Michelle Gerhard Jasny V.M.D.
Visiting Vet: Little Horatio
Little Horatio, a 10-year-old Chihuahua mix, recently came to summer on the Vineyard, happily sharing his home with two other dogs and two cats....
Visiting Vet: Queenie’s symptoms
Queenie, a middle-aged Corgi, didn’t have a regular Island veterinarian, but her owner called my office when the dog began acting oddly. “She stopped...
Visiting Vet: Cappuccino the tabby cat
Cappuccino, a beautiful orange tabby cat, had been the picture of health most of her life. Then, when she was 11 years old, we...
Visiting Vet: Season of lilies
Last weekend, many of us celebrated either Easter or the beginning of Passover. “Of course they happen at the same time!” you might say....
Visiting Vet: Sally and the sock
It was almost lunchtime when Sally, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever, arrived. The owners were concerned Sally might have swallowed a sock the night before.Today...
Visiting Vet: Bodie the cocker spaniel
Bodie, a middle-aged cocker spaniel, recently went with his family on a road trip down to Florida for a few weeks. When they returned...
Visiting Vet: Intestinal parasites
Bubbie the beagle was in recently for her annual physical exam, which routinely includes sending a stool sample to the laboratory to test for...
Visiting Vet: Pet-i-cures
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Whether or not you believe that, it’s still important to start training puppies early....
Visiting Vet: What makes Groucho itch?
Groucho, a rescue kitten from South Carolina, arrived on the Vineyard with an upper respiratory infection (URI). These colds, common in young cats from...
Visiting Vet: It’s complicated
It’s winter. Heat’s on, wood stove stoked. It’s dry inside. Everyone drinks more water, including the dogs, so I’m not always concerned when clients...
Visiting Vet: Charlotte the Coton de Tulear
Charlotte is a Coton de Tulear. What’s that? A breed of dog named for the town of Tulear (now called Toliara) on the island...
Visiting Vet: Why does Tomcat get FIA?
When I was a young veterinarian, there was a disease called Feline Infectious Anemia. Classic symptoms were fever, pale mucous membranes, sometimes jaundice, usually...
Visiting Vet: A puppy for Christmas?
It’s that time of year. Sappy commercials, made-for-TV Christmas movies. The kids open the big box with the huge red bow. Out pops a...
Visiting Vet: What’s that in your mouth?
Recently I have had multiple calls about dogs eating things that, unless you’re a dog, are considered inedible. The Brittany spaniel who ripped up...
Visiting Vet: Kennel cough
Last month I caught a cold. A persistent little bug. After two weeks I thought I was getting better. Then, suddenly, my cough returned...
Visiting Vet: Loving Lily
Florence lived in Woodside Village. When her old cat Lovey died in 2006, her daughter, M.J., took her to the MSPCA to find a...
Visiting Vet: 24/7
In 1982 while researching a piece on the history of veterinary medicine on the Vineyard, I found a one-paragraph item in an old newspaper...
Visiting Vet: Adverse reactions
Saturday night I stayed up too late. My daughter was returning on the last boat, having been off for four days at a big...
Visiting Vet: Remembering Sept. 11, 2001
It was a little after 9 am the morning of Sept. 11. I was finishing up a cat spay when my secretary, returning from...
Visiting Vet: Weight loss in an older cat
When Bea’s family first adopted her, they were told she was a year or two old. After six months old, when all their adult...