The Dilemma Of A Bite

What do you do when you get bitten by a dog?

I get this question about once a year. 

Today the question came from a friend via a phone call. He explained that he was just out walking by himself, minding his own business. He walked by a dog on a leash and the dog jumped at him and bit him on the leg. He did nothing to provoke it. He didn't pause, or turn, or make any gestures. He wasn’t talking to the dog or the owner. The dog was on a leash. He was just walking by.  After the dog bit him another person who witnessed the incident came up to him and told him that the dog had previously also bitten that same dog. 

He called me shortly after. " I don't know what to do?"

Every bite has a cause. A dog is as complicated and unique as any of us. They bite for a whole host of reasons. The secret is to unpack whatever is causing them to think that a defensive action is the appropriate response to a stimuli. The question is why do some of us react to a stressful, or fearful experience and decide to act upon it with a dangerous response?

The question is what do you do when you are bitten by a dog and what does the person responsible for that dog need to consider?

When I am talking to a client about a bite every veterinarian is always going worry about rabies because rabies is 100% fatal. So if a client comes to me and says I got bit by a dog or you know. My first piece of advice is to treat it as you would a car accident. 

1. Make sure everyone is ok. Call the police if there is an injury that might be considered severe, or life threatening. If you do not think it is life threatening seek medical care as soon as able. Be warned every animal bite will be mandatory for the medical provider to report it.

2. Collect information from everyone involved. You should get a picture of their id. Exchange each others information. Should this be something require legal action you will need that information for insurance, etc.

Most of the bite cases that I hear about come to see me typically because their dog got in a dog fight with another dog/animal and then the owner jumped in the middle and they were bitten inadvertently.

The difficulty is that once the police get involved lots of things can happen that people are not prepared for. One of them is that if this dog has any previous bite histories then the law can step in. I have been given a court order before to euthanize a dog for excessive bite history. The pet parent had fought in court to try to save her dog. She fought hard. She lost. Her dog had to be put down. I struggled with the decision. The reality was that this dog was going to be put down regardless of how much it crushes me to euthanize a healthy animal. If I didn't do it the shelter would. His mom couldn't be with him there. He would be scared and they would not handle him the same way we could. We sedated him calmly and peacefully and we all sat around him on a big blanket in the back field where he was peaceful. It was awful but,, well,,,, it was the least awful I could make it. This has played out 3 times in my career. There are times where I want to surrender my euthanasia license to save a piece of my soul that struggles so hard.

I believe that there are no "bad dogs" there are dogs who are desperately uncomfortable and do not know how to react appropriately when they are stressed. This case, like all of them, had warning signs. The worst cases of bites are when pet parents try to manage the situations by blaming others, or changing the environment to try to avoid a trigger. The problem is that the triggers change and evolve, and a dog who will react with aggression will likely do that for other scenarios and situations you cannot foresee. The other issue is that not every bite is going to happen on an adult in an area that is not visible. I have seen people have their faces bitten. Their nose or mouth removed. Requiring years of surgeries. I have also know of  examples where children and adults did not survive.

I always talk to people about that. I have to ask; what are you prepared to do? Sometimes my own dog has been on the leash and growled at another dog passing by and then the other dog responded with the same kind of tough-guy attitude. Then I get myself in the middle of it by reminding him to not be such a jerk. He is always on a short leash right beside me, and, I am always watching him. If there was a dog off-leash who acted like he does, came over to us with the same big-dog-sassy attitude, I am sure I would end up in the middle of a dog fight. He is just an insecure moron about some other dogs. I will never fully trust him and he is never allowed off leash because of this. I am his mom and I have to face the fact that in his head he thinks it is appropriate to be defensive and protective.  But in your case, you weren’t doing anything and a dog bit you. There was something that happened in that dogs' head but the problem is you didn’t illicit it. You weren’t one of those obnoxious people that walks up to a dog and sticks your you know, hands and face in their face and kind of violates their privacy just assuming that every dog is happy to meet a total stranger who oversteps their presumed welcome. You were just walking along. So the difficulty for me with your scenario is that if this was completely unprovoked and you already know somebody else has been injured then you probably have a responsibility as a citizen to report it because although you didn’t get hurt, you’re also a big strong, healthy guy and you’re not a child who you know might’ve really had significant injuries. I always kind of start with what’s the worst case scenario how would I feel if I didn’t address the worst case scenario? We all also have a civic responsibility to other people in the community.

