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It’s Hard Being Your Neighbor

September 30th, 2010

Shelters and animals up for adoption, even the “less adoptable” ones, are finally getting some of the attention they should.

The numbers of animals killed each year are still staggering, but I do feel that through grassroots efforts such as Blogpaws, things are changing. The mantra of “helping just one animal may not change the world, but the world will certainly change for that one animal” helps me stay focused.

I watched the show Hoarders for the first time the other night, and it happened to involve a woman who hoarded not only things, but cats, too. There were 36 cats in that house, and 13 of them were dead. Sadly, this story isn’t unique.

Stories of abuse, neglect, and animal hoarding are everywhere. I interviewed Beth Brookhouser of the Monterey SPCA for an in-depth view on how to identify and report animals in crisis. Those “lucky” cases that make the news are flooded with cash donations and offers to adopt. A life of horror finally has some redemption.

Finding that Forever Home
I am always glad for dogs to get out of the shelters and find that forever home. Who isn’t? That’s the goal! But what about those dogs in backyards who languish away, day after day? Forever has a whole new meaning now.

They survive in all types of weather, with minimal or no housing, stale water (if they are lucky), and little food. They eat, sleep and defecate in very close quarters, and barking is their only “exercise.”

Life in a shelter suddenly seems pretty glamorous. Someone to feed you, give you fresh water daily, and maybe even a walk. Human contact!

In My Neighborhood
Lives one of those types. They have had many dogs over the years. Cute puppies to start, they all end up outside. On a cable. In a 10 x 6′ pen. Some escape. Some I have given food and water to. I have done all of the things you are “supposed to do,” including calling animal control. As I was told by one officer, the law states that the animal has to have food, water and shelter. The law doesn’t state you have to love the animal.

That’s hard. Harder still hearing that dog cry all night, dying of loneliness. This isn’t just my neighborhood. I complain to friends, colleagues, and it’s the same story. Different dog. Different neighborhood. Same story.

Stressful Being on the Sidelines
It is frustrating being alone and powerless to affect change. Offers to adopt, purchase, donate fencing and housing supplies are turned down. (That’s the friendly approach.) Any other action would be a criminal one, in the eyes of the law, anyway.

Dog in the Photo
Titled “Abandoned Dog,” this photo is from the Flickr Creative Commons area and the photographer is Tobyotter. Here is the photo caption:

“The problem neighbors across the street did a midnight move two days ago – owing the landlord 4 months rent, they trashed the house and property – but worse yet they left their two dogs behind.

This female pit bull is half starved. Animal control has been here – the made some shelters for them, with straw inside and left them food. It has been raining all night. Animal control have been stopping by every few hours to check on them (I also go over and check on them). Animal Control can not seize the dogs until 24 hours have passed since they posted the door. That will be this afternoon.”

Related Story in the News
In this news story, neighbors complained repeatedly (and thank goodness they did not give up), about a dog locked in basement. This dog was “living in his own waste, but because Lucky had food and water, it wasn’t a clear-cut case of animal cruelty under state law.” This, a dog confined to a backyard for four years and a basement for four more years – not a clear case? I feel we need stronger legal definitions of “neglect.”

Is There Any Hope?
I found some web sites dedicated to this situation. I had heard of them before, but thought they were focused on dogs chained in a yard, for health reasons associated with the chain and collar. No, they are focused on dogs left outside, abandoned, whether on a chain or in a 10 x 6′ kennel. Same difference.

• Dogs Deserve Better
  →Report a chained, penned, abandoned, or neglected dog
• Dogs Deserve Better – Washington State Chapter – they are responsible for helping “Lucky” the dog by contacting the local media after animal control could not help.
• Unchain Your Dog

I am at the same time happy to find these resources and sad to know how widespread these horrible living conditions are for thousands more dogs out there.

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3 Thoughts About Fall

September 23rd, 2010

The winding down of summer and the start of school always creates a crazy schedule around here. This year, three trips and three pets gave me a fresh perspective on fall.

Three Trips

Within a month, it was the vet school reunion, then Blogpaws West, and then the Race for a Cure. That is a lot of travel for me in one month. It was unavoidable though, and each event was great.

