Magnanimous Maggot Monday

My complaining about Mondays hasn't gotten old yet has it?

Well, how about starting your Monday with a 17 pound very angry, putrid smelling, matted, maggot cat? I bet that most of you can't beat that one, can you?

I had driven by my neighbors house a few times over the last few weeks and noticed that some of his cats were very matted. Most of them are also very fat, and I think that they are so fat that they can no longer groom themselves. These fat felines especially can't reach their mid to lower back area.

I stopped in last week to drop off a pair of our nice grooming plug-in clippers and gave a 5 minute how-to demo on how to safely remove matted hair on a cat.

For those of you who haven't had my 5 minute "it ain't pretty but it does the job" grooming lesson, here it is.

• First, always keep your cat calm. If they start to freak out and get angry/aggressive you cannot do anything safely. So either get professional help, or take a time out and try again later.

• Second, this is a two person job. The first person is the holder, and I find the safest and easiest way to do this is to gently but firmly scruff the cat. Scruffing implies that you are holding the skin and not the hair, because grabbing hair hurts, but holding the skin does not. I also surround my body on top of the cat. Not placing any weight on them, but just cradling them between my arms and upper body. I also place the forearm of the hand I am using to scruff along their spine so I maintain as much control of their movements as possible). The second person is responsible for the clipping. Always clip with the direction the hair lies in and be gentle. Even clippers can cut the skin if you push hard enough, and sometimes these cats are matted right down to the skin.

• Third, cats can be very dangerous critters if hurt, stressed, or scared. They have sharp teeth and claws and they will bite and scratch if they feel threatened. So be safe, and if you need professional help ask a groomer, veterinary technician, or your vet to help you safely learn how to restrain a cat.

• Fourth, if you have a pet with a deep wound then there is absolutely no way in creation that you can adequately explore that deep wound without anesthesia. This is a very painful procedure and the point is to identify how deep the wound is and how much it impacts the surrounding anatomy, and then clean it and treat it. So go to your vet if you have a wound that is either big, deep, smelly, painful, or chronic.

• Fifth, trimming mats on a cat should always be done with clippers. NEVER USE SCISSORS! You will cut the cat, maybe not the first time, but someday it will happen, and you will have to pay me to surgically close it, usually after it has become infected.

Grooming, in my hands isn't about getting your pet pretty it's about getting your pet healthy. Hair gets in the way of many things. To treat a hot spot, a wound, infected or inflamed ears, or eyes, we shave the hair around them and then we can start treating the area.

When I stopped at my neighbors I explained that the matted hair on his cats can cause skin infections which can lead to wounds. I asked him to clip the mats ASAP to try to avoid these.

He called me at 7:30 Monday morning to tell me that "His old orange cat was lying in the grass in the front yard and has a sore on his butt. He isn't getting up to come to the food bowls."

I stopped by an hour later to pick him up to take him into work with me. The minute I picked up the cat I could smell the wound, and I knew I had maggots on the Monday morning menu.

When I arrived at work I opened the cage I saw before me a very fat orange tabby with a wound on the base of his tail. The hair around the tail was very wet from his body secreting serum to try to heal the wound. Many cats will lick an area that has an injury, and if you ever see flies around your pet you should always think wound and maggots. The flies can pick up a flesh wound of the tiniest size and they will immediately descend upon it and start laying eggs. The fly eggs look like tiny off-white salt-like clumps, and they will begin hatching within a few short hours.

These tiny white flecks are fly eggs.
They were laid by adult houseflies on the wet cat food I left for my kitties.
If you leave wet food out like I do please dispose of it within an hour,
or if you see any of the eggs already laid on it.

I was reminded of my own cat wound story when my neighbors dogs attacked my orange tabby cat Moses on my own front porch many years ago. I was right beside Moses when the two large shepherds came out from the yard next door and attacked him. I immediately leapt at them and started yelling and screaming. As I lunged at the mass of dogs with my cat in the middle of the brawl they all ran off. After three hours of searching we found Moses in the woods hiding. After only three hours he was already covered in fly eggs. If we hadn't found him he would have been maggot infested within 6 more hours and dead within a day or two.

Lesson learned; never ignore a wound in the summer (or anytime of year) and get your pet to the vet ASAP if you find a wound, or see flies around your pet.

I'll let the pictures of my neighbors cat tell the rest of this story.