"I know who this person is," he said.

.... wait what? 

"You know the person you know the person with the dog?" He did. They are a friend of a friend.

Then I would say the best case scenario is to start with the olive branch right like this visit at the end of the day is a dog who’s struggling with something right and if this is a responsible owner and I really am happy to talk to her. She needs to understand that her dog is struggling with something and she’s ultimately responsible for it and if she doesn’t address it, the court is going to step in and she will have to literally flee the state she will she will she will be given a court order to have that dog euthanized. They probably won’t cross state lines, but that’s what she’s gonna have to do and that’s what people have done and I’m not saying that’s what you should do but that’s what has to happen. She needs to understand that her dog is struggling with something and doesn’t know how to deal with it and is redirecting that aggression on somebody else if that means that she medicate her dog while she goes into training and that dog never leaves the house without a muzzle on. She should also have a vest put on it that says "do not approach, in training." Something that gives a visible warning. Then that dog is never let outside without a muzzle on. She can get a basket muzzle, which is not difficult or prohibitive with their ability to pant, eat and drink, but she needs to do something or she is one going to have to put her dog down. That will go on her record and she may not ever be able to adopt a dog again.

"Thank you."

People get defensive,, but there is a problem. And it will repeat and someone will be hurt. 

Disclaimer time. I am not a lawyer or behaviorist. This is my opinion based on decades of vetmed.

Photos above are the dogs of the Ukraine. I still think about them, and that place, every single day.

Investing Too Much. When, and Where Do You Draw The Line?

Perhaps I went into this for all of the wrong reason(s)?

Maybe not the wrong reasons, but, perhaps the expectations were unrealistic? Maybe there was too much of me in this endeavor for others? Maybe it's the other way around?

These are the questions I ask myself as I muck through the maze of my daily life as a veterinarian in general practice.

One of the many delightful faces of my vet life day

Yesterday I spent a long time, (to be honest 20-30 minutes), with a sobbing client as she dropped off her dog, Brunswick, for a forelimb amputation. She was, (as every single other amputation pet parent has ever been), reluctant to consent to this surgery. Of all the procedures that we do, and, for all of the many indications this procedure is recommend for, there is no other life-saving, pain alleviating surgery that is met with such pet parent reluctance and resistance. In my clinic over the last 15 years that I have been practicing, I would say that only about 1/4 of the pets who need this procedure, and, I believe would benefit immensely from, actually get it. Most pet parents will sacrifice the pet to spare the removal of a limb. There is this incredibly difficult and deeply rooted mental block on consenting to limb removal as a treatment option. We were at this place; sitting in the front office, debating whether to consent to cutting off the leg of her otherwise perfectly healthy and happy pup.

Brunswick is a timid 7 year old, 50 pound, mixed breed dog. She is a tawny brown with big erect triangular ears, a wide faced and her soft white body is liver spotted from neck to tail. She has a history of a mass removal from this leg that yielded a diagnosis of "lipoma" many years ago. That mass has returned, slowly growing within the armpit of her front leg. It is now pushing the limb out and away from her torso. It has gotten so large that it has exceeded her skins ability to further contain it. The underside of the arm was red, raw and ulcerating. The mass that has been slowly growing for years now is outgrowing her. The cold cruel eventuality of Brunswick's leg was lose the leg or lose her as she would soon have an open wound that would never heal but instead continue to erode her leg, cause her increasing pain, and chew its way up her neck and across her sternum. 

Brunswick walks front legged short stepped, cowboy style. It manifests as a limp. The mass is hidden from obvious view by her bushy hair. The dappled coat hides the magnitude of the mass until you pet her. The diameter of the upper part of her left front leg is easily twice that of her slender athletic right leg. Her demeanor is always stand-offish for a few moments, but, if you are patient, quiet, and gentle in allowing those few moments to pass she will warm up to you to flounder flop on her "good" side for a full belly reveal. It is her not so subtle invitation to focus your affectionate rubs on the tender fleshy part of her belly. She is easy to fall in love with. Her handicap simply reinforces her charm. Her mom adores her. She will tell you that "Brunswick is her first child." 

