We have all noticed the weather change lately, but did you know that there are a lot of other changes that happen as seasons change? Some of these are benign, but many of them actually cause changes enough that we see pets at the veterinarian for them. I will talk about a few of the changes,…
So I might be jumping the gun a little bit, but I love fall. As soon as it stops being a million degrees and I stop sweating every time I walk outside I get excited. There are so many great (informative? Maybe they aren’t all great per se) topics to cover about fall that I figure I might as …
It’s that time again — back to school! Whether this brings dread or elation, it happens regardless. I’m sure that some of our pets will be happy for a nice quiet house again, but others will suffer from the change from constant activity. We tend to forget about the changes our pets will go t…
Today I am going to get on my soapbox and talk about preventative care and early intervention. It is one of my favorite things that we do as veterinarians because we are able to stop diseases in so many cases. While the cost of preventative care may seem high, treating diseases associated wi…
You may have noticed recently that your favorite restaurant is closed some new random nights or that you can’t get an appointment with your veterinarian immediately. We can blame covid for some of the workplace crunches, but there are other factors. The face of veterinary medicine is changin…
Lately, I have had a lot of conversations about fear-free medications. Many good, some not as good. I wanted to talk about why fear-free is so important to me, what it means to me, and also what it means to your pet. It is a movement that has gained a lot of traction in veterinary medicine, …
OFF THE LEASH
As I sit here in sunny but not too hot weather, I’m in a wonderful mood. Since we are having a short burst of fall weather (my favorite) in my summer I’m going to talk about one of my favorite topics! I know I have a lot of favorites, but one that could use a revisit is pain. I don’t like to…
This week I’m going to continue my delayed July 4th article by talking about barbecues. This may seem like a silly topic, but coming off a year of not many social outings, new dogs and now introducing parties with food I promise it is not.
So I dropped the ball on the 4th of July article (as usual, time is passing much faster than I can keep up with!) Now the 4th has clearly passed. I was thinking I missed my chance to talk about booms and barbeques, but then I realized that fireworks, barbeques, and thunderstorms last all sum…
Summer is here, as evidenced by our hot thunderstorm week. School is out, the heat is out and vacations are planned. Especially after lockdown last year, the freedom of vaccines is making everyone extra excited to get out and about. However, vacations can’t be planned without planning for ou…
Lately, I have been getting many questions in the same vein, so I’m going to do a question and answer article. A lot of questions end up repeating themselves over time because you don’t worry about them until they happen for YOU and your pet, but these have come up a lot lately so are worth …
I often get a lot of people that are reluctant to start medications for different things, but we still need to do something. There is a really great place for holistic medicine during this ‘“in-between” phase, and also that we can add on when our current medications just aren’t quite cutting…
So I have written a lot of articles about feline cystitis, but you’re going to get one more! For some reason, we have been seeing and talking about these guys a lot lately. This issue is truly so widespread, and many cats have bladder inflammation long before they show us signs.
It is time to kick off this (coldish?) summer week with some Mythbusters! The kids are getting unfocused, you keep thinking about vacation plans instead of work. Essentially, it is time to take a fun break! We will get back to serious information next week. That isn’t to say these aren’t imp…
Is it early for summer, late for summer, in between for summer? Who knows anymore. I feel like dates have become fluid and the weather does what it wants. But as I sat out scorching in the sun I realized it’s time to talk about the heat.
We’re doing lots of our annual exams right around now. But what does that really mean? Why not just go to a shot clinic or find your own? What’s the benefit of an annual exam? We will be transitioning off curbside soon, but it can be extra hard to know what’s happening when you’re in the car…
The warmer weather is here, the vaccines are here and all of our covid puppies are raring to go.
Ticks, ticks, ticks! I went walking this past weekend and my dogs were covered in ticks. I found a tick on my human child as well. Thus starts the time of year when I am emotionally scarred from ticks and consider surrounding myself with a ring of fire to stay safe. I start thinking I see th…
Today I’m going to talk about one of my favorite topics. I know I say that about weight control, tick prevention and a hundred other things. I suppose I have a lot of favorites, but one of my all time passions is pain control. There are a lot of reasons that I am passionate about pain contro…
Off the leash
So now we are moving on to dog vaccines. All vaccines are important, but since our dogs are out and about more often than most cats, they become especially important. In addition, several of the diseases that we vaccinate dogs against are fatal in many cases. So these vaccines don’t just hel…
So now that we have talked about the basics of immunity and vaccines, I’ll talk about the actual diseases that we vaccinate pets against. As I discussed last week, what we consider “core” changes based on area and lifestyle, but I’ll talk a little bit about that as we go.
