Dogcharmer: What’s that smell?
Dear Dogcharmer,
I have a mini poodle named Frankie. She's lovely in every way, except that she constantly rolls in disgusting stuff — the worse the smell, the happier she is. Plus she spends forever...
Visiting Vet: Lone star questions, answered
Fifteen years ago, I attended a conference about ticks presented by Dr. Susan Little, one of the country's top authorities on veterinary parasitology. I had been practicing on the Vineyard for a quarter-century, and...
Dogcharmer: ‘Dog Training, It Ain’t An Accountant’s Job’
Dear Dog Charmer Tom,
Our Afghan, Carlos, is a sweetheart with people and dogs, when he's off leash. He's ok with people when he's on leash, but clearly not relaxed. But if a dog comes...
Visiting Vet: Solving mysteries
Blanche, a 12-year-old Labrador mix, first came to see me for an emergency last December, when her owner noticed the old girl exhibiting stranguria. That’s the technical term for slow, painful straining to urinate....
Visiting Vet: No pain in the neck
Velma came to see me as an emergency one summer afternoon. Her owner was confident she knew what the problem was. “I think she has a sore neck from roughhousing with other dogs about...
Dogcharmer: A four-legged sentry
Dear Dogcharmer,
We have a 7-year-old toy poodle named Andy. We've had him since he was a puppy. He sleeps with us, and is a sweetheart in every way, except when he's eating. It started...
Visiting Vet: We’ve got this
It was Thursday. My day on call covering urgent veterinary care for the whole Island. Eight in the morning, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing. One of my staff was out of town. The second...
Dogcharmer: Four-legged poachers
Dear Dog Charmer,
My eight year old daughter Cloe and I got home from her soccer game where she scored two goals. As a celebration we came home with her favorite, bagels and cream cheese....
Visiting Vet: Tips for Nervous Nellies
The wind blows. I roll over and go back to sleep.Our dog, Quinna, does not. She goes downstairs and crawls under my husband’s heavy oak desk. That was her favorite cozy place when she...
Visiting Vet: Summertime hazards
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy. Or not. Let’s talk about summertime dangers for dogs.
The first is an oldie but goodie. Heat. OMG, folks. It’s hot. Don’t be an idiot. I’m not even going...
Visiting Vet: The tale of PeeWee
PeeWee is a young hypothetical cat. Let’s say he lives with his owner, who keeps him indoors to make sure he stays safe (with the added benefit of protecting wild birds from predation). Maybe...
Visiting Vet: Brain inflammation — MUOs
Bonito is a handsome chocolate Labrador retriever who has had his share of challenges in life. As a pup, one of his testicles didn’t descend properly, thus requiring a little extra surgery when he...
Visiting Vet: Do dogs get poison ivy?
I dragged the hose across the yard in a halfhearted attempt to start cleaning out our long-neglected shed. Critters have chewed holes in the roof and floor, and made nests in the open bags...
Dogcharmer: George won’t come when called
Dear Dogcharmer,
We have the cutest little Westy imaginable. His name is George. We got him when he was 3 months old. He's now 4½ months old, and hasn't come to us once when he's...
Animal owners first aid education event
The Island's shortage of large and small animal vets is critical and well-covered (bit.ly/MVT_VetShortage). Coupled with the steady increases in year-round residents, the number of new pets exceeds the number existing local practices can...
Visiting Vet: Captain Jack
Captain Jack was a bad cat. Even as a tiny kitten, found abandoned in a church alleyway in Worcester, he had cattitude. A little, long-haired tabby, he strutted in his cage at the city...
Dogcharmer: Is it just loud noises?
Dear Dogcharmer,
We recently adopted a mix named Sheila. She's about 2 years old, and acts normal most of the time. However, sometimes she just shuts down all of a sudden. She'll hide under a...
Visiting Vet: Aslan in his old age
When I was in veterinary school, long, long ago, I had a professor who used to say, “Old age is not a disease.” What he meant was that when evaluating senior animals who weren’t...
Visiting Vet: Dog aggression — take it seriously
I’m running late. April 7 was the start of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, a project sponsored by a coalition of the American Veterinary Medical Association, State Farm Insurance, the Insurance Information Institute, and...
Visiting Vet: Vaccines work
The pandemic has taught us many things … from how to “Zoom” to how little many Americans understand science, especially the concept of herd immunity.
Now, I know you may not like to think of...