It was a normal day in my home visit practice, until this fellow rang me up about his fish. You don\’t see too many fish as a vet- or at least I haven\’t, before or since that day! He was a demanding fellow, pushy without knowing that he was pushy, if you know what I […]
The day of the sick fish Read More »
\”Butch has been in another fight,\” the slightly sheepish voice one the phone informed me. \”I took him to the beach, because he loves it so much, and I was watching like a hawk for other dogs, then my phone rang and distracted me for a moment. When I looked up, his tail was up,
A very miserable staffy Read More »
Our lives ache today. There is a huge, cat shaped hole in my heart. Mr Patches, emperor of the house, our dear friend and companion for many years, is no more. A friend saw him last Thursday when they dropped in to pick something up. And then we didn\’t see him again for a couple
For the first week at my first job, a mixed practice in Western Australia, the vet whose place I was taking stayed on to give me a bit of support. I had arrived and settled into the vet share house – and naturally, inevitable, but perhaps not sensibly, he took me out on the town
My first job as a vet Read More »
\”I\’d like you to come and give my two old dogs a check over, please… They seem to be slowing down, and not enjoying life as much as they used to.\” So I collected the details, and booked them in for a visit later in the week. It was a hot, dry day. Townsville, Brownsville,
The Magic Dog Diet Read More »
There were two quite distinct camps at vet school. The large animal crew, and the smallies mob. The large animal ones (I used to be one, back in the day) tended to favour redwing boots, wrangler jeans, and large felt hats. The smallies crowd were altogether better dressed (and, dare I say, better behaved as
I have been seeing an old, grumpy Rotti over the last month or so. \”I\’m worried about his eye- it\’s always full of thick, gunky green stuff, even when i clean it out regularly,\” his mum told me. He, a big Rotti, was carrying on like a pork chop in his cage, growling, barking, not
I met a dog with no eyes this week. Just two furry sockets, a bundle of happy joy, running around the yard, barking, playing, happy, coming up to me to say hello. I\’ve seen blind dogs before, but never a dog who had lost both eyes. \”His name is Basher,\” his mum told me. The
Blind Dogs can be Perfectly Happy! Read More »
I helped two very deeply loved pets to the other side of life yesterday. I sat with couples; fragile, raw with grief, agonising over whether this was the best thing for their old friend. Tears fell like gentle summer rain. I sedated their old friends, and then gently, with reverence, slowly injected an overdose of
Euthanasia: It\’s hard to know when… Read More »
I had been hard at work in my first job for about 4 months. A lot of the early nerves and tension had faded away, and I was feeling a bit more confident about being able to cope with whatever came in through the door. It was a quieter day, when a lady brought her
An Unusual Lameness – Legge Perthes disease Read More »
