Since switching over to Mazie’s Mission, I see more distemper cases. A LOT more. Thinking back, I saw distemper when I was a baby-baby vet working at a vet clinic in an extremely sketchy area of East Dallas, where vaccinated pets were the exception, not the norm. Then I moved to the suburbs and I … More A Discourse on Distemper Part 1
Dallas Pets Alive, a rescue group that we work very closely with, has a program called DPA Pass. Their goal is to help at-risk pet owners keep their pets, by providing resources like veterinary care, treatment, behavior training, temporary fostering, etc. on a case-by case basis. One fine day, a DPA Pass representative was at … More A Tale of Two Ernestos: The Healing Power of Honey & Maxi Pads
One of the many things I love about Mazie’s Mission are all the wildly crazy cases I see. I feel that I should pause here and reflect a moment. To you, the layperson, my “crazy case,” is probably pretty horrific and sad. We see the worst of the worst: our patients are abused, neglected, injured, … More Veterinarian-ing is My Superpower
My alarm clock goes off at 5:00 AM. I really didn’t sleep much anyway, mostly that fitful half sleep/half anxiety conglomeration that occurs before a big day. I’m pretty adept at suppressing my emotions, so I can’t really identify what I’m feeling: some kind of mix of worry, fear, excitement, anticipation. I’m driving our clinic … More Albert Goes To Aggieland
There’s a fleece blanket, in my dog Nixon’s bed in the kitchen. It’s a soft riot of purples, greens, blues and reds. My friend Lauren gave it to me for my min pin mix, Katelin, near the end of her life. Katelin’s been dead for around two and a half years, but I keep expecting … More The Ghosts in My House
It was July 4th when the Facebook post came across: a sad photo of a young black and white dog with a severely mangled rear foot. Dallas Animal Services needed a rescue group to take this poor guy ASAP for care. Mazie’s couldn’t take him due to lack of fosters. (Hint, hint: we NEED fosters, … More The Happy Tale of a Sad Foot
So, Branch the cat, just took the liberty of walking across my keyboard. I decided to go ahead and let the result of that stroll be the title of this blog entry because, why not? After two months at Mazie’s I think the top 5 things I see so far are: Heartworm positive dogs* Crazy … More hnnnnnnnnnnj
Greetings from my new gig at Mazie’s Mission. The rescue world is a fascinating place. There are ins and outs and thoughts and intricacies that I haven’t even scratched the surface of. Honestly, I’m a tiny bit afraid to blog about rescue stuff, because these are passionate people with strong opinions. Many moons ago I … More A Bit of a Fish out of Water
I started working at Animal Medical Center of Plano in early 2000. I was only two years out of vet school and was still quite green. At the time, it was just myself and Dr. Sharp in the practice. I was such a baby vet that Dr. Sharp’s clients quickly smelled fear, and they went … More Dr. Carroll’s Next Adventure
So I had to call in sick from work this week. Last time I called in sick was about twelve and a half years ago when my water broke, forcing me give birth to my youngest son a week or two early. I was supposed to work that Saturday, Dr. Rogers had even picked me … More Sick as a Dog
The Cone of Uncertainty 