck somewhere in the middle. When this happens, we call it a Foreign Body Obstruction (FBO) and they can be pretty simple to remove or a total disaster. If the foreign object hasn't been in there for very long and it is visible on an xray, that usually results in a good outcome, but if Fluffy isn't telling her owner just how sick she really is, and the item is not visible on an xray (metal, bone or some other dense object), then things can start running downhill quickly. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qETmW229Z7LwXlWYvh_J6aA4K_K_cgoofkoJQb_cKS2FniOX_yY0NOLBpeUOj9juGe6D9VmNC0wdOAcQe4u0WkvPLgD42xsV_I2dQxeMba1U6c62HhO_V8KK0T6VYWnx0vS4tiyeb1sV/s1600/Cookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qETmW229Z7LwXlWYvh_J6aA4K_K_cgoofkoJQb_cKS2FniOX_yY0NOLBpeUOj9juGe6D9VmNC0wdOAcQe4u0WkvPLgD42xsV_I2dQxeMba1U6c62HhO_V8KK0T6VYWnx0vS4tiyeb1sV/s320/Cookie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center">This is Cookie, he looks like a good boy, right?</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"></div>This is Cookie's story. What Cookie swallowed wasn't that big, but he isn't much of a complainer and didn't start to act like he was sick until about a week after eating a large bead from a child's jewelry making kit. I have to imagine that most of the time, these things are swallowed by accident, I can just picture him playing with it, carrying it around in his mouth and then, GULP, down it went. At first his owner wasn't worried, she hadn't seen him swallow the bead. Eventually she brought him in and we were able to figure it out pretty quickly. I didn't know what he had swallowed, but I knew that we were going to find something. Well, that bead managed to get out of the stomach, but got stuck in the duodenum, right next to the pancreas. Ugh, the pancreas is so sensitive, I don't even like to look at it. Well, with it having been there for a week or so, that piece of duodenum was pretty grumpy. If it is questionable whether or not a piece of intestine is going to survive, we just take out the whole section and put the good, healthy ends back together. But in this case, I really wasn't willing to take out that section of duodenum because of its proximity to the pancreas unless it had already fallen apart, so I made an incision into the duodenum, took out the bead and closed it back up. I put in my usual "sleeper stitch", which is that last stitch that you put in when you are asking yourself or your assistant, "do these look like they are close enough together?" so that you can sleep knowing that the sutures were definitely not too far apart. That didn't really work for getting sleep though, like its name suggests. <br />
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I have a friend who is an amazing human cardio-thoracic surgeon, so as usual, I told him about the case and asked, as if he had a crystal ball, did he think that the duodenum would live. His answer, of course, was that he didn't know, but he would have made the same decision and in fact used to go running from any procedure involving the duodenum and pancreas as a general surgery resident. That made me feel better, but not better enough to sleep well for about 10 days.<br />
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It was finally at that 12th day when Cookie came in to have his sutures removed that I had a good night sleep. Any problems from here on out couldn't be a direct result of my surgery. I also let my kids off the hook during bedtime prayers, they could pray for whoever they wanted instead of saying "God, please let Cookie get better". <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgMlBxynQN6iBaldTthCWWQTk3VRh-gvNJ9q2Czk0H41OynfTvpjD5ui3fZD2vz0jVnrSFFK7dzoso-EJq-7DOJqEMil0297bIM-dUUmJtsxeD7Z96PG937qzgwqJx1y8lRcskmqCMvnQ/s1600/bead.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgMlBxynQN6iBaldTthCWWQTk3VRh-gvNJ9q2Czk0H41OynfTvpjD5ui3fZD2vz0jVnrSFFK7dzoso-EJq-7DOJqEMil0297bIM-dUUmJtsxeD7Z96PG937qzgwqJx1y8lRcskmqCMvnQ/s320/bead.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center">This is the bead that Cookie swallowed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Cookie is back to his playful self, as lovable as ever. Now his owners are probably the ones losing sleep trying to keep their house Cookie proofed. That is not going to be an easy job!</div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-6434133989634214732011-11-17T15:19:00.000-08:002011-11-17T15:19:16.863-08:00Good LuckToday I found a cat whisker while I was sitting on the couch reading a story to my son. I love when this happens because there is an old wives tale that says finding a cat whisker is good luck. I have always chosen to believe this, and so far, it seems to me that every time I find one something good happens soon afterward. <br />
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I don't find them often, and you really shouldn't. Cat whiskers, or vibrissae, do shed occasionally, but generally shouldn't break and shouldn't all fall out at once. If they do, there is usually a problem of some type worthy of a trip to see me.<br />
