I probably spend too much time on social media, but I really enjoy connecting with veterinarians all across the country, or even around the world. There are Facebook groups for vet moms, Jewish vets, old vets, vet moms of neurodiverse kids, vets who practice in rural areas, solo vets, vets who just need their spirits lifted. I won’t break the rules of any of these groups by repeating what others have posted, but I can tell you there has recently been a very funny thread in which we senior docs finished the sentence, “I’m so old, I practiced before …”
As I scrolled through the posts, I had all kinds of reactions. Nodding in agreement. Laughing out loud. Flinching when a medication mentioned as “so old” turned out to be one I still use. But most of all, I felt gratitude — gratitude for the advances in veterinary medicine that have made the lives of pets and their people better. So in a slightly belated nod to Thanksgiving, here are a few.
I’m so old, I practiced before there was a vaccine for canine parvovirus. In fact, I was in veterinary school in Philadelphia in the late 1970s when the disease first emerged. We had wards full of mostly puppies (since young dogs are more susceptible) with intractable vomiting and diarrhea. Cages full of dying puppies. All we could do in those days was provide supportive care. Intravenous fluids, antivomiting and antidiarrheal medications, pain relief. We had to don full protective gear before entering the ward, masks, gowns, even shoe covers, to try to avoid spreading the virus. The smell was horrible. The experience, brutal and heartbreaking. I am thankful that today we have a vaccine to prevent canine parvovirus infection.
I’m so old, I practiced before there was a vaccine for feline leukemia virus (FeLV), a deadly disease that is easily transmitted via cat-to-cat contact, especially fights. Back then, very few people on the Vineyard kept their cats strictly indoors. FeLV cases were common, and usually fatal. A client would arrive with a youngish cat (again, youngsters being most susceptible) that wasn’t feeling well. I would start my exam, casually lifting the cat’s lip to assess the color of the gums. This is a quick way to check for anemia — one of the classic signs of FeLV infection. I still remember that sinking feeling, seeing ghostly pale white gums, knowing I was about to deliver very bad news. I am thankful today we have a vaccine to prevent FeLV infections.
I’m so old, I practiced before there were monthly heartworm preventive medications. The only product we had to prevent this nasty disease of foot-long worms in dogs’ hearts and pulmonary arteries was a daily tablet called diethylcarbamazine (DEC). These had to be given to dogs in this area every day, April through December. Then every dog needed a heartworm test in the spring before restarting the DEC. We vets dreaded those interminable April “heartworm clinics,” trying to get every Island dog owner to come in before mosquito season began (since mosquitos are the vector for heartworm). Another fun issue was how many people kept that bottle of DEC on the kitchen counter, right next to their own multivitamins. At least once a month someone would call me in a panic at 6 am, having just ingested one of their dog’s heartworm preventive pills by mistake, instead of their morning One-A-Day. I am thankful today we have a multitude of monthly heartworm prevention options more effective and more convenient than DEC.
I’m so old, I was in practice before safe, long-acting flea and tick prevention products were developed. Owners were stuck using old-style flea and tick collars that had limited efficacy, or spraying pets daily with insecticides that left animals’ coats sticky and stinky, or doing labor-intensive total body shampoos and “dips” every 10 days. I remember one dog back in the ’80s that arrived for a flea and tick bath and dip after a roam through the fields of Chilmark. We removed more than 300 ticks from that poor creature. I am thankful today we have better, easier, longer-acting options, from “lipotropic” topical products like Seresto collars and K-9 Advantix that spread across the body surface under the fur to systemic products that can be taken orally, or applied to the skin and absorbed that way, including brands like Nexgard, Credelio, Simparica, and others.
I’m so old, I practiced before digital radiology. In fact, I practiced before vets had automatic film processors. My bathroom doubled as a darkroom, with big, awkward stainless steel tanks filled with chemicals in the shower stall. We would clip the 14- by 17-inch sheets of film onto special holders, dip them in developer, then wash water, then fixer, praying we got the number of dips right for the ambient temperature to produce readable films. I did eventually get an automatic processor, but at my age, as a solo doc, converting to digital is simply out of my price range, so I still use film. A few years ago I physically brought some x-rays to a specialist consult. All the younger vets there gathered around to gawk excitedly at my “real x-rays” on “actual film.” I am thankful my ancient x-ray machine and automatic film processor still work. And I am thankful for one of my assistants, Molly, who has kept it going all these years.
Speaking of assistants, I am thankful for Fawn, Molly, Rachel, and Cid, my current team, who make it possible for me to do what I do, and my husband Max, who handles much of the practice’s business management. I am thankful for my clients who love their pets and care for them so well. I am thankful for my kids. And finally, I am thankful for my health, because, as I tell those youngsters who laugh at my inability to understand TikTok or gawk at my x-ray film, someday you too will be old … if you are lucky.