And, now,,, here we are. Sobbing. Crippled with fear and doubt, and stuck about what to do with it all.

Many conversations get to this point. That critical pivot point where biology, disease and prognosis has met the timetable of limited options. That juncture in a pets life where you have to choose? Are you a proactive parent seeking to gain as much time with your pet as medicine is able to provide? Or, do belong to the crowd that does not believe in surgical procedures for pets? Do you choose to invest multiple thousands of dollars, hours, and caregiving requirements to gain the precious commodity of more time with your companion. Do you value your pet as a member of your family? Are they one of your kids? Can anyone possibly speculate all of the twists and turns that lie ahead if you do, or don't, take action? 

Most pre-op surgical discussions go like this. 

In Brunswick's case we had already done multiple examinations. Two with me, one with the surgeon. At each time we (the "professionals") agreed the best resolution to this tumor was to remove the leg. There were about a dozen emails back and forth to discuss every possible question and concern. And,, yet,, here we were, crying at drop off. 

I sat with her and said; "I know how hard this is. Please do what you think is right. Not what anyone else tells you to do." I firmly believe that this needs to be said to every parent. The road ahead is too full of twists, turns, and potentially even life-threatening landmines. I should add the cost of care, but, for me it is not a part of the equation I will let decide options. If we believe a treatment option is needed we will find a way to make it accessible. (Note: we use multiple payment plan options to help people not let the financial burden be the deciding factor).

I try to ask myself who will benefit from these decisions? Who am I looking after? These are huge weighty decisions with dire consequences. I try to be unbiased, neutral, indifferent. I try to present facts, argue all sides. I soo often feel that I fail miserably at this. I am not ever able to remain indifferent. I am not on anyone's team outside of my patients and their family. It is the dark force that grips my soul surrenders my conscious heart at midnight.

Brunswick post op

Here's where the muck meets the sole. Brunswick needs this operation. She will die within a year from the mass if she doesn't have it. How do I advocate for that? A: I just have to be honest. Then I have to accept the consequences. But, I know Brunswick is loved and I know her mom is making this decision based on that. Seems silly to some, maybe? But that is always enough for me. I am not the vet for indifferent people who don't value pets. That I cannot do. That would kill me.

My pups; Frippie and Storm

These are the elephants I carry on my back all day every day. They remain cumbersome, consuming and catabolic even after I get home at night.

I didn't sleep much after midnight. That mystical witching hour.  My typical work day has me arriving home after 9 pm, a 12 hour day of work without breaks, meals or niceties logged in the record books.  My shear exhaustion leads me to literally passing out on a pillow having foregone the obligatory teeth brushing, face washing, moisturizing and evening medical supplement regimen. They are all tossed out the window for the sake of sparing my legs the 80 paces they would require. There are loads of nights like this. Wrung out dry. I enter home as this zombie-eyed shell. I sleep for 3 hours and the death cipher lets go her grip for the anxiety ridden stressed-out-Suzie to take claim. Its always this exchange of custody each night between the hours of midnight and 2 am. A shared custody battle as the sun sleeps. 

My Frippie always brings me a gift

Why does the day weigh so hard? Brunswick is one example.. this is another. This one happens too often these days. COVID has created a huge demand for puppies. None of them are being socialized appropriately and for some (often breed specific) it is causing potentially disastrous consequences.

The other emotional dilemma of my day was an 11 month old German Shepherd, (let's call her GS), who visited for a pre-spay exam with bloodwork. Her mom had brought her inside the clinic vestibule on a one foot leash to a tight prong collar. Even with moms double fisted grip she could not get GS to remain with four feet on the floor nor have any kind of focus. She had no control of her adolescent puppy, and, she knew it. She told me that she "doubted I would be able to get her blood." She passed my technician the one foot lead and watched us all as we struggled to lead her to the treatment area. All GS needed was a 5 minute physical exam and 30 seconds to pull a blood sample. These appointments are not charged for as they should only take 6 minutes to complete. That didn't happen.