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I save my cat whiskers in my jewelry box, but I could even buy a piece of jewelry designed for just such a purpose. How surprising! <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/6985647/cat-whisker-good-luck-charm-bottle">Cat Whisker Charm Bottle</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-39551328320354539912011-11-10T14:54:00.000-08:002011-11-10T14:54:59.928-08:00My cat's BFF is a dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKtSQt-iwdriVuhbIYtBtpX7OYPOb1AC_KafCwe6Pv3L0NDNXpKIvU4_lWZ2z3FVcR8d_CpglKbDLpfX6P9_XFTgu4jFXPl111eYEWFjjq8y4wEpehtLuahBvvH1UVRjo1EG40ajTbabR/s1600/Teddy+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKtSQt-iwdriVuhbIYtBtpX7OYPOb1AC_KafCwe6Pv3L0NDNXpKIvU4_lWZ2z3FVcR8d_CpglKbDLpfX6P9_XFTgu4jFXPl111eYEWFjjq8y4wEpehtLuahBvvH1UVRjo1EG40ajTbabR/s320/Teddy+close+up.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I adopted Teddy in 1999. She was a pretty sad little kitten, rescued from a parking lot in Brooklyn known for it's population of feral cats. She was only 4 weeks old, and not completely feral. She tolerated being held and medicated for 2 weeks in the animal hospital that I worked at part time on weekends. When I left her the first weekend, I felt sorry for her and thought that she was pretty cute. By the second weekend, she was definitely a little less friendly, tired of being medicated for her upper respiratory infection. By the third weekend, she was actually disgusting. The cornea of her left eye had ruptured and what used to be an eyeball looked like nothing I could describe without turning the average person's stomach. The busy staff did little more than medicate her and feed her as there were many other needy patients that were far more appreciative of their efforts. So, as any young veterinarian would, I decided that I'd have to take her home. I surgically removed the horribly infected eye, and a few hours later boarded the Amtrak from NYC where I was weekend moonlighting to Philly where I lived. <br />
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At only 6 weeks old, she made fast friends with my yellow lab. She really could not have cared less about me. For the first 12 years, she hung out with the dog, ate the cat food that I provided and politely used the litter box, but really didn't care for human attention. In December 2003, her friend died. I think that she was really sad, because that was the first time that she decided to try and make friends with me. About 6 months later we adopted a dog, and I think that I heard her breathe a sigh of relief. She just loves dogs! She doesn't need me anymore. Oh well.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxp9iHGFfdupN0eLQCsn4qrQgBaLJXTXmHMw1pebS2lLhDQLSZtWcb1xyzyomN7lAac8Y2mbnTBFjWRdNZZ0w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Watch Teddy give Ozzie a massage, she does this several times daily.<br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-86152685547292338822011-11-03T14:46:00.000-07:002011-11-03T14:46:43.570-07:00Age is not a diseaseI always say that. Age is not a disease. Often I see geriatric pets who are presented for a regular check up. Frequently, I find a problem that can be addressed but their owner may think that there is nothing wrong, because they think that certain things are normal for old animals. Or, they know that there is a problem, but because their pet is old, they think that there is nothing that can or should be done. <br />
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I can think of a lot of examples, and I am sure that other veterinarians would have similar stories. One situation that I see all of the time is older dogs slowing down. People think that it is normal. Age doesn't make it hard for a dog to stand up, age related diseases do. One of the most common age related diseases in a dog is arthritis. Dogs who slow down probably have advanced arthritis, and deserve some treatment for that. I always think of it this way, I would have to be in pretty severe pain before I would choose not to go up or down the stairs at my house, and I am pretty sure that I would have taken some pain medicine long before it got to that point. It is reported that people with arthritis seek medical help long before they become immobile. I am lucky, many of my clients are very attached to their pets, and ask for help early enough to get good results. Sometimes, though, people just don't know there is a problem. They think that their dog is just old. The earlier I can diagnose and try to manage arthritis for a dog, the better the outcome is likely to be. Check out this link to see if your dog might have arthritis. <br />
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<a href="http://www.deramaxx.com/">www.deramaxx.com</a><br />
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I just saw a cat yesterday who is 17 years old. His owner loves him dearly. I met them 2 years ago. His owner was terrified to bring him in, because she thought that he was too old to survive the kind of stress a veterinary appointment might cause. I guess she had some bad experiences in the past. We figured a lot of things out for that old guy, and he had been happily ticking along with a few medicines and a couple of check ups until a few weeks ago. He stopped eating well and was getting pretty skinny. He would go to the food, take a bite, then quickly walk away. His problem was a horrible tooth root that had the pulp exposed. His owner was so afraid to do anything about it, because he "is so old". Luckily, I was able to convince her that age was not Cougar's disease, a tooth with the pulp exposed was. Luckily, he did great and was happy to savor a meal without tooth pain this morning.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank God you pulled that tooth, now can I eat in peace?</td></tr>
