THE BIRD NEST

Thursday was a rough day. I finally worked up the energy to be productive and went into the garden to pull last season's weedy growth off the fence.

No sooner had I started (thinking, "this is easier than I thought it would be!") then I accidentally pulled down a tiny bird nest with three tiny speckled eggs.

I started crying and called Russ, who, along with Jeff and Travis, was working hard to finish building a second story deck.

Russ said to put the nest upright and he would build a stand for it.

And he did.

I hope the birds come back to their nest. I will keep you updated.

GOOD BYE MOUNTAINS!

This is one strip of a series I created called, "When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Vet" from 2011 - 2012. You've asked if I am going to draw the comic again, and I loved doing it, so maybe. I started the comic to process difficult things in my career, and thankfully, I have not had so much to process once I got this all into comic form!

I will post the next strip of the series every Friday. The entire series can be found at When I Grow Up I Want to be a Vet.

Dr. Ethics took me on a ride in his hot air balloon once. It was so fun. I think he really would have loaned it to me to get home. He has some very kind tendencies. Also, it is a hot air balloon going to Omaha, like in Wizard of Oz : )

WE LOVE STEMS FLORIST

The other day, just because, the flower shop down the street from the 120th and Blondo Gentle Doctor location brought us this beautiful bouquet of flowers! It brightened our whole week <3

Thank you Stems! We love being your neighbors!

THE LAST STONE

Kelly and I were finishing a cystotomy. This is a surgery in which the urinary bladder is opened to remove urinary stones. I must have removed 99 stones. The dog was only three years old, and she had impressively made more stones than I had ever seen at once.

After stone removal surgery, we always take an x-ray to assure all the stones have been removed. Almost a formality. I always fret a bit though between the surgery room and the x-ray table.

The x-ray appeared on the screen, and one lone stone remained in the trigone of the bladder. I was mortified. This happens in a reported 20% of stone removal surgeries in which x-rays are taken afterwards, but it had never happened to ME.

Back to surgery we went, Kelly reminding me, as she often does, to BREATHE. I sure love that friend. As basic as it sounds, I was NOT breathing, and needed to in order to complete surgery.

We reopened the surgery site, I removed the stone with a hemostat and returned to take another x-ray. The stone was out, and I was glad I had returned for the one last stone. 

Luke 15

or something

AN ENCOURAGING WORD

From a Friend, when I was recently dealing with writer's block...

"Slumps are OK. You know how you let a field lie fallow so it can grow stuff again? That’s you. Your writing is lying fallow."

Thank you Friend. You always know what to say.

URINARY STONES

For those of you with a weak stomach or no interest in the ins and outs of surgery...or both...skip this post!

Those of you who like the weird and the gross, read on.

One of the coolest surgeries we do is stone removal surgery from the urinary bladder.

Stones can be quite pretty. These look like roses to me.

We take stones out for two reasons - they hurt and they can obstruct the urinary system, especially in males.

Before surgery, we do a physical exam and blood work. When we have patients undergoing anesthesia, we - of course - want it to be as safe as possible.

The day of surgery, the pet is fasted. He or she is sedated and anesthetized. An IV catheter is in and anesthesia monitoring equipment is hooked up. 

The pet is placed on their back on the surgery table in the surgery room. Lights are aimed at their belly.

Warning! Here is the gross/cool part...An incision is made into the abdomen and the urinary bladder. The stones are scooped out - I am not making this up - with a tiny measuring spoon. We have three. They say "smidge," "sprinkle" and "pinch." I use the "smidge" spoon, the smallest one.

The bladder incision and the abdominal wall incision are sewn back up and x-rays are taken to make sure all of the stones are out. The stones are sent to a lab for analysis. 

And the pet lives happily ever after, hopefully forever stone free.

THE PIGGY IGLOO

I received a Kaytee Igloo to review from Chewy.com.

Everyone who has had a rabbit or rodent seems to have had one of these! (It was difficult to find a friend who did not already have one!) And I got a lot of good feedback on the igloo.

Our guinea pig Piggy loved his. He did not climb it as some more adventurous piggies might, but he did like to spend time in his igloo.

From friends on the Igloo...