Three Pets

Greta, sleeping.

1) Greta
After Blogpaws, my family greets me at the airport with “we can’t find Greta.” Not really something I want to hear after a wonderful, but very sleep-deprived time at Blogpaws West. How do they lose a 19 year-old, indoor-only, deaf cat? And really, how would I know where she is, after being gone for 5 days?

My husband suggested that we stop for a bite to eat or visit the local fair on the way home, but I needed to get home and find Greta. She’s deaf, so we can’t just call her name or shake a container of food. I searched everywhere. Everywhere! I questioned each family member if there was any chance she might have slipped outside. (Very unlikely – she hasn’t wanted to go outside since the day I rescued her in 1992.) The last reported sighting of Greta was 11:10pm the night before.

Finally, she was found. Hooray. My husband is a great cat-finder. She had somehow opened an attic access door and crawled inside, walking the length of the house in the eaves, and falling fast asleep. She didn’t know what all of the commotion was about. We suspect she may have tired of Quincy’s constant pestering.

Eye on the ball

2) Argos
Argos, my goofy Greyhound, was very happy that I returned (he sometimes worries about that). He was also thrilled to get several cool toys from Blogpaws.

We have a large fenced yard for him to zoom around in. My husband, after almost a year of nagging politely requesting that he remove the old ’46 truck and a couple of farm implements, did. The yard is now pristine; clear of anything that Argos could run full speed into and injure himself.

So it was with much happiness that I watched Argos and Sophie run full-tilt around the yard with the new toys.

Until I heard the yelp and saw the stumbling. What? Argos managed to run full-throttle into the one lone sprinkler in the yard. Ouch. A little skin wound on his right fore leg and a fairly large hematoma (3-D bruise) on his chest. Poor guy. A little first aid and ice, and he was fine.

Here he is, chasing his new ball. (video)

Trying to pull out the IV

3) Quincy
We get everyone calmed down after the Argos incident. I try to get some work done. Quincy arrives in my office and vomits. Hmmm. That is odd. Clean things up. Monitor the situation. Quincy reappears 20 minutes later. Vomits again. I take his temperature – mild fever, and he doesn’t look so perky. I take him in to the clinic. Some fluids, antibiotics, lab work and radiographs. Nothing definite, but an early infection is brewing. He doesn’t like his abdomen palpated.

I feared the worst – that he ate a string or other foreign object. Only time would tell.

As I waited for the labs and radiographs to develop, I watch him, and see that he is really looking crummy now. Those sub-cutaneous fluids might not be enough. So he got an IV catheter and a trip to the ER for overnight fluids/monitoring.

I called in at 10:30pm – he still wasn’t very lively. I would be in first thing in the morning to pick him up and re-assess the situation. We had a surgery slot at noon blocked off, just in case.

I wasn’t sure just what to expect as I made the 45 minute drive to the ER the next morning, but he was his old self by 7am! Whew! Dodged that one. Happy to report that he never looked back and did not vomit again.

Three Ways to Get Ready for Fall

Everyone focuses on “spring cleaning,” but I am really trying to make an effort and get organized this fall. This (pretty huge) effort will include:

1. sealing off attic accesses
2. removing sprinklers from the yard
3. once again warning the family about the dangers of string and rubberbands for curious little kitties…!

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Vets Connect @ Blogpaws West 2010

September 16th, 2010

Blogpaws West 2010 Vet Track Team

A quick look back
I met Caroline Golon, voice of Romeo The Cat and co-founder of Blogpaws, about one year ago. She had this little idea to bring together pet bloggers, writers and animal professionals and trainers. She visualized a conference setting to network and learn how to be better at blogging and working for animal causes. Did I think it would fly? uhhh… YES!

So the first Blogpaws was born. In just six short months, Golon and co-founders Yvonne DiVita and Tom Collins put together the first Blogpaws, held in April 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. They hoped for 20-50 attendees. If necessary, they would pull in as many friends and family as needed to fill the seats.

What happened took everyone by surprise. People had apparently been waiting for a meeting like this; sponsors lined up and over 250 people attended. Blogpaws was on its way.