I sent him back home with three days of pain meds, two weeks of antibiotics and a rabies booster. He is to be kept inside and I will pull his drains in a week.

Here are three videos on identifying, cleaning and consequences of maggots in a wound.

If you have any questions on managing a wound in a cat, cleaning a wound, or removing parasites please visit me on Pawbly.com. Pawbly is free to use and open to anyone who loves pets.

You can also find me at Jarrettsville Vet or on Twitter @FreePetAdvice.

Update for MD Pit Bull legislation

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. UPDATE and ACTION ALERT! Legislative Task Force starting work to help Pit-bulls! Hi Krista, Many of our legislators have responded positively to your calls and emails asking for their help with a legislative remedy to the Tracey v. Solesky ruling that says pit-bulls and pit-bull mixes are "inherently dangerous." While we were not successful in getting legislation on the agenda for the 1st special session of the Maryland General Assembly we are making significant progress. THANK YOU, you are being heard---and NOW YOU NEED TO BE SEEN at the only public meeting of the Pit-bull Task Force on Tuesday, June 19, 2012! Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Mike Miller have created a Legislative Task Force to look into a solution to the Tracey V. Solesky ruling. Please join MVFA and fellow animal advocates at the Task Force Meeting to show your support! Here are the details: When: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 10:00 Where: Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Miller Senate Office Building, Room 2E 11 Bladen Street Annapolis, MD 21401 Members of the Task Force are as follows: Senators: Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery) Brian.Frosh@senate.state.md.us Lisa Gladden (D-Baltimore) Lisa.Gladden@senate.state.md.us Joseph Getty (R-Carroll) Joseph.Getty@senate.state.md.us Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery) Jamie.Raskin@senate.state.md.us Norman Stone (D-Baltimore Cnty) Norman.Stone@senate.state.md.us Delegates: Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore) Curt.Anderson@house.state.md.us Eric Bromwell (D-Baltimore County) Eric.Bromwell@house.state.md.us Benjamin Kramer (D-Montgomery) Benjamin.Kramer@house.state.md.us Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery) Heather.Mizeur@house.state.md.us Michael Smigiel (R-Cecil) Michael.Smigiel@house.state.md.us If your legislator sits on the Task Force, please contact them to ask for a quick remedy to the pit-bull ruling even if it's an interim fix that can be put on the agenda for the 2nd special session. Here's some wording that you can paste into your email: Dear Senator or Delegate ____________: I am writing to express my support of the Task Force that will be developing a legislative solution to the Tracey v.Solesky ruling that determined that all pit-bulls and pit-bull mixes are "inherently dangerous." Please quickly develop an interim solution that can be passed in the 2nd special session this summer. This first step will give the Task Force enough time to work out a comprehensive solution to dog bites in Maryland --- a solution that does not unfairly target one breed of dog but places more weight on responsible dog ownership. Sincerely, your name Find your legislators here: http://mdelect.net/ Thank you for all you do for the animals! Sincerely, Carolyn and the Board of Directors of MVFA: Valerie, Kim, Joe, Kathy, Lynn, Frank, Michelle, Darlene, Harriett and David PLEASE HELP. Want to make a difference but don't have the time? Just click here to help MVFA fight for better animal protection in Maryland. TELL A FRIEND Don't forget, our strength is in our numbers. Forward this email to your friends and ask them to join MVFA. NOT A MEMBER? SIGN UP NOW! We want to change the law in Maryland. All it's going to take is voters. When you add your name to our membership, you're giving us the firepower necessary to influence legislators to pass humane legislation in Maryland. It's such a simple act, won't you help? Sign up now. You are receiving this email because you asked Maryland Votes For Animals to keep you up to date on developments in humane legislation in Maryland. Unsubscribe kmagnifico@aol.com from this list. Our mailing address is: Maryland Votes For Animals PO Box 6423 Annapolis, MD 21401-6423 Add us to your address book Copyright (C) 2012 - Maryland Votes For Animals, All rights reserved. Maryland Votes For Animals - Kimberly Jackson, Treasurer Forward this email to a friend Update your profile

The Top Ten Toxins in the Kitchen

I found this sticker at the CVC DC conference on the Pet Poison Helpline desk.

I thought it was a good reminder about all of the pet hazards that lie about our homes. Many of which most of us don't realize are toxic to our pets.

These top ten are based on the number of reported cases to the Pet Poison Helpline.

