Albuquerque Journal Articles
Fourth in a series I offered to help Placitas pet parents with their poisoning problem and, well, they took me up on it. The next morning Gretel, a big hound who I already knew as a wild and active girl, lumbered listlessly through the door. I almost didn’t recognize her. Her gums were pale, her respiratory rate increased. A quick check of her blood showed a serious but not-yet life threatening anemia. And, yes, she’d been allowed to roam loose. This dog was going to make it – if we moved fast enough. To reduce the risk of more bleeding…
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Ignore the Bad; Reinforce the Good Question: I have a 1 year old neutered male Yorkie who is aggressive at all human family members except me, the mom. It doesn’t matter whether I’m holding him or he is just walking around, if anyone comes near he will growl and bark. When I am not home, he is fine with everybody. Dr. Nichol: Your dog is over-bonded to you, becoming hyper-aroused and protective when your family comes close. Anxiety is likely to be at the root of the problem. You can set your pupster up to succeed. Our dogs watch their…
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Fourth in a series By day 2 of Gucci’s recovery her temperature had risen to a healthy 101.2 degrees. Her grumbling and complaining, as we gently syringed warm saline through her abdominal tubes, came as no surprise. We’d known this tortoise shell kitty from her previous bouts of barfing. Feline racism is never tolerated but, well, torties are often cranky. I didn’t shoulder this task alone. Our veterinary nurse Hazen spoke gently to our patient as he offered her a veritable smorgasbord of gastronomic delights, which she delicately sampled one lick at a time. Gucci would never let on that…
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Third in a series I worked carefully and fast. Gucci, the tortoise shell cat, maintained strong vitals as I debrided (trimmed) the edges of her intestinal wounds and sutured them closed. A lot could still go wrong; I was counting on her robust immune system for all the help it could muster. On my way out of this tough kitty’s abdomen I placed tubes and drains for daily irrigation over the next few days. Small creatures can lose a lot of heat when their body cavities are open to room air. We’d kept our patient wrapped in a warm water…
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Why? Fix it! Question: What do you do about a cat acting out sexually? We’ve had Sebastian “Basti”, 20 months old, for a year. He was neutered at 8 months. He’s very sweet but recently he has started humping my bedding, my clothes, and he attempts to hump me. He bites the object on its surrogate neck and does pelvic thrusts and butt flutters. Frankly, it’s off-putting. Basti gets along with our other 2 cats. They climb trees and play in our large yard. Dr. Nichol: Butt flutters, eh? Ahem. A delicate subject indeed, although not for Basti. He is…
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A Head Halter is a Great Leadership tool Question: I read the post on your facebook page about the Pyrenees/Anatolian shepherd and felt an instant kinship! Our 1 year old Aussie shepherd is driving us nuts. In addition to nuisance barking at everything that moves, tearing around the house and the yard like a crazy bull in a china shop, she barks and lunges at strangers when I take her for walks. People cross the street to avoid her. She has not bitten anyone, but jumped on and scratched a lady, and now I’m worried about taking her to a…
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Second in a series Cheryl contacted me as soon as she and Michael were hit by the first wave of bad news. I learned long ago that what people in this fragile state need most is a brief sympathetic remark like, “Oh, gee”. They don’t need assurances that life will go on, platitudes like, “it’s better to have loved and lost”, or even, “tell me how you’re feeling”. They need us to shut up and listen – with kindness and empathy. My job was to support these folks as the bottom fell out of their life with Poupon, the pet…
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Last in a series Be ready for your excellent new pupster’s grand entrance. Have a covered crate for nighttime sleeping, food-dispensing toys, and a drag line (6 foot leash the kid will drag from her collar). Puppy food and a water bowl will also come in handy. These little tykes are not born knowing how stay safe or come when called, so bring a leash and a collar (no prongs or chokers, please) on adoption day. Just like people enduring a stressful time, canine babies need gentle handling and connectedness when facing the overwhelming changes of leaving the only lives…
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We picked our boy Mick, in part because he has a social nature. It turns out that he’s never met a stranger. Mick visits this hen on a daily basis. Maybe she’s his chick. We shouldn’t ask; it’s really none of our business.
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Third in a series Have you chosen your own spouse or life partner? How about your friends? Me too. These relationships are imperfect but, gee, I would still never allow someone else to assign my friends to me. Don’t let anybody ask questions about your life and personality and then tell you which puppy should be your best friend. Just say, “Thank you. Have a nice day.” And then move on to a puppy source that will stand back and stay out of your way. You will be more than your dog’s reliable friend; you will be its leader. This…
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