Blogpaws West was born
The ‘surprise’ of the April Blogpaws had many people wishing they hadn’t missed out. They didn’t want to wait a year for the next one. So the decision was made to start planning for Blogpaws West, six months later, in Denver.

It was at the first Blogpaws that the Vet Track idea started. Could we pull both of these events together by September? I admit that I had a few doubts, but was ready to get planning.

Blogpaws West Vet Track
It happened – we connected in real life(!). Seven vets and an attorney that I have gotten to know through Twitter, Facebook, phone calls, blogs and email finally came together in Denver, Colorado for the Blogpaws West Vet Track.

We went to dinner the night before and got to know each other. We talked about blogs and social media. We enjoyed connecting faces and names, making our online connections even stronger.

I made a photo album of the Vet Track and Blogpaws West on Facebook. In this album, you can meet each speaker, find out what they talked about, and click on a link to visit their web site.

We had great sponsors, too. Thanks to Boehringer Ingelheim for dinner, AAHA and Merial for your sponsorship and support of this track.

Thanks too, to Laura of Embrace Pet Insurance and Brenda Tassava of the VMHA for “live tweeting” during the Vet Track. You can view those tweets here.

What we’re blogging about
Here are some recent posts about Blogpaws from the Vet Track Team.

• Exceptional Dogs for Exceptional People – Larry McDaniel DVM
• Will You Be the Change for Pets? – Lorie Huston DVM
• Best Blogs for Dogs, Cats, Pets and Causes – Lorie Huston DVM
• Blogging – So Easy A Cowboy (Equine Dentist) Can Do It! – Geoff Tucker DVM
• Rules of Engagement: Sit in the back – Jessica Vogelsang DVM
• I am the change – Blogpaws West Part II – Jessica Vogelsang DVM
• Veterinary Social Media Highlighted – Douglas Jack, Solicitor

There’s more. So much more.
I posted some photos of my pets enjoying their Blogpaws swag. That was a start, but I haven’t even touched on the fantastic general session keynote speakers – Mike Arms, president of the Helen Woodward Animal Center, and Patricia Callahan of Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).

The enthusiastic sponsors, the Be The Change for Pets team (wow), the Pettie Award ceremony and the people of Blogpaws all deserve mention, too.

For now, follow the #Blogpaws tweets. They will open up doors to the many wonderful bloggers that make up the Blogpaws community.

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Meeting Up and Reconnecting at Blogpaws

September 9th, 2010

Update: 9/16/10: Blogpaws and Vet Track Recap with photos

It seems like just a short while ago I was writing about our first ever Blogpaws – April 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. Now I am in Denver getting ready for Blogpaws West have a sneak preview of the venue:

Grand Hyatt Lobby

I had to get a closer look at this floral arrangement.

Flowers - pretty and dramatic

And the view from the room:

View of downtown Denver

It was a pretty sunset tonight. I have never been to Denver, aside from the airport. It was dark and I was tired -  not the time to go exploring the Denver metro area just yet.

The Blogpaws organizers and attendees will arrive tomorrow. I know that there are many cool and exciting things planned, and I am amazed at how efficiently and creatively the planning team put everything together just 6 months after the inaugural Blogpaws. Over 230 people are registered (as of last week), and we have an extra day of sessions to help people become better bloggers on behalf of animals and rescue-related causes.

Reconnecting The Old and The New
I wrote about my 20th vet school reunion last week. Blogpaws West also feels like a reunion; reconnecting with the friends we met a few months ago and meeting new friends that feel like old friends, thanks to Facebook, Twitter, blogs and emails.

Since that vet school reunion, a few of us “reunited classmates” have found each other on Facebook. One of my classmates just signed on Facebook and started a page for his veterinary practice last week. Meanwhile, I was getting ready for the Vet Track at Blogpaws – connecting web-savvy 8 veterinarians* with an audience of veterinarians, vet techs and veterinary practice managers who want to learn more about the web. The Vet Track vets will be speaking on various ways to interact with client and the public via social media, web sites and blogs.

I feel in between -  bridging the gap between old and new … friends, technologies, ideas. And it feels like it is all coming full circle.