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Old animals are pretty cool, they don't usually complain about their age related disease. Owners have to let me look for it, and fix the things that we can and don't let them suffer when we can't. Sometimes I even have to remind myself that age is not a disease, when I do that my advice is always better.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-1633312784305362042011-10-27T11:10:00.000-07:002011-10-27T11:10:20.866-07:00Your dog has fleas, and I do not think that you are dirty.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPd5S4Q3Z6KPHsLxtDQ7nL6QxsoI3e0TTRGFC81sJgjHchAWgNvQ9SoUerWzK1Xx4JP9QkNNhFsijEEy2ykjZir9TfCpRydHSuw-cNAR1TSAU7aEPyd44nm16UyElnmrrfHoPsfYnvHB0z/s1600/flea2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPd5S4Q3Z6KPHsLxtDQ7nL6QxsoI3e0TTRGFC81sJgjHchAWgNvQ9SoUerWzK1Xx4JP9QkNNhFsijEEy2ykjZir9TfCpRydHSuw-cNAR1TSAU7aEPyd44nm16UyElnmrrfHoPsfYnvHB0z/s1600/flea2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It is shaping up to be a terrible flea season. In the last two weeks alone, I have seen more flea infestations than I have seen all summer. This isn't a surprise to me, after thirteen years in practice, I know that fall is the worst time of year for fleas, but it seems particularly bad this fall. The frustrating thing is that owners make it hard for me to fix their problem. I think that it is because they are in denial, lots of people think that they can't possibly have fleas, or if they do, it can't be that many so they don't have to worry. They must feel this way because they think that if they have fleas, they are dirty. Nobody wants to think of themselves as dirty. Here's the deal: having a pet with fleas does not make you dirty.<br />
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Maybe knowing this story will help make you feel better. In January, 2004 I was at home with my second infant on maternity leave. While we were snuggled up in a rocking chair with one of the cats on a snowy afternoon, I saw a flea run across her perfect little peach fuzzy scalp. Yes, it is true. I had a dog and two cats that had received the usual flea treatments throughout the summer and like most people, I got lazy in November or so as the temperatures dropped and the holidays began. I was able to fix the problem, but that is because I didn't say to myself..."Hmmm, that couldn't have been a flea, it is January and my house is clean, I just washed the sheets and vacuumed like I do every week." <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had a flea on my head when I was a baby, do I look dirty?</td></tr>
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Fleas are a pretty clever parasite, they have been around for centuries. Don't forget, they are responsible for spreading the plague all over Europe in the 14th century, so while you are not dirty, fleas are and you don't want them around. Some animals are a great host for fleas, they don't even get itchy with literally hundreds of fleas infesting their coats. Others are allergic to the bite and will be furiously itchy with even one flea bite. Those are the animals that it is hard to find the proof on because they fastidiously groom the fleas away, swallowing them while licking and biting at themselves. If your animal is itchy and you and your vet cannot find the fleas or flea dirt, please just listen to the vet and apply some Frontline Plus or whatever the vet recommended. We are not making this up. <br />
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Here is what I use to keep fleas from ever becoming a problem on my own pets:<br />
On my dog Ozzie, I apply Certifect topically to treat adult fleas and ticks every month and I give him a Sentinel tablet every month for heartworm, intestinal parasites and prevention of fleas. Sentinel has a chemical specific to an insect system in it that doesn't allow a flea to lay a viable egg, pretty cool. On my cats, Peggy and Teddy, I apply Revolution every month. If anybody stops mid stride to turn around and bite at their skin with their front teeth, I am suspicious despite our great preventative plan and they all get some Capstar orally a few times a week for 3 weeks, just in case. The only thing that I don't do is use over the counter products, those can be very toxic, especially to cats.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Check out this website for some flea facts: <a href="http://www.sentinelpet.com/">www.sentinelpet.com</a>. One adult flea can lay 50 eggs a day, in 30 days, with 10 fleas to start you could have 250,000 fleas in the house. Pretty gross.