"My rats loved those things." -Jeremy Coffey

"My rats used them. The guinea pigs never cared to go in them but would push them around. All my rabbits were too big." -Alicia Weiland

"Have one for my piggie. Good quality. Easy clean. Sort of large for a pig, but he enjoys it." -Monica Massengale

"Penelope has some thing similar, and loves it!" -Nicole Dawson

"I haven't used them for my own piggies but we use them at Town and Country all the time!" -Kellie Marie

"I think my gerbils would destroy it." -Sara Tifft"

We always had to avoid these with our gerbils. They would have ingested pieces of it, too. We stuck with wooden or cardboard houses." -Kylee Karre

"I no longer have guinea pigs but when I did, they loved these. They would even move them like little turtles to the food dish." -Angela Bohling

"We had one that the piggies fought over. They loved it and did the turtle thing too--mainly because they knew if they left it, the other would steal it. I never figured out what the knobby things on the top were for..." -Cathy Babcock

Too small for almost any dog!

Luna is not impressed.

For a dog who constantly wags her tail, Joy found the igloo quite restricting.

So there you have it! Too small for (dogs and) bunnies. Not ideal for chewers like gerbils. But for guinea pigs and rats, both of whom appreciate a hiding space, these are a great addition to their habitat!

ABBY MEETS PUMPKIN

Pumpkin is one of two Frenchies of our friends the Clarks. Abby met her at a candle party. I love the look on Abby's face when she meets a dog!

I MISS MY MOM

This is one strip of a series I created called, "When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Vet" from 2011 - 2012. You've asked if I am going to draw the comic again, and I loved doing it, so maybe. I started the comic to process difficult things in my career, and thankfully, I have not had so much to process once I got this all into comic form!

I will post the next strip of the series every Friday. The entire series can be found at When I Grow Up I Want to be a Vet.

I also had a very GOOD job in Colorado, but we did get homesick, so we moved back to Omaha. Best decision ever <3

NATURAL BALANCE LIMITED INGREDIENT TREATS

I received MORE treats to review from Chewy.com! The dogs are loving this!

These treats are Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Treats, Sweet Potato and Venison Formula. Because Joy is allergic to chicken, we need to be careful with ingredients, and these treats were perfect!

At midnight, I woke the dogs and asked, "Are you guys up for a treat review?"

They both said that they were.

Luna loves it...

Joy loves it...

I love this picture of Joy! She is never half committed to anything!

Success! 10 out of 10 - would order again!

Thank you Chewy.com! And thank you Natural Balance for creating treats both our mutts can enjoy.

DAD AND CAMILLE

Dad: Is that the clinic cat?

Me: Dad, that's a Chihuahua.

OLIVIA THE CAT REVIEWS COSEQUIN CHEWS

Recently, Olivia and her person, veterinary technician Allison Parker, helped me with this post on Cosequin Chews from Chewy.com that I received to review. I chose them especially for Olivia!

I love this picture of Olivia!

She said, "meow" and that she enjoyed them very much.

Olivia is normally on Glycoflex Chews, another treat based glucosamine source.

From Allison, "She definitely likes them, but compared to Glycoflex Chews, I would go through the bag twice as quickly!"

Cosequin Chews have 125 mg of glucosamine per two chews. Glycoflex Chews have 300 mg of glucosamine per two chews.

Overall this seems like a very good product, and Cosequin is a brand I trust completely. It is always nice to have treat options instead of pills or capsules for cats!

Olivia, you look like a natural spokes-cat!

BECOMING MORE MYSELF AGAIN

Every once in a while I will try to give you an update on my depression here. Mostly I have been doing very well. I consider this year from August 2017 - August 2018 a year of healing. I am trying to give myself that much time to get healthier, but it sometimes seems like a slow road. As a veterinarian, I - as you can imagine - like to fix things.

I was on five medications for my depression and Claritin for my allergies. (I was on way more for my allergies, but Claritin and no cats seems to be the trick!)

Recently my physician's assistant allowed me to discontinue two medications, including trazodone, which I was taking to help me sleep.

I have been sleeping well for the past several months, and anymore, trazodone seemed to just be making me groggy and dull in the mornings. Now I feel sharp and more myself again. I am by no means a natural morning person, but I enjoy mornings and getting so much done at work so early. I still was getting things done and enjoying it, but it was sure a struggle. Now mornings are back to normal again and so much better.

So that's the latest. Otherwise things have just been steady, which has been nice.

My spring container garden!

SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS

I received this beautiful bird book from Chewy.com to review.

