To get Pet Insurance?

Animal Medical Center of Mt. Pleasant is excited to have a Guest Blogger, Sandra Estee. Sandra has brought all 3 of her dogs here for over 3 years. She recently shared with us her enthusiasm for Nationwide ( formerly VIP) pet insurance, and was willing to share her story with us.

I would like to start off by telling you how much I LOVE paying health insurance premiums! Yes, as much as I love visiting the dentist or gynecologist! No visuals please… In my opinion, health insurance has always seemed like a waste of my hard earned money. I’m paying for something on a monthly or annual basis for protection against something that may or may not happen. Being in the real estate business for the last 21 years, I survived 7 years without personal health insurance and I can tell you that I prayed a lot that I wouldn’t get sick or in an accident. Yes, I have always carried auto and home owners insurance.

Eddie’s Reminder

Sometimes the life and death realities of a Veterinary Clinic can hit very close to home. Take Eddie.

Eddie is the Golden Retriever that assists the receptionist staff at our front desk. He looks like a lazy slug lying around mooching cookies from who ever stands at the check–out counter, but when the boss is your “daddy” you cut some slack. Eddie was diagnosed with B-Cell Lymphoma this week. I expect he’ll be given a little more leeway for his “do you mind if I lay down while I work” ethic in the coming months.

Hurri-Cats and Tropical Dogs

Alex, Bonnie and Colin have already come and gone and our next guests, Daniel, Earl and Fiona, could be much messier. Unwanted guest means storm season – and so far our early Hurricane visitors have served as just wet reminders of the potential of things to come. Are you ready? Are the pets ready? You are ultimately responsible for the safety of your pets in a tropical weather situation. So listen-up.

 

Ricky – A Roomba’s Life

Little Ricky graduated with the honors bestowed upon all Roombas. It was expected of every robotic vacuum cleaner when they rolled off the line at the iRobot assembly plant in Bedford, Massachusetts that they were both reliable and durable. With those accolades, warranty in hand and his shining black outer casing, there was never a Pet Series Model-655 more proud than Ricky. He was born to clean and he vowed to do that job better than any little Roomba ever had before.

 

A Christmas story Rerun

One Christmas long ago, I happened upon a beautiful kitty dookie in the liter box; a wonderful little cat turd wrapped like a barber-pole with a glistening piece of tinsel. My roommate and I placed a hook in the decorative feces and hung it neatly on the Christmas tree. (There are no excuses for being young and stupid.) To our delight, Willie – my tinsel eating cat, produced several more “natural” ornaments for our tree that year. The tree was beautiful but pungent.

When do I need to Make My Dog Vomit?

At least once a day the phone at the clinic blows up with a panicked owner wondering if they need to make their dog vomit because of something they’ve eaten. It’s “dietary indiscretion” because doctors find it difficult to write “stupid dog” in the medical chart. More interestingly, we rarely get the same question about a cat. Because cats aren’t that stupid and they only vomit recreationally, that is: for the shear joy of watching us clean up the mess while sitting nearby, pawing the puke off their face.

 

They Ate What?

For ten years Veterinary Practice News has devoted an entire issue to a pseudo-competition amongst Veterinarians nation wide to determine a winner of ‘the most bizarre item ingested by our pets’. A case story and accompanying x-ray are submitted, and then we all vote. Strange? Not really. Remember, groups of Veterinarians will step into elevators with complete strangers onboard, while we are engaged in spirited conversation about bloody diarrhea. Don’t be a victim, check with your travel agent and verify that there is not a Veterinary convention in the town where you are vacationing.

 

Flea Revival

Rachel relentlessly begs me to blog on the latest revival of fleas as she clings to my pant leg. Ms. Awesome Receptionist is claiming that we’ve received more calls about flea problems this week than we had in the six months prior. Cat hair collects on her scrubs like a Wet Swifter as I drag her through the clinic reminding her along the way that I will not use the blog to sell product.

Next day; she’s laying in my parking space in silent protest.

Brian and Lulu and the Human-Animal Bond

Lulu in Charleston Years after the Gas Explosion

It was a small little “something” under the skin on Lulu’s hip. No Veterinarian on earth would have found the growth during a routine examination, but Brian did. No bigger than the reward from a shelled sunflower seed; it was tiny.

So what is the difference between Brian and some other pet owner that latches their dog onto the chain in the backyard? The one’s whose level of care starts and ends with a bowl of food and fresh water. You know the type; no heartworm or flea preventative and nary a visit to the Vet, versus Brian, the guy who found a little “something” during a nightly routine of lovingly massaging his girl.

SDMA – Spells Kidney Trouble

Recently we hit on the value of routine blood work in a healthy animal. The benefits of this proactive bit of science just got bigger. SDMA, a new kidney function marker found in the blood, is growing in acceptance as an early indicator of kidney disease in our pets.