Indoc.. Seems Like Just Yesterday.

There are a few advantages to living the life of a merchant mariner. The lure of the sea and its shores in far off exotic places. The ship that becomes your home for a few months at a time, and whose rhythmic hum lulls you to sleep under a sky of stars and a horizon of blue. Steel surrounds you and yet delivers you safely to new places, different people, varied cultures, colors, smells, foods and experiences. It is an experience that provides you a perspective few others will ever get. I am grateful and lucky to have lived that life for a little while. It provides me with a deep sense of gratitude to be born and raised where I was, in a country where I can be anything or anyone I chose.

As the years from that life have sped by there are still few occasions where I get to see my college classmates. The compulsory five year reunions are speckled with summer gatherings, trips, illnesses, deaths, and this past weekend the last single guy in our bunch tied the knot in New Orleans. 

The days between our get-togethers can pass in months, years, and even decades, but when we are together there seems to be this suspension of time and distance. We are the teenagers we used to be who all gathered in one place to become the men and women we are, and who forever share the humble beginnings of a hard place to go to but a solidaristic place to be from. We are the bound to each other because we understand each other. There is a mutual respect, adoration, and friendship without explanation. We grow older and more appreciative and grateful to have each other. They are my comrades and we have each other’s backs regardless of the decades that pass between visits.

New Orleans is a place we all visited as classmates, cadets, merchant mariners and friends. It is one of those places we may never have been together as a collective group but we all have stories of. It was where we returned to see our dear friend walk his fiancé down the aisle.

It was a magical time to be with those I love dearly and feel as if I have shared the most memorable moments of my life with. 

As I returned from this weekend of celebration I was reminded that today is the first day of Indoctrination for the incoming USMMA class of 2018. In that class there are two children of two friends who graduated around the same time I did..our little circle of life lives on..

And as the class of 2018 spends their first day and night in their long four years I wish them..

"This day 27 (gasp!) years ago I marched my teenage self into the gates of Kings Point to join the class of 1991. I remember my parents crying as we marched into Delano Hall, and I was so angry and overwhelmed to be there. Those were the longest, hardest, most miserable two weeks of my life..
I wish the class of 2018 luck, perseverance, courage, fair winds, following seas, all the generosity of the gods of partial credit, and successful rides on the ponies!"

To learn more about The United States Merchant Marine Academy visit here.

For more information on pet care, free answers to pet questions, and information on how you can be a better pet parent please visit me at Pawbly.com.

Or you can find me on Twitter @FreePetAdvice, or in the clinic Jarrettsville Vet.

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We traveled to Rehobeth Beach, Delaware for the weekend for a mini college reunion.

Turns out this beach town LOVES their pups.

Thought I would share some of them with you.

Outside a cafe in Lewes, Delaware.
Almost every store has a big bowl of water waiting for the frequent canine passer-byers.

Second St shopping in Lewes Delaware.

My dear friend, college classmate, and fellow dog lover,
and his devoted Dane, Murphy.

Murphy and Scott.
Scott and I shared a bulkhead (you would call it a wall) for the
first year of my Kings Point existence.
He would wake up, or more to the truth, come back to his room at some retched late hour,
grab his rack (metal bed resembling something found in a prison) and beat it against the wall.
Part of some torture that lasted all plebe (freshman) year.
I am still plotting my pay back.

A happy bulldog 7 month old puppy walking the beach.
All water wings and wiggling butt  and be-wilderment of the Murphy beast.

Murphy will only pose if his dad is directly in front of you.

The gang, the tent,  and the tiny bit of room that Murphy left us with.

Murphy, his mom, and Bosun (Scotts dog) with his mom.

Bosun and his admirer.

Murphy, looking for his dad, or trying to steal a burger.

What a face!!

And for those of you who couldn't make it to our beach get-together, here are a few photos of the festivities!

When The Student Becomes The Colleague

I am on my way to Washington DC via the Marc train from Penn Station Baltimore to meet one of my vet school professors for lunch and a catch up on where the last few years have taken us. 

He was one of the coolest professors at vet school and has remained one of my strongest mentors and most inspiring friends. He completed his veterinary degree a scant few decades ago, went on to become boarded in Zoo Medicine, (a huge feat!), then returned to vet school to provide real-life experience and guidance to us VMRCVM  students in the newly emerging field of “Government and Corporate Veterinary Medicine”.  He has written a book on the odd and interesting zoo medicine cases that he and his colleagues have encountered, and above all he remains a steadfast pillar of support for veterinarians and an advocate for animals worldwide.

What I find so interesting is this transition as I re-unite with friends, professors, and old shipmates and realize that we have grown up and in the process become colleagues.

I spent last night at a ship party where many of my old sailing mates from my long home away from home. C.S. Global Mariner, (a ship I spent 6 years of 4 month on, and 4 month off rotations on), were celebrating a major milestone in their shipboard life. The ship had been accident free for a full 365 days. This is an incredible accomplishment when you think about the degree of difficulty involved in the work they perform and the environment in which that work is done. The 30 - 40 foot, (or plus), seas, treacherous wet slippery decks, operating a project 24/7, and the emotional stress of being far away and almost unreachable for months on end is not exactly a “safe work environment.” There is a damned good reason that we were sent out to sea with a fully stocked medical facility and a medical officer. Just speaking for me personally I will admit to the following casualties: 1 unexplained fainting episode onto a very unforgiving steel deck that left me deaf and on “bed only” duty for three days, a static electrical shock that threw me 6 feet onto the opposite bulkhead (wall), burnt three of my fingers and left permanent numbness and nerve damage in 6 of my fingers, food poisoning that incapacitated me for a week in Peru, multiple crushed fingers, a few bouts of mild hypothermia, and to this day, if I have a nightmare it involves a ship. That’s what 10 years at sea did to me, and I was the cautious careful sailor.

