Monday, June 30, 2008

Well, there's three

It is a common fact that many medical conditions are seen in "threes", i.e. three UTIs, three Hit By Cars (HBCs), etc.

This month I have seen three cases of brain tumors. Brain tumors. I haven't seen ONE case in over a year, and this month I see three. Two cats and a dog.

The stinky part is that in animals, not many owners are willing to spend the thousands of dollars necessary for specialized treatment in a referal institution with a poor prognosis for long term survival. Chemo can be done to some extent, but an MRI for an animal is a big deal, requiring general anesthesia (I wish you could tell animals to HOLD STILL, but that is a different post...).

Three. Brain. Tumors.

Sad.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Pet Peeves Part 1

Vets are a lot like MDs and other healthcare professionals. Some things tend to piss us off. A lot. I figure this is the first of many ranting posts, but these are the ones that happened to me JUST TODAY.

1) People that come in as walkins during a busy day.

2) People that come in as walkins during a busy day.

3) Somebody comes in and says, "Doc, my dog has been loosing weight for three months, vomiting for two months, not eating for a month, oh and by the way, can you give him his Rabies shot and trim his nails while you're at it? And how much is this going to cost me?"

4) When the aforementioned person who asks about cost says they only have $20 on them.

5) "My horse has had a tummy ache for 5 days" at 5 PM on a Friday night...

I can go on for hours, but you'all will get tired of reading!

Hail and Hello

Hi all. I'm Can't Spell, DVM. I am a veterinarian. It took me two years to learn how to spell veterinarian. As a consequence, I like to spell out veterinarian a lot. However, veterinarian is a a long word to type. So, I'm a vet. I practive on small animals and horses. Veterinary medicine is a lot like "people" medicine, just dirtier and pays worse. Hope you all enjoy the various comments, rants, and raves I leave here from now on. And now to find the spellcheck....