I just finished writing an article about a crisis in veterinary medicine with the mental health and overall wellbeing of veterinarians and their veterinary hospital teams, driven in part by the increased demands for veterinary services and the increased abuse they face from cranky clients. Recently, I've also become aware of more and more people in my circle of dog lovers -- online and otherwise -- getting fired by various veterinary hospitals across the country. I find it hard to believe that ALL of these folks are being major jerks, but it seemed like an urgent need to discuss what's happening, why, and how NOT to get fired as a veterinary client. Here are my best tips + a video explaining (sometimes ranting) about what NOT to do.

I started ordering groceries online for parking-lot pick up long before the pandemic. Most of the time, the staff shoppers at our local grocery store do a good job getting me everything on the list. Sometimes, though, I get weird substitutions and don't realize it until I get home. It's a 45-minute drive each way from our place to the store, so going back to correct weird or missing items is a real pain. So, I make do or try to find something to do with what I get. Guess who ended up with pounds and pounds of LIVER recently? Rather that just giving the dogs cooked liver as a treat, I made up a liver dog treat recipe. Just winged it, and they turned out pretty well. See what you think.

Switching from cutting our dogs' nails to using a dog nail grinder was a game-changer for all of us. So much less drama. No more accidental injuries from cutting nails too short. Best of all, the dogs no longer look at me with murder in their eyes when it's time to do their nails -- which I grind down weekly. Yes, really. I've gone through a bunch of different grinders since Clover was a puppy, including an entry-level one that went through untold numbers of D batteries and replacement heads. I've had other (nicer) ones that died after a year or so. I'm now using a new / different one, so here is our review of Lucky Tails Nail Grinder.

As a dog book reviewer, I maintain a short list of quirks -- such as NOT liking books told from the dog's point of view. So when J.G. Eastman asked me to look at Long Nose Legacy, A Dog's Story of Royalty and Loyalty (a middle grade chapter book for kids ages 9-12) we shared a little back and forth about if I'd be annoyed by the narration in the book. Eastman explained, "It's told in 3rd person, but the dogs do communicate with each other, and we hear their thoughts." So, I gave it a try. Here are my thoughts.