Michelle Gerhard Jasny V.M.D.
Visiting Vet: Aging gracefully
I only met my little friend Beulah two years ago. She was already a senior citizen, with bilateral cataracts (meaning both eyes were affected),...
Visiting Vet: Cats in the cradle?
I’ve been watching with both empathy and amusement the trials and tribulations of Facebook friends with their various cats and kittens. I wish all...
Visiting Vet: Dog behavior
“When you walk your dog, you are on a date with him,” the speaker said in his charming Italian accent. “You wouldn’t like it...
Visiting Vet: Helping Geezer get around
My recent articles have been about depressing topics. Sudden death. Home burials. Constipation. I promised my editor I would write something more cheerful soon....
Visiting Vet: The last call
It’s raining. And cold. I was on call last night. I was tired from a busy day of appointments. When the phone rang, I...
Visiting Vet: Beach tummy
“What a sweet face,” I thought as Havilah, a 2-year-old golden retriever, bounded into my office. Havi’s family had been here on vacation for...
Visiting Vet: Constipation in cats
Lavender, a sweet middle-aged cat, has lived an idyllic life. Pampered by her people. Far from the road. Acres of woods to explore. But...
Visiting Vet: The ball is all
“One last question,” the client said at the end of her dog’s visit. Rafa, a big, goofy, good-natured, golden-retriever-poodle-and-maybe-something-else mix, had just been in...
Visiting Vet: Legg-Perthes disease
When Flash, a sweet little Yorkshire terrier, was less than a year old, he started limping one day. Now, when young dogs get too...
Visiting Vet: Porch histories
Lately I’m trying to go out on the porch whenever I can, to talk to clients in person. That’s right, I’m still practicing curbside....
Visiting Vet: Urgent-care day
“There’s a sick Bernese Mountain Dog coming in with a bloody discharge from her vulva,” my assistant told me first thing that morning. My...
Visiting Vet: Neutering your cat
Achilles, an 18-month-old male cat, was asleep on my exam table. Well, not really asleep. He was anesthetized, and being prepped for neutering. “When...
Visiting Vet: Late-onset dirt eating
When my first child was a year and a half old, we traveled with dear friends to the Caribbean island of Culebra. Our companions...
Visiting Vet: Geriatric care
Next week I am going for my first bone density scan. I think that officially makes me old. This screening is recommended for most...
Visiting Vet: Liquid biopsy
One of my patients is a sweet Great Pyrenees–Bernese mountain dog mix named Sol. His owner recently told me that Sol‘s brother had died...
Visiting Vet: Grill cleaners
I was in my car driving home from a doctor’s appointment, and trying to decide what to make for dinner. The sun was shining,...
Visiting Vet: Tickborne diseases
Last week I saw three lovely dogs, Tulip, Daffodil, and Hyacinth. Tulip and Daffodil were here for annual physical exams, vaccinations, and preventive healthcare....
Visiting Vet: Food allergy
Hey, parents. Remember when your kids were little, and the pediatrician had you introduce foods slowly, one at a time, giving the new food...
Visiting Vet: Poisonous plant exposure
Ah, Spring. Pinkletinks sing. Gardeners plant peas. Easter and Passover are right around the corner. Any day now I will start getting calls about...
Visiting Vet: Foreign bodies
Socks, corncobs, bones, balls, toy soldiers, Play-Doh, Gorilla Glue, needle and thread, ribbon, rubber bands, hair ties, Nylabone chunks, tampons, coins, underwear, rocks, Popsicle...