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-49532825392152276572011-10-20T06:32:00.000-07:002011-10-20T06:32:33.976-07:00My dog is miserable<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihj-p4zDvf0xTlLdOfuA_-n5pzozIcWI_uyTXMKffR6qNuTjLgAXfGKLCd3UNcrNoqyiUH0s2sIphRLK3NO5Vppg65zUaMoxXzDWBVZ9iTbKd4DEaUY6r5VJwuYiAURhnKgSEJwe4JZFYU/s1600/sad+ozzie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihj-p4zDvf0xTlLdOfuA_-n5pzozIcWI_uyTXMKffR6qNuTjLgAXfGKLCd3UNcrNoqyiUH0s2sIphRLK3NO5Vppg65zUaMoxXzDWBVZ9iTbKd4DEaUY6r5VJwuYiAURhnKgSEJwe4JZFYU/s320/sad+ozzie.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whose idea was it to take me to the dermatologist?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I have always been proud of the fact that I never judge an owner for over-reacting or under-reacting about the condition of their pet. After all, I am not living in their home experiencing what they are experiencing. Sometimes though, I have an eye opening personal experience, that helps me to remember that it can be very upsetting when your dog doesn't feel good. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Ozzie has been itchy for about two years. I have treated him exactly like I would have told any owner to treat one of my patients. He has had antibiotics for skin infections, flea and tick treatments religiously, treatments for possible mites, hypoallergenic diets...the works. He still scratches. After all of those treatments failed, just like I would have told my clients, I decided that he has atopy. That is the term for environmental allergies. I blood tested him with the hope of formulating an allergy shot, but the blood test came up with nothing. That left us scheduling a trip to the veterinary dermatologist for skin testing, something that I cannot do myself in general practice. We saw Dr. Brian Palmeiro, a board certified veterinary dermatologist, who, by the way, is fantastic. Ozzie was a great candidate for skin testing, as he really only had a rash on his belly, and his sides where allergy testing is done still had perfectly beautiful, healthy skin. As Dr. Palmeiro injected 66 allergens under the skin of my sleepy little dog, I was happy and excited when I saw hive after hive appear at most of the locations. Finally, I would be able to start allergy shots with the hope of making him eventually comfortable. Once he was awake, I comforted him and told him that all would be well, slathered a little hydrocortisone on the skin test site (his entire left side) and we went home with three vials of hope in a bottle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hope that these work!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Well, he hasn't stopped scratching what I can only imagine feels like the world's largest mosquito bite for three and a half days now. He yelps, he runs under chairs trying to get away from his skin, he cries, he trembles. His side is bruised, swollen, hot and horrible. There is nothing that I have given him that seems to help, and believe me, I have given him plenty of tablets, sprays, lotions, shampoos and creams. The only thing that I haven't given, which would probably work but would mess with our allergy shots and what I have already given, is a steroid. So, now all I can do is feel terrible for him. I think that my feeling terrible is a good part of the treatment plan. Maybe it will help.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My rash hurts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4ukDo-0O7t3xyZRIMAJ-MBdtkI-sWwjKk557bUyc61F3SMneYCPjipftexHy5rubY6Kvfq2a-WM9eetAmBhtUznWZNOmE51ao315NoYKEG8OkTMnb_-aadyBL2PLotLgj3RJLwVYh_6l/s1600/medicine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4ukDo-0O7t3xyZRIMAJ-MBdtkI-sWwjKk557bUyc61F3SMneYCPjipftexHy5rubY6Kvfq2a-WM9eetAmBhtUznWZNOmE51ao315NoYKEG8OkTMnb_-aadyBL2PLotLgj3RJLwVYh_6l/s320/medicine.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">None of this is helping.</td></tr>
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These are the experiences that I hope make me a better veterinarian. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6786923413173238088.post-70387024973023427772011-04-16T22:43:00.000-07:002011-04-16T22:43:42.588-07:00Are there any dog days?When somebody says that they're looking forward to the dog days of summer, I think..."me too". Summer in Gladwyne is pretty mellow, most people are enjoying trips with family and children, even the dogs go on vacation. But even on those mellow dog days of summer, I can keep myself busy thinking about making somebody's dog or cat feel better.<br />
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Spring break is this week, so the dog days of summer cannot be far behind. Make sure that you are ready to take advantage of long weekends, have a supply of your furry friend's essentials at the ready. Bring his usual food with you. It is a good idea to take his own bowls and dog bed so that he settles in on vacation right away. If he isn't coming, plan ahead. Make sure he doesn't need any vaccinations and make sure he is not due for a dose of Frontline Plus before dropping him off at the kennel. You don't want to bring home any unwanted fleas. <br />
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My first dog days tip: don't let your dog know that you are up in the middle of the night like I am right now, he'll want to go outside, and it might be raining.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14348335143862048860noreply@blogger.com0