[A classic veterinary Christmas shot — ‘Santa’ was my veterinarian coworker-slash-roommate and the patient resisting the snuggles is ‘Pollywobbles’, a kitten I fostered while she recovered from a hypoxic brain injury. Turns out that getting a partially deaf and blind kitten to look at the camera is really hard.]

Christmas is fast approaching and with it comes the season of emergencies. After volunteering to take call for the week of Christmas and New Years this year, I found myself contemplating what the holiday season means in vet medicine and what I want clients to know — both to protect themselves and their pets, and to help them help us.