And this was my life for the 90's.

I met up with my old Captain last night at their ship party. I joined his ship right out of college at 21, eager and oblivious. When I met him for the first time, after arriving at the ship “in uniform” I was directed to “go up to his office right away.” I dropped my bag at the gangway and headed up the four flights of stairs to his palatial Captain’s office. To my surprise there was no customary hand shake and “welcome aboard.” Instead he asked me to hand over my license, (in retrospect I think he was checking to see if it appeared to be legit), and then began to berate me with, “I want you to know that I did everything in my power to keep you off of this ship. I do not think that women belong at sea because they are nothing but trouble, but I am stuck with you.” He then directed me out of his office and to the Purser’s office to be signed on. As I walked down the stairs I remember thinking to myself, “If that M-F’er didn’t have my license I would march down that gangway and drive home!” At the end of that 4 month horrendously difficult cable lay I was the only Mate left that he hadn’t quit or been fired. Ten years later I left the company and went to Vet school. Ten years after that was last night and we are now respectively titled Capt and Doctor. He is as proud of me as my parents are, and I am now as glad as he was 20 years ago to not be on any ship.  He was right about one thing, I didn’t belong there. But for god’s sake never tell me I can’t do something. I will do it just to spite you even if it makes me miserable in the process. (It took me until I was 32ish to learn that wasn’t such a beneficially trait).

As I approach Union station I am now 6 years out of vet school and a fellow Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. My once-ago vet school professor is now the colleague to bounce real world stories off, and share new plans for the next chapter of my career. But even if we now share the same title I will always see him as the supreme veterinary path adviser.

So at 20 years post USMMA (college), 10 years post sailing, and 6 years post VMRCVM (Vet school), I feel a profound sense of joy in finally getting to where I was trying to get to the whole time and an immense sense of gratitude to all of those who helped me get here.

Graduation Day,
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Class of 2005

Life is really about the journey, although this destination feels like a perfect fit.

A Break From The Present To Revisit The Past

I am going to take a few days off from the vet life and the blogging life.

Awful as it sounds I am soo looking forward to a new state of mind. I am heading to NYC tomorrow for my 20 year college reunion.

I can't believe I am really that old!, and that it has been two decades since we were all together inside the gate. We all have our own lives, and we are all scattered around the globe. I will see some friends that I haven't spoken to in 20 years, and some that I see and talk to almost weekly. Oddly, some of my classmates work with my husband, and ironically many of them still make a living on the high seas. For as much as we have grown apart we all still share one of, if not arguably, the most, defining part of our lives. We saw each other at our lowest points, (the constant barrage of stress and subordination, brings even the strongest to their knees), and we have seen each other through the happiest moments, (the weddings and the past reunions and celebrations). I feel profoundly lucky to have been a part of such a small tight knit group of people. I also feel grateful to not be living the life I was trained in that college to live anymore. I can't imagine my life with the starts and stops that you have to live with when you are going to sea for four months at a time. It ruins any continuity with anything. Families included. It ruined many a relationship. For me it ruined almost every relationship. I lost friends, or couldn't make them, because I was always a part-time resident of every place, and I lost pets, relatives, and a husband. It is good money but at a price too high for me to pay any more. I went to Vet School to get out of the Merchant Marine. It was the second best decision I ever made.

I popped into the clinic a few minutes ago to drop off our three dogs, and Jitterbug, (he is 2 years old and can't stay inside by himself for four days), and Wren, the baby. It is like dropping my kids off at camp. I know that they are far safer there than anywhere else on earth (short of being with me, of course!). I leave them with blankets, treats, leashes, and detailed instructions. I know the staff will take excellent care of them. I know this because I have an incredibly caring and dedicated group of people there. Certainly being the boss means they get more visibility, but they are with me at work everyday, so they are comfortable at the kennel on their own campus.

But in true form, I want all of you to know that when I come back on Sunday to pick up all of my cats and dogs the following will happen; the dogs will act like I was gone for a year and a half (secretly we are all flattered and gushy that they love us and miss us that much, aren't we?). They will jump, squeal, kiss, dart, and smother Joe and I. And my place in the universe will be re-solidified. The cats, well, Jitterbug will scream and howl in the crate on the way home, then be right back to normal as soon as I release him in the house. Wren, will do what she does best; snuggle and nuzzle in my neck, (in all honesty she does this to everyone all the time, but I will soak it up, and kiss her and tell her that I missed her very much too.)

So you see, as much as I like, (and NEED) to get away, I like coming back even more. Just because I love my pets soo much, and I love my life, my job, and my practice, every bit as much.



Bon Voyage Amigo's! I will be in NYC painting the town red, dragging my husband all over the grid, buying more than he can carry, and then re-living the good ole days with my old college friends. I'll talk to you all next week.


And I'll post pictures!

Here are some from 20 years ago, plus, at USMMA

 And here is one from a ship, with two friends, on the bridge wing, getting ready for another trip to sea. 1995ish

Ok, Here are the 20 year Homecoming Kings Point reunion Photo's. It was great to see my OLD friends.

For more information on the United States Merchant Marine Academy, in Kings Point, NY. Please see their website here..Or find me at the clinic Jarrettsville Vet, or on Twitter @FreePetAdvice. 

For any pet questions you can ask me for free on Pawbly.com.

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Indoc,,Seems Like Only Yesterday