Here they are;

1. Chocolate.
Most people (I think?) know that chocolate isn't good for dogs. Luckily, the most toxic chocolate is the dark Bakers chocolate. And luckily, most of us have the milk chocolate kind in our house. Most dogs will eat only a small amount of chocolate, although I have had a few cases where the dog ate a whole tray of brownies, or absconded and devoured the whole Easter basket. I have dealt with many, many chocolate cases, and thankfully never lost a pup to this..But please keep your chocolate out of reach anyway. AND, if you do need to have the dark chocolate used for baking around put it in a sealed sturdy container way up high on the shelf..And I know everyone out there with siblings already knows that it's always a good idea to to hide your Easter candy!

 

2. Grapes, Raisins, Currants
These are toxic to pets because they can cause kidney damage. I remind my clients to not offer them. I have had many clients admit to feeding frozen grapes, ( a popular summer snack) to their dogs. They had no idea they were dangerous. I once had to hospitalize a small mixed breed dog because she ate a pound of grapes. Thankfully her kidneys were fine. We pulled her blood as soon as she came in for a baseline, then put her on i.v. fluids and hospitalization for 3 days. We also calculated "toxic" dose for her on arrival. Her owners elected to hospitalize her because she was dangerously close to the toxic dose. At the end of the three days we re-checked her blood work and none of her kidney values were any different. So she went home with a lesson well learned by everyone.

My favorite morning cereal.
Granola with raisins!

3. Xylitol/Sugar-Free Gum & Candy
These have become a very big problem. We had never heard of these products 5 years ago, but due to the rise in adult onset diabetes more and more products are coming out with "sugar-free" alternatives. Dogs are very sensitive to xylitol. Whenever anyone calls with a candy ingestion concern we have them read the ingredient list, (or run to the store to get the ingredient list if it to is swimming in the belly of their pet) to see if xylitol is listed. Most of the dogs that we see at our practice has obtained the gum from the owners purse, or from finding it in the car. It's odd to think of a gum as toxic, but it absolutely is.

4. Fatty table scraps
The days after Thanksgiving and Christmas are known as "pancreatitis party-time." Guests and family members alike, in an effort to try to spread the cheer" to the entire family share the high fat festival foods with their pets. Sometimes this is in the form of under the table turkey legs, or letting them lick the grease laden platter clean, or a special holiday meal for the pets too that is a far cry from their normal, healthy, nutritionally complete pet food. For as often as I say "pets and humans share much of the same biology and diseases" we do not share the same diet plan. Humans are able to tolerate a very varied food intake. We can tolerate high fiber cereals, drinks, and foods, and then have a high fat fried dough dessert and be fine the next day. But give your pet one sampling of any one of these and you can easily have acute life threatening vomiting, diarrhea, or pancreatitis. The best advice is to do what we have been forced to do here at our house, and just not invite your pets to the party. I almost lost Savannah to a massive sweet Italian sausage smorgasbord at one of our 4th of July parties. She was taken off the gust list forever at that near fatal episode.

BAD! BAD husband!

5. Onions & Garlic
I think that sometimes I just like to hear myself talk on this topic. It is seemingly impossible for me to try to educate some of my farming clients into believing me about these two veggies. I have many clients who started using garlic decades ago for flea and tick prevention and will tell me every time I see them, "Well Doc, it works, and none of the dogs are dead yet." Another experimental tolerance test decided to be "harmless" because the test subject "is not dead yet."
We had a Shih Tzu puppy a few years ago that was fed minced onion in her food, (for some reason I can no longer recollect). She was brought to us lifeless and sheet white. A blood transfusion and three nail-biting days later she survived, but when I first saw her I wasn't too hopeful.
Here is reason number 4 and 5 to not feed table scraps. Therefore avoiding the inadvertent raisin, chocolate, fatty, onion or garlic in your left-overs.

6. Compost
If it smells bad, (or dead, dying, rotting, decaying, or repulsive), your dog will eat it. (Let me remind you of the tampon eating lab, the underwear eating pit bull, and the millions of feces eating other dogs). (Collective "Yuck!" and "Bleck!" from everyone reading this now). So if your dog has access to your compost they may eat it. Don't try to reason your way out of thinking to yourself, "it is rotting food, he won't want to eat that." Because I promise you if you deliver your vomiting, diarrhea caked pup to us we will all nod our heads and say, "If it smells bad, your dog will eat it." Then hand you an estimate for $500 - $1500 worth of diagnostics and treatment options.

