No Easy Day

No Easy Day

Jan 30

Often, when people find out that I’m a veterinarian, one of the first questions I’m asked is: “Veterinary school is harder to get into than medical school, isn’t it?” This is a commonly held belief, and there is some truth to it. I’m also frequently asked “What does my daughter/son need to do to be admitted to veterinary school?” And “Why is my dog so gassy?” (This last one is a question for another day!)

There are 170 accredited medical schools currently in the US. There are only 28 accredited veterinary schools currently in the US. Since there are so few veterinary schools, it does make competition for admission very competitive.

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Dogs, Goats and Llamas, Oh My!

Jan 20

Dr D VMD and a llamaMy family attended the Philadelphia Pet Expo for the first time this past weekend, and it was such a fun event! There were scads of vendors selling pet supplies, cute dog collars, cat toys and appetizing dog treats. Read more →

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The Dreaded Lampshade

Jan 12

So, your cat just had surgery. Or your dog has been licking himself incessantly, creating a hot spot. Your veterinarian emphatically recommends that Fluffy/Fido wear an Elizabethan collar (E-collar) to allow the incision/wound to heal. You think Fluffy will freak out and hide all day with the E-collar on. Or that Fido can’t walk, eat, sleep or otherwise function with his new lampshade. You respect your veterinarian and think she’s great, but just don’t want to subject Fluffy/Fido to the humiliation of an E-collar. Here’s why it’s worth it!

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Cough It Up

Jan 04

It is a fact of life that cats can have an occasional hairball. Truthfully, our feline friends are well-designed to be able to ingest large quantities of fur without digestive trouble. Cats are meticulous groomers, and some seem to spend the greater portion of most days grooming themselves (when they’re not sleeping of course!) As a result, they do ingest a fair quantity of fur, and their GI tracts are designed to handle it. On occasion, hair may collect in the stomach and aggregate into a solid mass (called a trichobezoar), too large to pass into the intestine. This can result in vomiting, and production of a hairball in the vomitus.

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