GS was a happy, outgoing 75 pound determined to party firecracker. She was elated to be around people, and in absolute resolve in not sitting for longer than one split second for anything. She knew commands, and she knew how to decide to avoid them. She surged, jumped, boxed, and thrashed. She twisted arms, crashed heads, and started to lunge and bite to have her demands heard.

Our dinnertime excitement

I always stop here...... The three of us; myself, my technician, and GS. We all looked at each other. What to do now? Take a breath? Try a different tactic? All of the above? We took breaks. We tried treats. We tried calm quietness. I tried a large muzzle, just to see if that would settle her. Fifteen minutes into the endeavor and one thing was clear; Nothing worked. We were at the place where one of three things was going to happen;

    1. I lose my patience and I hog tie, muzzle and we pig-pile on her to attempt to bruticaine (brute-force-paralysis vet lingo), and see if she is so shocked by this she gives in.  I just turn into a cold hearted drill sergeant. Bark orders. Intimidate. Force her to be what I want her to be. Force her to hold this command until I feel she has learned who is in charge. Quickly restrain GS and get it done. Get the blood. Skip the exam. Smile and return her to mom. After all what she doesn't know isn't my problem. She can't claim naivete when she already admitted unruliness. Make friends with the owners, even if it  is at the patients expense. A lot of vets have learned this trick. Two faced. Sweet to people, not so much to patients. A bite will likely follow at some point. What the real consequence of this is; To hell with the next guy who has to deal with her.  Might work for some dogs, never works for shepherds. Shepherds are too intelligent, they cement resentment like dolphins. If I do this to her she will never again come happily into our doors.. She will start every future interaction with fear and aggression. A bite will follow at some point soon.

    2. I give up knowing the short game loss is worth the long term gain and we have a family meeting to try to find a way to make her appointments more enjoyable and productive. Her mom had already expected that today wouldn't go well. We come up with a plan for next time. This should include training at home with the family to allow others to handle her. Working with a trainer to help her focus on commands and execution of them with focus and safety. And medications to help bridge the gap as we work on training. 

    3. I just get bitten. No chance to compromise, or convince her that we are not trying to hurt her. She just explodes and bites as fast as she  can. She is done with us and she will remind us she is in charge. 

What happens when a "bite" happens? Paperwork, fear, and almost always the pet parents compounds the tragedy by isolating their dogs in an attempt to avoid future potential bite provocations. Muzzles, prong collars, yelling, over protecting orders and mounting anxiety across all fronts. It's a snowball. Attempt to avoid situations leads to a lowering of estimation of the pets perceived threats. They used to like everyone. They were puppies meeting a world of new sights, sounds and smells. Now they are guardians that bark at the door knocking, or, strangers. You can't take them out in public anymore because now they bark at everyone. Everyone is a perceived threat. They are 100 pounds and you cannot restrain that amount of determined muscle. They become isolated. We reinforce the idea that everyone is a stranger. I used to see them every two to three weeks. We had fun visits. Now I am the stranger. I ask for unreasonable acts of discipline and focus. They don't know me and they certainly can't see a reason to obey me. Hence the bruticaine and indifference. 

Buster

Who's fault is a bite? Well, for the huge majority of clients vets see daily they would say it is our fault. For every time I have handed back a shepherd to say "we need a different plan to make this visit enjoyable." I almost always get, "well, you don't know how to hold her. She is fine with me." Oh, how I long to reply; "Ok then you do the bloodwork and  the spay. I like my fingers and face." Or, "she would never bite me, therefore, you are the problem." 