Wren guards the compost pile.
Lots of bugs to terrorize.

7. Human Medications
Over the last two decades the stock of pharmaceutical companies has sky rocketed. We are a country of baby boomers aging, and many of us are on daily medications for all sorts of ailments. We also keep those medications handy because we take them daily, (or even more frequently). As a course of convenience and habit we have gotten a little careless with putting them out of harms way, or making them inaccessible. There are also some dogs who just love to chew to the point of picking up and gnawing on anything hard enough to present a few minute challenge to the palate. Dogs like moderately hard plastic with pills in it. It's the chew toy with maraca like charm.
When these calls come to us at the clinic we most often hear one of the following; "I dropped a pill on the floor and the dog ate it before I could pick it up." Or, "I came home and the bottle was chewed and pills were everywhere and I am not sure how many were in there, or if my pet ate any."
Best to keep your medications away in a pet-proof container, and do not drop them..(that happens to all of us. It's like piranah infested waters in our kitchen everyday of the year).

8. Macadamia Nuts
I was a little surprised to see this on the list. I knew they were toxic but I have never seen one in my practice. Maybe it is more common in macadamia native areas? Macadamias are expensive, so I don't imagine too many people are feeding them as treats to their pups? Maybe they are chocolate covered macadamia nuts (a wonderful gift to anyone returning from Hawaii who wants to give something absolutely mouth watering and yummy to their friends they vacationed without! Or perhaps to the veterinary staff that watched your pets while you were there? Just a small suggestion). Maybe its the irresistable choclate covered macadamia nuts that have placed macadamia nut below chocolate? I bet its the combo that got macadamia nuts on the list..Anyone else have any ideas?

9. Household Cleaners
Dogs are not stupid, but they are creatures of habit, and their sniffers operate on a magnitude of sensitivity that we cannot even begin to comprehend. Most of the household toxicities that we see are dogs who have ingested a cleaner after drinking from a recently cleaned toilet. My best piece of advice is to scrutinize every square inch of your home and property (garage's are chock full of toxins) like you are a mischievous child. Look around your home and ask yourself, "What could your child (or pet) possibly get into that would be dangerous?"
My hope is that you will try to avoid even bringing these products into your home. For us at my home that means the following are banned; rat poisons, chemicals, waste car products (oil, gasoline, anti freeze), and no harmful household items, ( I do use bleach but it is away from pet access). There are many safer products to chose from. And really in many cases things like good old soap, water, vinegar, baking soda, etc, do the job and leave you worry free.
For those products we use that are harmful designate an area your pet would not have access to and place the products in a container your pet could not get into even if by some fluke it gained access to it.

10. Unbaked Bread Dough/Alcohol
Smells yummy, but think about your stomach becoming the bowl to hold the rising the bread? All that fermenting space expanding dough in your stomach is one major cause for severe indigestion and nausea. Alcohol also ferments, and is toxic to liver and kidneys.

Another important reminder to keep all foods out of reach.
I have had many clients tell me that their pet got up on the table/counter and stole food that they thought was seemingly out of their reach. Reminds me of the old Garfield cartoons. That cat, or his dim witted accomplice Odie, maneuvered whole dining room sets to figure out ways to abscond that apparently out of reach lasagna.

Lasagna is to both myself and Garfield a food worthy of manipulation, scheming, and deviousness. I cannot pass it up and I eat it in dangerous amounts. But I know it is made of onion, garlic, high fat, lots of carbs, and everything that is good and holy in the world of vegetarians. I will keep my serving for me, eat every last morsel, and spare my pets the dangers of its deliciousness.
Bon Apetit!

For more information on foods that are dangerous to your pet, please see;
 http://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/jlee/2011/aug/foods_poisonous_to_cats_dogs


The Pet Poison Helpline can be reached at 1-800-213-6680
It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A $35 fee is billed for their services.
Pet Poison Helpline

The stickers were made available by VPI, Veterinary Pet Insurance. 1-866-VET-PETS.

If you are ever unsure what you can and cannot give to your pet you can always call your vet. Or go to our website, Pawbly.com and ask one of us. We are veterinary professionals available to you at no cost. You can submit a question or chat with other people who share your interests. We are here to educate and help you keep your pet healthy and happy for the rest of your lives.

Or visit me on Twitter @FreePet Advice.