It is The Sibley Guide to Birds, Second Edition, written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley.

The pictures in the book are beautiful. It would be easy for a novice bird watcher like me to find and identify birds in the book that I had seen in real life.

I liked it so much that we gave it to my Mom-in-law Karen for her birthday.

10 out of 10! Would order again! (and might...)

ABBY'S CROSS STITCH PILLOW

Another my kid is so talented post! Abby made this pillow of her and the dogs...

Luna in the bottom left corner, Abby (with her pink hair!) at the top and Joy in the bottom right corner

MY AUNT SENT ME A PICTURE!

This is one strip of a series I created called, "When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Vet" from 2011 - 2012. You've asked if I am going to draw the comic again, and I loved doing it, so maybe. I started the comic to process difficult things in my career, and thankfully, I have not had so much to process once I got this all into comic form!

I will post the next strip of the series every Friday. The entire series can be found at When I Grow Up I Want to be a Vet.

This is a Real Life picture from my awesome Aunt Jeannine. I love her so much!!

SECOND ANNUAL ARBOR VETERINARY SYMPOSIUM

A few weeks ago, VCA MidWest Vet hosted the second annual Arbor Veterinary Symposium at Arbor Day Lodge in Nebraska City.

Russ and Abby and I stayed at the Arbor Day Lodge overnight. Amanda stayed home (for the first time! She did great.)

It was - like the first year - a wonderful conference in a beautiful building.

The first day I got to sit with a vet who graduated in 1960 and had some great stories.

The second day I sat at the same (lucky) table and looked up to see Dr. Clemans and Dr. Cooley! Very fun to see them both.

The speakers - including those two awesome women - were excellent. I had a very fun weekend with you all. Looking forward to next year!

Nebraska City must have had a thing with tree statues like Chicago had with cows and Omaha had with people. This was the prettiest one I saw. It is called "Flowers of Nature" and is privately owned.

This one was pretty too. It was at Arbor Day Farm. The words say, "We live our lives in bits and pieces, random encounters, colors, sounds, and moments. Some reappear in different form, some repeat themselves, some are never to be seen again." The piece is called "Do You See the Forest or the Trees?" by Sue Kalicki.

LUNA LOVEGOOD, CHAPTER 20

Our little dog Luna is doing so well you guys!

She is over halfway through with her chemotherapy for lymphoma.

I JUST learned from Dr. Clemans, her internal medicine specialist doctor who is directing her care, that Luna gives them all kisses! I am so happy she is such a good sport there and is sweet to them. She IS sweet, but she is onery too, so I was not sure which Luna she was at VCA MidWest Vet. Apparently, Good Luna. Yay.

Here are some recent pictures...

Luna says "I love you" with her eyes.

She always has to be touching one of us!

Good night Luna!

CRYING EYES

My eyes once went two years without crying. I would cry, but there would be no tears. It was at a time in my career when I was burned out, and I think my eyes just had nothing to give.

I only told Trey, a vet tech I worked with at the time, because I thought everyone else would think it was weird. “That’s not weird,” Trey said.

Now my eyes cry again, and they get carried away. When Huckleberry died, my eyes cried for a day. The day after Huckleberry died, as my eyes were recovering, a client came in to tell us thank you for taking care of her dog who had recently passed, and my eyes started crying again. They stopped long enough for another client to come in to show us her engagement ring, and my eyes started up again. It could have been the glare from the beautiful ring, but I am pretty sure they were real life tears.

So if I seem overwhelmed with emotion by the sight of your beautiful, healthy dog...I am...but my eyes may also be still crying over a sad (or happy) thing. Give me a minute...or a day. I always pull it together eventually.

WHISKEY

She was a gorgeous grey Standard Poodle who was anything but standard.

She didn't board with us. Rather, she sat in the front area with Hannah or Stephanie or Nicole and greeted everyone who came in. If it was Russ, she barked at him. If it was a client she didn't know, she held back. Everyone else was a friend.

Her hair was crazy, the good and wild kind. She often had it up in clips or a scrunchy, and other times had it out in curls and waves all over the place.

She was living well with an impressive list of conditions. Until she wasn't. Then she was just done.

Whiskey is survived by her Moms, her Standard Poodle friend and her kitty. And she leaves behind a heartbroken veterinary team.

We sure loved you Whiskey Girl. Rest well sweet friend. Until we meet again.