Here's my advice; it is the advice that every seasoned pet care professional will give you. Train your dog to accept a muzzle. It is NOT a reflection of a persons failure. Nor the pets. It is a tool to provide assistance as we transition out of anxiety based fear laden actions and reactions. Every pet parent should openly and provide permission for a muzzle to be used if deemed necessary. Man-handling, bruticaine, that is not permissible.. ever (unless a pet is endangering another's life). How do we insure this? Trust. If you don't trust your pet care professionals ask to be present for all possible procedures. Ask, demand, insist that pre-anxiety medications be given. Set ground rules for care. Resistance is a flag for scrutiny. Leaving a practice because a person intervenes on your pets behalf is only going to hurt your pet. 

About 30 minutes after I aborted pushing GS any further I sent her home with a training plan and sedatives to try at the next vet visit. I chose to not push her, not exacerbate a bite, and not make it impossible for the next time. Here's what I got for that, a call from the husband saying "they had a bad experience with us and they are going elsewhere." I doubt I will ever see GS again. There is pride before a fall. There are Shepherds relinquished everyday because no one intervened on their behalf at this critical development time. And, worst of fall there are vets who get court orders to put animals down after a "bite" history deems them a danger to the public. Will the next vet push her so hard she bites? Or becomes passive aggressive? Or fears people so much she reacts with defensive aggression to everyone outside of her family? In my opinion she needs help. Will she  get it? It's one of the reasons I awaken at midnight with elephants.

Tex. His first puppy visit. My goal is to have every patients visit look like this.

The truth is that people pine as much as I do, if not more, on what to do for their companions. What is the right/best/safest/compassionate course of action to take? What will consequences for that looks like? Will I hate/berate/beat up/chastise myself for the action, or lack there of, I take? I have been in these shoes. At every moment of my professional life I remind myself that I am still that devoted pet parent who is in turmoil about what to do? Do I trust my own judgement? Do I have enough pertinent information to base my judgements upon? Is there trust here. Maybe GS's parents lack that? They just don't trust my call? The reality is that she is being set up to fail, not flourish, and her "bite" won't be on my account of failing her. 

Brunswick. One week post-op forelimb amputation

What these two cases have in common is that I did my best to make decisions, present options that were in the  best interest of my patients. period. I can fall asleep knowing that. The rest, the worry, the grief, the elephant on my shoulders that I failed them, their parents, or the relationships we have is the midnight hour that clutches my throat and drags me into the abyss of self-doubt of avenues from that first decision to "do no harm."

Magpie helps me motivate for another morning.

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Wound Repair, Take Two. How To Treat Your Dog Fight Wounds.

Don't you agree that her wound doesn't look too bad?
That's a very common assumption, and unfortunately, its often wrong.

This is Whiskey, a rather rambunctious three year old spayed girl who is more likely to greet you with a loud, ferocious bark and fierce lunge forward to remind you to stand down, turn around, and visit someone else, than a offer a wag and a smile.

As fate will have it, if you yell angrily at enough other dogs one of them is going to meet your nasty bark with an arcade of teeth and leave you with a wound to your face and a subsequent needed visit to the vet.

Whiskey came in on a Sunday for a bite wound that she had received on Friday. Her family had thought that it was just a small scratch, and no one wanted to incur a vet bill, especially in light of Whiskey's poor attitude.

On Sunday's visit it was decided to try to take a conservative approach. Whiskey was acting normally, eating, drinking, breathing, ambulating were all normal, and finances were tight. We flushed the wound (muzzle necessary), and applied 4 staples to keep the edges together.  She was in and out of our door with the minimum treatment plan available. The cost for this visit, $75, (an exam and 4 staples).

The next day Whiskey's mom called to say that she was in need of some pain medication. She came by to pick up a prescription for an NSAID.

On Tuesday afternoon the staples were missing and the wound wasn't smelling so good.

Tuesday night we treated Whiskey's wound more aggressively. We clipped the wound, applied a numbing agent and tried to suture it closed. We could have sedated her but her wound was not deep and did not require a drain. It was also very difficult to suture so close to her eye so we decided instead to staple it closed (again). This time Whiskey went home with an e-collar to protect her face and prohibit her from rubbing or pawing at the wound.

Lidocaine jel applied to the wound to provide a topical anesthetic.