Another Funeral

I am at work on a Thursday evening. I used to be the Thursday night doctor but I got to shed the night to Tracy a few months ago when I decided to try to catch back up with my life. It has been bliss to have Thursday through Saturday off. I really really loved it.

I am making a guest appearance tonight so that Tracy can attend a friends funeral. It seems that something terrible is in the air these days. We seem to be attending funerals and sending condolence cards every week.

We are sad to loose another friend and Tracy will bring our deepest sympathies to the family this evening.

As much as we all come to work to perform a job, this clinic has become a blend of our families and the families of our clients.

We welcome new babies, new family members, new marriages, and see these families grow up and enter new chapters of their own lives, and even pass on. It is the circle of life for both our two legged and four legged families. It never gets easier, and it never changes. We just learn to look for the joy and love in everything and hope that it is reciprocated.

So to remind us how wonderful life is, and how much beauty and joy there is, we were visited by our newest edition. An 8 week-old golden retriever puppy, who was the cutest love-bug ever! (OK, I might say that a lot, but really? look at that face..It took that poor client 20 minutes to get into an exam room because we couldn't peel ourselves away from smothering him with kisses).

The Most Beautiful Day

It is a perfect early summer day, and I don't work until 4pm. So I decided to stay home and try to get the hidden corners of the house organized.

I'm still in pj's and about to make my second cup of coffee and almost done with two whole rooms.

I had lots of help from Wren, who inadvertently eradicated the dust bunnies for me in her whiskers.

The pups are sleeping in the sun. And I feel blessed to have my pets and my a-little-less cluttered home.

Wren and Midnight playing "pop goes the weasel."

Charlie's favorite spot. Top of the stairs so he won't miss a thing.

Donner, cat-napping.

Jekyll

Midnight

Savannah

Everyone got their Frontline and Heartgard yesterday. I was a few days late due to being away for the weekend. I always tell my clients to give it as close as you can to the first of the month. (And don't worry if you are a few days late). Also, I use the Heartgard app on my iPhone to remind me..I love it..(Afterall, we all need all the help we can get). It sends me reminders when it's time for their next dose. And then before you close it you verify that you have given the dose. Great idea!

Monday June 4, 2012

It was the Monday after my 25th high school reunion trip to Wolfeboro NH.

Diedra, Joe, and I left early last Thursday morning to catch a flight from BWI to Manchester, NH for the long weekend of festivities. We had a whole lot of things we were trying to do in 4 days, so we left bright and early to try to get them all packed in.

Thursday was a 5 am wake-up call to get packed, get the pets settled, (thank goodness for my pet sitter Karina, and my fabulous vet staff who watched my pups), to try to make a 9:45 am flight. Seemed like ample time at 5 am, but due to I-95 traffic we arrived 40 minutes before our departure flight time. So we got a big red "LATE" sticker stuck to our luggage and a scolding from the ticket agent telling us that "our luggage wasn't guaranteed to make our flight." (So much for packing my coordinated outfits).

We arrived on-time, and with luggage, (thanks Southwest). It was a great time and we saw many old friends. I will write more on that later. (I have to sift through the 500 photos before I can post it).

We got back home late yesterday. (You know what they say about needing a vacation from your vacation, well, its true, I am spent).

To make it even harder, today was our first official day without Dr. Courtney Breen. She is moving next month because her husband has been stationed at Ft Lejeune, NC. She is a beacon of light on my day, and I will miss her smile, her friendship, and her silliness. We could never replace her. She was a part of our family and we are all sad to see her go.

So today is yet another chapter in our JVC life that we turn.

We have a new vet starting in a month. Dr. Anna Snarki, who lives in White Hall, MD, just a town over from JVC. She is great addition to our team, and we all look forward to having her with us.

This Monday is a day of transition for both me and my clinic. We have to get used to Courtney not being here and get ready for a new addition. No one likes change.

On top of trying to prepare for change I am also fighting with things that seem to never change. I find it somewhat disconcerting that I am still grappling with my personal beliefs and opinions and how I serve the public who seem to care about their pets a whole lot less than I do. I am starting to understand why the suicide and attrition rate in this profession are so high. I suppose that if we, the public, see animals as ‘property” than we also see them as “disposable.” Now I know this isn’t everyone, and I know I have some amazing clients who love and care for their pets as I do my own. But Jesus, do I have to keep re-drawing the line, so that I can sleep at night?