So while we often do vaccines throughout the year, a lot of people think of Spring as “vaccine season” so it is a great time to discuss them. Since puppies start their vaccine series whenever they arrive in a home that can be any time of year. I actually love to spread out vaccines throughou…
While my yard is still mostly snow, the warm days last week are a sure sign that Spring is coming. I went out to talk to clients in just my scrub top. The birds are singing, the snow is melting and the mud is becoming plentiful. While it is Vermont and we might get more winter, it’s time to …
So while I yapped on about my by-product pet peeve last week, it got me thinking about some other veterinary-related fallacies that I try to educate against. We’ll now be discussing what things in this profession that irk me and how it affects my practice model. Don’t worry, it won’t necessa…
One benefit to my readers is that whatever continuing education I’m currently doing comes through into my articles. This may not seem like a huge benefit because I get excessively excited about random topics, but I swear it is. The great thing about all of my continuing education is that I a…
Pandemic stress talk time! While I could go on about human stress for a long time, I won’t because that’s not my area of expertise (well, at least not giving advice on it.) A lot of people got new pets during the pandemic. A lot of schedules changed during the pandemic. Many schedules aren’t…
Heart disease is checked off for this month of hearts, but now we will move on to my other heart favorite-heartworm. Those of you who are less veterinary inclined probably don’t automatically associate heart holidays with heartworms as I do, but since this is my article you still have to joi…
What does a picture of a heart bring to mind to you? Love? Chocolate? Heart disease? Heartworms? I think it is clear by now that my mind travels to strange places, and for the next two weeks while others think of loving hearts I will talk about issues with pet hearts. I swear I did get invit…
I am once again starting my article by telling you a personal story. If we aren’t careful, 2021 will reveal more about my life than you ever wanted to know! So I got up to pee in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. I’m shuffling along, only 10% awake, in my bare feet, and WHAM! I step i…
I am going to start this article with a personal story. So if you’re not ready to learn more about my personal life you should probably skip it. But if you alternately want to know more about cat bathroom habits — read on.
So let’s say you read my resolution article. You’re thinking I’m being unrealistic right? You’re feeling a little bit salty because let’s face it, 2021 also is sort of terrible. Then I start talking about making your pet lose weight like you don’t have anything else to worry about. It’s icy …
So everyone knows by now that I love to talk about pet weight loss. I do know that your eyes probably glaze over as you stroke your adorable fat cat and lament that I just don’t get how cute they are fat. I do. Trust me. But they will be cute thin too, and most importantly...healthier.
So what better way to work off those Christmas cookies and Thanksgiving gravy than delightful walking with the dog? Great idea, and then we get two feet of snow! For those who don’t love snowshoeing and cross country skiing, this can definitely throw a wrench in the plans. Never fear though,…
My Christmas tree is up and full of lights, which prompted that it is time for a holiday season article. As with everything else, we don’t exactly know what the holidays will hold this year. We certainly know we won’t be having a giant feast or gathering. To be honest lights, trees and bakin…
We are now officially down to the gift buying wire. Maybe you started early because we’re shipping things more. Maybe you’re giving up because we want this year to be a distant memory. Maybe you’re trying to think of the perfect gift to try and salvage some 2020 joy. Some people thrive on la…
Time to talk teeth! Teeth are integral to overall health and are often overlooked. I’m going to talk about dental cleanings, the anesthesia that is associated with, and everything else. I will walk you through a dental at our clinic and explain why being under anesthesia is in the best inter…
As the days get darker and colder, and more people move to work from home again our cats have a big change. Did you know that even indoor cats are affected by daylight changes? Did you know that even cats who want their owners home all the time can stress with stay-at-home changes? I have al…
Spays and neuters are one of our most common surgeries, but also one of the things that people have the most questions about. They are also one of the things with the most grey areas. We do support sterilizing our non-breeding pets for many reasons, but your veterinarian can discuss all opti…
The theme for 2020 seems to be “I’m not sure how this is going to go” (that is if you rule out obscenities.) Thanksgiving is coming up, and of course, I’m not sure how this is going to go. I know that gatherings outside your bubble aren’t going to be popular, but inside my bubble, I’ll still…
I was gazing at my dog this weekend, thinking of all we have gone through together and how she has cute grey hairs in her eyelashes. Then I realized that my cat is 15 and my dog is 12. They are not just into senior years, but bordering on geriatric. They are both at the age where we lose pet…
This time of year seems to bring out the aches and pains — in us and our dogs. The rapid swings in temperature and humidity can be tough on joints. The (usually) beautiful weather means we are doing more; both for fun and prepping for the winter. Nobody likes pain, but I appreciate pain in p…
OFF THE LEASH
While 2020 has been a big mess, one of my achievements is that I’ve been successful in slowing down my refined sugar intake. I finally followed the advice I give to pet owners and just don’t buy anything I shouldn’t be eating. This is easier since I cut out a drastic amount of grocery trips.…
We have been booked with a lot of surgeries and dental cleanings lately, so it seemed like the perfect time to revisit anesthesia. Anesthesia and surgery can be a scary thing for pet owners. One of the most common fears that I hear about procedures is putting pets under anesthesia. I think t…
No doubt about it, it is dark. I now feed the horses in the dark and have to scramble to get all of my creatures exercised before dark. My dogs get extra stir crazy when they don’t get long walks in the woods or fields during the week, so when they get room to run they make the most of it.
So I’ve talked about fall allergies, fleas, and ticks. You might be wondering why I’m so enamored with fall at this point! The truth is that I love outdoor time. I could spend all day every day outside and be happy. I don’t enjoy sweating and I hate bugs, I sunburn easily and I adore foliage…
Some of you may know this about me, but I love fall and I hate ticks. Unfortunately, fall brings a whole new vigor to ticks. I can balance these two things out because I love being in nature without sweating and bugs that much. However, I am very vigilant about preventing ticks on my dogs an…
I think the most common question I’m getting lately is about itching dogs, which typically takes the form of licking. I understand because I am starting to get sneezy in the morning. Of course in the time of COVID that induces a little bit of panic. However, the same thing is happening to me…
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Rutland artist Lopi Laroe (LMNOPI) has created giant timely murals around Rutland and the United States.
Currently open public art exhibits, galleries and museums throughout the region.
Currently open public art exhibits, galleries and museums throughout the region.
Currently open public art exhibits, galleries and museums throughout the region.