Here is a video of us exploring Whiskey's wound. Any wound that is deep or dirty should be explored under general anesthesia. General anesthesia also allows us to explore and identify pockets, embedded debris, compromised structures and remove damaged tissue to speed up healing. In some cases an old wound needs to be cultured to identify which bacteria is residing in it and help identify the best antibiotic to treat it.

After clipping the wound it was closed. We had a long discussion about how to best do this;

1. Allow it to close on its own. In some cases this is best. These include wounds that have already got a good bed of granulation tissue. Or wounds that are so large we cannot close them.

2. Close it with glue, sutures, a full closure of the wound. This is the fastest way to heal a wound, BUT, you need to be sure that you know what you are closing, and be darned sure you aren't closing infection IN.

3. Clean the wound with lots of flushing (we use a dilute surgical scrub, or diluted betadine if around the eyes), and then apply either a suture or a staple to keep the wound from opening up further. Motion on a wound prevents the new healing cells from being able to form a supportive structure to allow it to close.

Whiskey allowed me to place one suture (I prefer them because I can get larger pieces of tissue and hold the wound together better than a staple, which is shallow, will allow. Therefore, she has 1 very solid deep suture, and four staples. Because we did not sedate or anesthetize her I did not suture it closed from top to bottom.

Whiskey went home with;

1. Pain medication, 7 days worth, $30.

2. Antibiotics 10 days worth, about $40.

3. E-collar about $15.

Whiskey's bill at my clinic was $185, which included the above and lidocaine $15, repairing wound $25, and initial examination $60. 

I will recheck Whiskey in 1 week. She may need the staples removed then, or it may take almost 2 weeks.

Related Blogs;

One Good Deed and Two Bad Dogs

Infection Trapped Beneath the Skin, Subcutaneous Emphysema

The Wounds That Lie Beneath, Dog Fight Victim.

A Pawbly member asked about how to treat their pets bite wound at home. I hope that this blog helps to explain why bringing your pet to the vet after a wound is so important. If you have a pet question, or any kind of pet experience that you think would help others, please join us at Pawbly.com. It is free and open to all pet lovers.

Any injured pet in the Northern Maryland area can find me at the clinic, Jarrettsville Vet, in Jarrettsville Maryland. Or follow me on Twitter @FreePetAdvice.

Traveling With Your Pet. The Worst Scenario Guidebook

Back at home!

As much as I love to get a few days away, meet fellow pet enthusiasts, (put exceedingly mildly), and learn about new emerging facets of the social media world, I love, love, LOVE coming home!

Many of the attendees bring a big piece of their home with them. Wrapped in a snuggy tied to their chest, or zipped into a mosquito mesh swathed stroller, or trotting alongside on a leash (often bedazzled with their name).

But for us our pets remain safely, calmly, and repeatedly at home.

There are reasons. Many of them over-thought out, obsessively dissected, and always based on my ever present medically based "worst case scenario" methodology of navigating through life.

Let me explain; I am a scientifically medically trained being. My job is to use my education, both taught and learned, to help identify a cause and thus be able to next provide a treatment plan. This is not a smooth linear road. When I meet a patient and I start the discovery process of trying to identify a diagnosis, I have to think on a linear scale. That pendulum of decision is a fluttering, wavering, oscillating, point. It is influenced by clients. Their willingness to participate and the latitude provided to try to gather clues along the diagnosis path. At every step I have to be prepared for a stop sign to be flashed. Sometimes because our patient is running out of time, or because our clients are depleting resources. Because of this constant unsettling reality I also have to be prepared for "worst case scenario" at every moment.

Why "worst case scenario?" Well, we are talking about disease and liability.

There are diseases that can kill, both my patient, my client, my staff, and myself. (There's a serious slap of reality to wake you up).

Liability. Oh, there's a can of worms to keep your toes out of. You can be sued, reprimanded, or cornered to a place where you willingly jump overboard to save yourself any further repeated abuse and burn out.

This is how I am wired. I have seen worst case scenarios enough times to have had my behaviors and actions influenced by them.

If we were discussing it with our parents we might call it "paranoia," and oddly for as often as I fend off the labels that paint me in an aging light, I choose to stick to "better safe than sorry" adage.