I had a mother and daughter come in with a cat in a carrier and a box. They were “new clients” and they were listed as “a euthanasia.” The computer’s appointment read “euthanasia, old cat, not doing well.”

OK, I am here to help pets, and I have had my own very elderly pets fail to the point of needing to be put down. I am very understanding and compassionate and do not want any pet to suffer, so for me, euthanasia can be the kindest way to end a pets suffering.

But I hate, hate, hate, seeing a euthanasia come in the door as a “new” appointment. I hate to walk in a room, and have to ask the difficult, uncomfortable questions, especially to a crying client. Sometimes I need to ask questions because I have to insure this pet really belongs to this person, or that they understand what I am asking and they are asking of me, and make sure this pet isn’t involved in a rabies case, cruelty case, or bite case. I essentially need to cover everyone’s butt and make sure I am doing what is best for everyone involved, pet, parent, and veterinarian.

I have actually had to say to people before, “I am sorry but this is not a walk-in euthanasia clinic.”

And I have had husbands/boyfriends/children come in to dispose of a pet without the "real" owner knowing. Craziness! I have also had clients come for in euthanasia because they don’t realize their pets condition might be treatable, (that's a difficult subject to brooch at a very delicate, emotionally charged time).

I have also had clients become irate because I was questioning their decision, “that is final!” walking into a room with a euthanasia for someone you don’t know is a snake pit full of venomous rattling tails for me.

This euthanasia was by the clients claim, “a 15 year old cat who was licking herself bald, swiping at peoples feet, and losing weight.” They also claimed that “the cat had been to another clinic and been diagnosed with hyperthyroid disease over a year ago. But she had not responded to the treatment the previous vet had prescribed,,,and lastly, that she was swiping at peoples feet as they walked by because she was hungry.”

Crap, this is a case full of bad scenarios. The women seem upset, the cat seems fine except it is barbering its entire underside, and I know nothing of this pet except what her owners are divulging between sobs.

My gut is telling me that before me lies the following;

1.      A sweet, older cat that remains untreated for hyperthyroid disease for over one year, and is still hyperthyroid. (I consider hyperthyroid disease one of the cheapest, easiest, most successful diseases that we see. Usually it is 1 pill twice a day).

2.      This untreated disease is leaving her hungry all the time. So much so that she is “swiping” at any passing person. They are calling her “dangerous” and I am calling her “desperate”.

3.       To look into to the eyes of a pet and tell her that I cannot take her, because I have taken too many before her and no one wants a 15 year old cat, with any problems.

4.      I am giving up on her, and I am just as guilty as every other person she has been charged as responsible to her.

5.      I have Steve Barsanti, DVM ringing in my ear to “just smile and say ‘OK’”

6.      I have two women crying and telling me that this is “going to be so hard on their kids.”

7.      If I refuse to euthanize her she will go down the street to someone who does just smile and says ‘OK’”

8.      These women decided a year ago to stop treating her, and asking them to resume treating now 2 diseases is probably not going to happen.

9.      If you ask the MD State Medical Examiners Board what my job is I think they will say to "just  make the customer happy" and that "euthanasia is a form of treatment." 

10.  My desire to help pets is getting pummeled by my desire to tell people who don’t give enough of a damn to view their pet as anything more than “disposable property” to go to hell.

So, I euthanized the treatable cat and brought my shame, disappointment, sorrow, and despair home to take it out on Wren who got cuddled to the point of hating the site of me.

And so rings the words of Lou Applefeld, “Don’t go into veterinary medicine, it will brake you.”

When all else fails, I have Wren.

On a positive note;
We have successfully found a home for Lobo, and Tink. We wish them all of the love, happiness, and joy in the world. They deserve it!

Lobo

Tink

We are still looking for homes for our resident cats. If you know anyone who can make a life-long commitment to a loving feline please send them our way

Alton Veterinary Clinic, Alton NH

Last weekend was my 25^th high school reunion in Wolfeboro, NH. I attended a small private school called Brewster Academy and we (me, Diedra, and Joe), decided to make a long weekend of the event and visit our old house were we grew up and meet some of our old friends from our early days.



Me and Diedra at our old house

My first stop in NH was at Alton Veterinary Clinic. Stephen Barsanti has been practicing veterinary medicine there for almost 35 years. When I was there we saw every pet within a 40 mile radius. This included horses, cows, goats, dogs, cats, birds, wildlife, and just about everything else in between. It was one of the things I loved most about being at his practice; we never knew what was going to walk-in, or be driven up in the bed of a pick-up truck.

