I unpublished and updated this post about the VPA ballot measure in Colorado after reading additional input from the veterinary world and seeing DVMs on Twitter, in particular, calling BS on the ballot measure’s purported goals. So, here we go again. Jump down to the section called Other Reasons to Oppose It to catch up, if you read the earlier version!
Full disclosure, the study on dog needle core biopsy results is small. Very small. Like just 17 cats and 3 dogs in the study. However, it looks like this biopsy option might be just as useful (and safe) as the typical surgical biopsies (with bigger incisions). I, honestly, had no idea veterinarians needed so many…
The first RECOVER guidelines for dog CPR and cat CPR published in 2012. A whole bunch of experts in veterinary emergency and critical care went through and updated the guidelines based on what we know in 2024. Some of the stats on CPR for pets in veterinary settings surprised me, so let’s look at what’s changed (or not).
Seriously. We need to talk about psilocybin for dogs because apparently people are giving psychedelics to pets. Major, major yikes. The potential uses, though, by trained professionals may be a real game changer for dogs with fear, trauma, or socialization issues.
More than a year ago, we reported on this veterinary hospital shooting in Kentucky. It took me a while and some money to get access to the police records and other background information. I spoke with members of the victim’s family a few times. I also kept putting off digging into the details because it breaks my heart. Now that I’ve read through all the investigative paperwork and interviews and watched some (but not all) of the video provided on 9 DVDs, including law enforcement body cams, maybe someone like me with a long history writing about veterinary medicine can offer some fair insights, including several factors that made things worse.
Wading through a huge stack of veterinary studies about CBD for dogs, it’s clear that long-term use of CBD often causes high ALP in dogs. ALP is the abbreviation for alkaline phosphatase. It’s typically used as a routine bloodwork measurement of liver function. Of course, it’s all more complicated than that. It turns out that several things (other than liver problems) can cause high ALP in dogs too.
RED ALERT!?! Started out trying to show how the typical pet microchip usage works. Fell down a rabbit hole of failed systems and inaccurate information. Definitely, double-check all your pets’ microchip registries. Apparently, some of them have combined, and the data (ours at least) got jumbled.
Saw this article about a veterinary hospital in Arkansas that set up a pet microchip scanner station outside its facility so that community members can scan lost / found pets themselves for pet ID microchips. Genius really, so now I really want to set up one for our rural neighborhood — kind of like a free little library — if I can find an affordable professional grade microchip reader. Let’s talk about how all that might work and how best to scan pets you find.
Here’s my 2024 veterinary consolidation update as I continue to worry about the kind of veterinary care options available to people like us in the future. The veterinary magazine article I wrote won’t publish until June 2024, but I want to share some relevant info with you from my research for that piece. Despite some stats that make my stomach hurt, industry experts I interviewed promise me that it’s going to be OK. Let’s look at what I learned and how experts answer questions about things like private equity’s role in veterinary medicine.
As much as I value, appreciate, and regularly use personal development and cognitive skills to work my way out of destructive feelings in daily life, I also understand that some of us — including dogs — end up hardwired to feel things like anxiety. A study published in March 2023 looked at the rs-fMRI (resting state functional MRI) differences between the brains of anxious dogs and other dogs. Maybe it’ll help you feel better about some of your own worries too.
The decision to prescribe antibiotics gets weighed more carefully now than in the past because of the increase in meds-resistant infections. When it comes to antibiotics and dog bites to other dogs, veterinarians sometimes do NOT prescribe antibiotics if the dog bite wounds get clipped cleaned promptly by the veterinary team. If signs of infection develop, then sure, you can get some antibiotics for your dog. However, this 10-year retrospective study out of Australia generated some interesting results about how antibiotics and dog bites get paired up, including sometimes under-dosing.
