This post is provided courtesy of Euthabag and was previously published on their website In 20 years of wearing my veterinary coat, I have seen the craziest situations. From a cat with an arrow through its epaxial muscles to a 200lb man crying more at the death of his dog than his mother. I have…
Non-traditional Diets and DCM Update: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a devastating disease of the heart muscle which causes the heart to become enlarged with poor pumping function. It is the second most common heart disease in the dog with chronic degenerative valve disease representing 75% of cardiovascular disease in this species. Primary DCM is presumed…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP Naya* is a twenty-six-year-old veterinarian who is seeing her last patient of the day. The patient, a seven-year-old Golden Retriever named Clara*, is bright, alert, responsive, and very affectionate. Clara’s owners explain that they are seeking humane euthanasia because of Clara’s chronic skin problems. Currently Clara has severe alopecia and…
While we all enter this field with the goal of helping patients, it soon becomes apparent that not all of our patients want or appreciate our help! Many pets become stressed in the veterinary hospital, and this stress can be especially pronounced in cats. Not only is stress unpleasant for our patients, it can make…
Coralsnake envenomation is an uncommon but very dangerous occurrence throughout the southern United States. Coralsnakes are in the family Elapidae with other snakes such as cobras, kraits, and sea snakes; they are the only elapids native to North America. As with pit vipers, envenomations can range from mild to severe. However, unlike most pit vipers,…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP When we last saw Katie,* a young veterinarian whose demanding job was significantly interfering with her life satisfaction, she had decided to improve her physical and mental wellness by adding her favorite hobby back into her routine. She used the S.M.A.R.T. Goals paradigm to create a realistic initial goal of…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP Mark,* a twenty-eight-year-old emergency veterinarian, started getting serious about creating his self-care plan after a particularly difficult week. He had drawn holiday weekend duty in the ER, and his last shift was exceptionally busy, with a heavy load of trauma patients, many of which didn’t survive. Toward the end of…
In honor of Pride Month, Vetcetera, a leading continuing education provider for the veterinary community and subsidiary of popular professional development company Edcetera, is proud to partner with PrideVMC and Not One More Vet for a special webinar presenting the Gender Identity Bill of Rights for the Veterinary Profession. Taking place on June 21, 2022,…
I never really wanted to be an expert in pet food safety, but as soon as I started as a veterinary toxicologist in the state of New York, we had a disaster. It was 2005, around the winter holidays, and dogs were getting sick, really sick. Many died, bleeding into their lungs and intestines. The…
AFAST® and Its Target-organ Approach for Soft Tissue Abnormalities What is AFAST®? FAST is an acronym that stands for Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma. It is an ultrasound exam developed by trauma surgeons (yes trauma surgeouns) in the 1990s and used as a screening test for the detection of free fluid in the abdominal…