It was simple, rural, country veterinary medicine at its finest.

Entering Alton Veterinary Clinic

I remember spring meant lots of babies of all species. Turns out I was a very devoted foster mom from the smallest beginnings. If it needed time and attention, then I was volunteering for the job. I sort of imposed myself into helping. Looking back on this I understand why it is important to keep fresh young blood and energy in your hospital. Taking care of a helpless needy babies fuels your fire to learn, and binds you to the mission of the veterinary hospital. It is the ultimate sense of purpose anyone in veterinary medicine. (I should really think about forcing my new summer interns to take a kitten for the summer. It is sort of like the high school kids who get forced into carrying a sack of flour around for the semester so they understand what proper parental care entails, not that this project ever lowered the teen pregnancy rates).

A warm "Hello!"

The three of us took a short tour through the vet hospital with Steve. Very few things have changed there. The rooms all have the same layout and the same décor. He has updated his anesthesia equipment, but I think that’s about it. The same rooms (he does have a nicer surgery room than my 5 doctor practice has) and areas are all consistent with my far visions of what I remember it to be. It is a small, happy, soulful place. I was lucky to have learned from him and I am a veterinarian in much part because of him. He still has his sweet gentle kind patient demeanor and I would benefit now from learning to just smile more often, nod, and say “OK,” as much as he does. He reminds me to not internalize, to not blame, judge, or argue. Our clients may not always listen to us, no matter how sure we are of ourselves of being right, but we don’t have to drive ourselves crazy trying to win. He reminded me to should just nod, smile and say “OK.” Seems I do struggle with trying to save everything, teach everyone, and it is exhausting to feel as if you are always falling on dumb ears. I will start practicing his “smile and say ‘OK’” more often.

Me, Steve, and Diedra

He has built a veterinary practice that is solid and a vitally important part of our old community and he is still happy, successful, and respected.

We swapped our best and worst horror stories, and reminded each other of how much has changed with the passage of decades and how much remains the same despite the worlds attempts to sway us. There were lots of kisses and hugs and smiles and I feel blessed to have friends that have guided me through the best and worst and still love me in spite of knowing all my secrets.

He is now looking towards retirement. He showed me his note for the day, (which he still writes out each morning and stores safely in his front left pants pocket). “Think about hiring a vet” was written on the 4 in by 4 in white paper. He has never had a fellow vet share his exam rooms or staff. His ex-wife and I talked about this and we both wonder how that transition will go? It is hard to share anything when you have never had to. I love that fact that I have 4 other vets around me at my practice. I can swap ideas, questions, cases, speculations, and go on vacation without fearing for my clients needs. I couldn’t be a single doctor practice and I told him that hiring a vet was a department I could absolutely give him some assistance in. I know what new vets are looking for and I know what he can offer them.

He has an apartment above the clinic. It is where he raised his first child and spent his first decade practicing. It would make a great place for a new vet school graduate. They could live there rent free and have the world’s easiest commute to work. He is also a great mentor and teacher. He has a calming smile, rock solid un-quivering demeanor, and can teach any skill to any new vet willing to try. It is a great opportunity for any new grad. He also provides a practice for them to buy somewhere down the road. (I think I will be his agent, I could totally do this!). This is exactly the job I would have wanted out of vet school.

Diedra, my sister, reconnected with Steve’s 32 year old parrot Primo. Primo was the one creature that I saw over the weekend that hadn’t aged one single tiny little bit. (If anything he looks better than I have ever seen him). But like the rest of us he has slowed a little. I remember being in the clinic with him and hearing him scream his “hello!” down the hallway, or signing his bird chants to the point of us needing to close doors and provide time outs. He has slowed his chants, chimes, demands, and harassing a tad, but he remains the effervescent social butterfly he always was.

As we sat and swapped our best cases, worst cases, drama cases, and “how the times have changed” stories I watched his teenager technician behind him clean a cage, monitor a waking patient, and clean the treatment room, and I thought of those many years ago when that was me, and I smiled quietly to myself. Seems I have come a long way too. He helped shape me into who I am, and he continues to do that to this day. I am lucky to have had the Barsanti’s as my other family, and I am happy to be following in his footsteps and forging my own path in what is now “our profession.”