Being a caretaker is difficult. Managing a pet with multiple illnesses and multiple medications or treatments is difficult. If you have been doing this, there’s something you should know: once your pet is gone, it will be difficult NOT doing those things. Be kind to yourself while you mourn the loss of your pet. Here are… Read More
Blog
The 4 Gifts of Veterinary Medicine
On your first day working with pets, you are given four gifts. Three are dogs; one is a sled. The three dogs are named Giving, Happiness, and Stability. The sled is called Life. Giving represents what we do to help pets or people without expecting repayment. This may involve time, labor, money, medications, or knowledge…. Read More
None of Us Will Have A Death This Good
An excerpt from: Lucky Dog: How Being A Veterinarian Saved My Life by: Dr. Sarah Boston As veterinarians, one of the options that we are able to provide is humane euthanasia. I believe this is the ultimate freedom — the freedom to die without pain. In humans, we resist when death is imminent, suffering is great, and there… Read More
Cause and Effect: The Problem With Blame
Human beings are very intelligent, but we can also be stubborn as mules. One of the hardest things we face is not jumping to conclusions in the face of certain events, and even trained scientists find they have to struggle against their own biases to rely on logic when examining cause and effect. With the… Read More
Sometimes It’s Better Not to Know – Keeping Disease A Mystery
I am a veterinarian. This means, among other things, I am primarily a scientist and a compassionate caregiver. The scientist in me always needs to know. I need to know all I can about my patients so I can diagnose them and make treatment options. I recommend blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, and aspirating every lump… Read More
#ILookLikeASurgeon and the culture of judging female doctors
By: Kathryn A. Hughes MD “A good surgeon has the eye of an eagle, the heart of a lion, and the hand of a woman…”– 15th Century English Proverb #ILookLikeASurgeon, a new hashtag on Twitter and the movement it inspired, has resonated deeply with me. I look like a Surgeon. There is… Read More