In my twenties and thirties the dogs followed me wherever I went. They were my kids, my status, and my security blanket/stuffed animal pacifiers.

But, in my forties I have decided to take a more scientific, less self-centered approach to their traveling.

Here's what I discovered with my pets;

• Any longer than 24 hours of a change in surroundings and Charleston starts with diarrhea.
• Any small opportunity for Jekyll to meet a friend and he takes full advantage. He will cross busy roads, run in front of traffic, it doesn't matter. If there is a person he thinks he can befriend he is off to meet them. (Worse yet, I hate to squelch his charming demeanor. I mean how many of us ALWAYS see the glass half full and LOVE every single being unconditionally?).
• Savannah, my 18 year old girl. She deserves a quiet, calm life, and she flourishes if I provide it.

Now, I have never adopted an carry-on sized pets. And I know that many peoples pets are an accessory extension. If I had a pet that fit in my purse, and if I had conditioned them to always be on my hip to the point that it was detrimental to their overall mental health if they were not, than I would perhaps be bringing them with me more often. 

But I still live in "worst case scenario-ville." And traveling with a pet leaves you open to all sorts of scenarios. 

IF you do decide to bring your pet with you here's what you should have:

1. All of your pets vaccine and all current pertinent medical records. (Hint, many veterinarians now allow you to have online access to your pets records so you never need hard copies. Ask them about this. At our clinic we use Petly.)
2. Have your vet help you pack an emergency AND travel kit. This might include any current or past prescription drugs, anti-histamines, pain medications, steroids, e-collar, shampoo, and even prescription food.

Here's what I witnessed at the pet expo I attended this past weekend;

A perfectly content dog around the attendees snapped the second she saw a chocolate lab and lunged for her through a large group of people. If there hadn't been so many people between her and the brown lab she would have reached her and bitten. What did the handlers do? They acted dumb-founded, put her back behind their table and went back to their meet and greet duties.

What should they have done? Gotten that dog out of that expo. Immediately. Why? Because worst case scenario is going to happen. That female aggressor, sadly a pit bull. Her biting someone is going to add fuel to an already inferno sized debate.

What else did I see?

A very sweet completely (normal) obsessed beagle trying to abscond every morsel of food around. It was a pet expo, there was a Viking sized buffet at every turn. By day number two she had generalized abdominal pain. My presumptive diagnosis? pancreatitis. Her worst case scenario, a very expensive treatment plan that she may or may not live through. When I talked to her mom about whether she had offered any treats, or had had a change in diet I got a recited list of every treat from every vendor present. That beagle had been on a 24 test tasting binge. Her rule out list was a whole lot longer than it should have been. When we talked about whether she had packed any pain medications for her pup, she replied "Tylenol." (Argh!)

What do I think? 

I think that lots and lots of pets are not up to date on vaccines (I know this, I own a veterinary clinic, I am told it every single day), and I think lots of people think their dog is perfectly harmless (and they are with their parent), but they are not completely in tune with their pet and they miss signs that their pet is anxious, or fearful, or about to pick a fight. 

How do I plan for a get-away AND take the best care of my pets that is possible? I have an extended family. My pet sitter and my vet clinic. They are the most vital people to my being able to take excellent care of my pets. 

My advice to you. Be a part of your veterinarians family. We each need each other. It is an open honest relationship. If you are going away and leaving your pets behind call your vet, tell them, and leave some guidance about what you would want them to do if "worst case scenario" happens. Even offer to leave a credit card on file just in case.

OK, I realize we all love our pets, and I also realize that in many cases we are proud and want to show them off. But our primary responsibility as a parent is to be self-less. To protect them and to teach them. But never to put them in a place that might make them sick, or injured, or overwhelm them.

I leave my pets at home.

And when I get home, they treat me to a licker-tape parade. I am a rock star for a whole 12 hours! It is awesome! And me, I have no diarrhea to clean up, no uncertainties about their break from their over bearing mother, and a pet sitter who got to spend a few days in my home with my pets as an extended family member who helps me take care of mine.

If you have any questions about this, or anything else pet related ask me at Pawly or on Twitter @Pawbly.