Month

November 2017

The Crown Of Life (Our Play’s Last Act)


[My beautiful senior Rupert, whose massive size didn’t stop him from trying to cram himself into the smallest beds possible. Padding (and a sweater for old, cold bones) helped a little.]

As the standard of pet care and the knowledge of veterinary medicine both grow with leaps and bounds, we’re seeing pets begin to live longer and longer lives. Our sweet seniors are no different than people as they age; the organic machinery of bodies begins to wear out and break down no matter how hard we work at supporting and repairing what we can. The golden years of our pets can be an uncertain time and one full of hard decisions, but it can also be some of the best times of our lives together —  and a time when you can give back to your best friend all that they’ve given to you.  As Cicero wrote, “Old age: the crown of life, our play’s last act.” 

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Herding Vets


[The one and only group photograph of Team Rainbow Awesome in its entirety.]

Yes, that’s right — back to Botswana. Will I ever really leave? One of my veterinarians there has returned already, this time with the wife in tow, and reading about their adventures has left me almost painfully nostalgic for my time there. I started the trip with two vets and ended the trip with two different ones, but those couple of days in between when I had all four were something in-between exhausting and magical. I still miss this team and the wild, crazy, incredible surgery days we had together. I was so lucky to work with such talented vets. Despite all my attempts at group photos, we only managed to take a single one mere minutes before the first of us abandoned the group in order to go run a half-marathon (who does that, right?) but the day leading up to the photo will always stick with me.

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Tell Me Where It Hurts


Appropriate pain control after this little kitten’s chest surgery meant a quick start on physical therapy and a fast return to health!

There’s a running joke in veterinary medicine that our job is harder than human medicine for two reasons, one: that we’re required to treat more than one species and two: that our patients can’t talk to us. While I have no interest in restarting the ‘who has it worse’ argument (especially with close family members who work in human medicine!) I do want to address one of the most difficult parts of veterinary medicine: the where does it hurt conundrum. How do you identify and treat pain in an animal which can’t tell you how much pain it’s in or even why?

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They Did Not Offer

Recall: they did not offer.

Recall: they did as they were asked
hoofbeats in the dust, dragging heavy burdens
the noiseless tread of swift paws, nosing among brush
for mines, the beat of wings below the clouds
passing messages where no one else could,
returning bloody and battered
or not at all–

Recall: they did as they were told
ran beneath the cannonfire, into the guns
to bring back the wounded or stand at their side
until help could be found, carried their riders without question,
bore loads too great for any others through mud, rain, snow,
until they too, had fallen–

Recall: they gave all they had
in body and soul, saved countless thousands
who in turn would save thousands more, recall
the love in a dog’s eyes and a gentle tongue when all else seemed lost,
the rusty purr, the softness of feathers,
the sweet scent of a horse’s breath–

Recall: they did not offer
but were asked, and told, and gave all in return
for us, a sacrifice that we might know peace,
recall: the animals of war, who gave and gave again,
who never questioned why.

 

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Call Seasons

This isn’t an overly popular opinion, but I really enjoy being on call. Sure it can get busy, and there’s nothing like working until 6:00am only for your day shift to start at 7:30, but the people I get to meet and the animals I get to help really make it special. You never quite know what’s going to call in and I’ve had everything from ear infections and vaccines (yep, really) to dog C-sections, hit-by-cars, and one memorable bear attack. Large animal call is particularly interesting for me as I don’t do a ton of large animal medicine on a daily basis, and calving season is an (exhausting) highlight of the year. 

“Call Seasons” explores the difference between call shifts in summer and winter, and the incredible beauty I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by, both inside and out of vet med. 

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#6, F, Shaggy Brindle(Pregnant)

Kenny, our team’s MacGyver, uses rebar, barbed wire, and twine to set up a saline drip.

Back to Botswana. Both at the clinic and on the road we were working in less-than-ideal conditions, performing less-than-ideal surgeries. Weighing the risks against the benefits, particularly in communities where we knew we’d only be temporarily, with no option for aftercare or allowing a week or so to perk up prior to sterilization. I monitored more than a few hair-raising spays and neuters (and will never stop being in awe of the vets who not only performed those surgeries, but did so with a smile), but one that always sticks with me took place our last day of my first outreach, in Gumare. We had intended on only doing a quick morning there before hitting the road, but as anyone who’s ever worked in vet med knows (and with apologies to Robbie Burns), the best laid schemes o’ techs an’ vets gang aft agley. We met her in the late morning, one of those difficult cases of sterilization trips where one has to weigh lives in the balance and make a decision for the benefit of all. These are not easy decisions and these are not easy cases. But this is what we do.

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