Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ever get home from a vet visit and realize you aren’t really sure when to start that medication or what exactly the next step is for your pet’s treatment? Happens all the time. Here’s how to get the information you need. When I worked as a veterinary technician many years ago, pet parents asked questions […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes On the morning of November 8, certified veterinary assistant Samet Kaplan left his three-bedroom mountain home in Magalia, California, for the 30-minute drive to work at the Chico Hospital for Cats. The sky was cloudless and blue. “But just as I reached downtown Chico, I looked in the rearview mirror and all I saw was […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s probably nothing a cat owner dreads more than a trip to the vet–even if the cat isn’t sick. Most dogs will happily jump into the car, but for cats the ordeal starts with a struggle to get into a carrier that’s stressful for both of you. It doesn’t have to be this way. A […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes A few months ago, my cat and I endured a stressful experience at a pet emergency hospital. Those of us who love our cats have been through this. Something comes up. It may be end- of-life, it may be an emergency followed by recovery. But whenever this happens for me, I feel a familiar kind […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes We recognize that veterinarians make positive differences in the lives of our cats and dogs. But veterinary practices couldn’t function as efficiently or effectively without the expertise of compassionate veterinary technicians. To recognize their contributions, the third week of October each year celebrates National Veterinary Technician Week. In another life, I worked as a vet […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Why all the lab work before your pet’s spay/neuter surgery or other procedure? He looks healthy, and as far as you know, there’s nothing wrong with him. The key words are “as far as you know.” Pre-operative testing is an important part of pre-surgical prep that can alert your veterinarian to underlying problems that could […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Elated and relieved people all over proclaim “Good potty!” and “Good pee!” when their dogs perform these necessities during leashed walks. But when is the last time you really looked at your dog’s poop? And how much attention do you really pay to the clumps you scoop each day from your cat’s litter box? One […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes Does Fear Free matter? Are you kidding? Here’s an example. My own 15-year old cat, Roxy, went to the veterinarian recently for some medical issues. She’s actually fine with going into her carrier and the car ride, and in the past she has never minded the veterinary visit. This time, however, both Dr. Natalie Marks […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When my late Greyhound, Savanna, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, her oncologist advised amputation of her rear leg and chemotherapy. My husband and I were anxious about how our 10-and-a-half-year-old dog would respond to losing a leg, but we decided to give surgery a chance to save her life. It was the right choice. Savanna had […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tank, my Lab, and I returned from our weekly agility class and plopped down in the living room to relax. Two hours later, I noticed that Tank was still panting as if he had just exercised. That didn’t seem right. I watched him carefully the next day and saw he was panting heavily even after […]