* Vet Track Speakers and Panelists

• Geoff Tucker DVM (@EquinePractice) – web site
• Nancy Kay DVM DACVIM (@SpeakingForSpot) web site
• Douglas C. Jack, Solicitor web site
• Jessica Vogelsang DVM (@pawcurious) web site
• Lorie A Huston DVM (@LorieAHuston)  web site
• Dr Young DVM ABVP (@DrYoung) Facebook
• Cathy King DVM PhD (@WorldVets)  web site
• Larry McDaniel DVM web site

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Back to Vet School – Reconnecting 20 Years Later

September 1st, 2010

OSU CVM 1990

The title of this blog is “Vet Med Connect” which reflects my love of the many ways animal lovers and vets can connect online these days.  I graduated from veterinary school 20(!) years ago. No one had a laptop or cell phone in our class. We passed notes on paper and used regular phones. Then we graduated.

Most of us, even though we were inseparable for four years, went our separate ways and lost touch.

What Happened Since Then
We got married, divorced, started families, pursued internships, residencies, and long and short-lived jobs. We worked in private practice, academia, military, and corporate veterinary positions. One of us has grandkids. We are a very diverse class with lots of different personalities. What could be a dividing factor for some groups drew us together.

Even back then, we were known as “the fun class” and had lots of laughs to get us through the rigors of vet school. We watched out for each other – celebrating happy times and commiserating during sad times.

Getting Back Together – A Little Intimidating
I have never attended a reunion before. I wasn’t planning on starting any time soon either, but there I was, on the Reunion Planning Committee with my dear friend Cindy (who I have written about before) and Craig, an awesome classmate who was often the party planner back in the “old days.” It would be hard to bow out of this one.

We planned on a low-key pizza evening at our favorite haunt (still going strong 20+ years later!). Seemed easy enough, but Cindy and I were nervous to go on in. We braved it, and wow! everyone was so happy and excited to reconnect. One of our favorite professors stopped by. And surprise… we all pretty much looked the same. For real.

We did “20 words for 20 years” to reacquaint ourselves. Some of us had typed out the lists on iPhones or iPads, most of us scribbled down the 20 words on a piece of paper on the way (or, in some cases, as the pizza was served). We laughed, looked at old photos, laughed, met spouses and kids, laughed, and found out where the years have taken us.

Veterinary School Tour
One thing that had changed very much in our time away was our vet school. We entered in 1986 and graduated in 1990. We split our time between Oregon State and Washington State during those years, since OSU was a large animal only facility at that time. Now, OSU is a full-service large and small animal teaching hospital, with class sizes much larger than what ours was.

Two of our favorite professors played hosts / tour guides, and gave us a tour of the new OSU veterinary school. The tours were as much about what was the same as they were a tour of what’s new. We were impressed by all of the remodeling, additions and high-tech equipment.

Then we had a slide show. Photos from the school days mixed in with new ones. OK … I see that we have changed a little bit since then, but it’s all good.

Picnic in the Park
Next up was a picnic. This was great – a chance to relax and regroup without all of the nerves from the day before. Getting back into our old groove.  Cell phones doubled as mini-photo albums to show off important people and places in our lives. We all took tons of new photos. Maybe this time I will be better at keeping track of photos. I am much better on a computer than at scrapbooking.

No one wanted to leave; to break up the new connections. We started talking about our next reunion. Thinking we should have it much sooner, because time is speeding up as we are slowing down. We are talking about a cruise in 5 years.

… and Beyond
As it happens, the day after the reunion was the last day for team registration for the September Race for a Cure. This is noteworthy because Cindy, such an integral part of our class, is a breast cancer survivor – celebrating 3 years this year. I let the class know about our team and have been amazed (but not really) at the outpouring of support and team sign ups.

Our classmate Mary put it best: “This is just the cause to rally our class. It breaks my heart when I think of what Cindy has been through, and it reminds me of how lucky I am, and how short life is. We should make this our time to get together, and remember what is important in our lives.”

I think that sums it up just perfectly.

Be A Part of It:

• Of Bones and Breast Cancer
• Our Race for the Cure team web site
  

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