We’ve all heard someone speak of someone being "big-hearted", or "having a lot of heart". Those are good things. Having a truly big heart (as in enlarged) is not a good thing. Patients who have abnormally large hearts don’t generally have a nice big, strong heart. They usually have weak, flabby, stretched out of shape […]
Author Archives: Doc
Oh, my sacro-iliac! It’s where your pelvis joins to your back-bone — pretty much where your top is hooked to your bottom. Nobody ever uses that term anymore. They call it the "S-I Joint". I think that’s because saying "sacro-iliac" conjures up images of Jimmy Durante and vaudeville. It is a pretty darn funny-sounding word. […]
People often say that you can’t be a "little bit pregnant". Either you are or you aren’t. When we’re talking dogs and cats we’ve got a little more of a gray area, and some areas are grayer than others. First of all, they have multiple offspring, aka "litters". So, in that respect, you could be […]
If you had a cancerous lump you’d probably want to have it cut off. As long as we’re cutting it off, I suppose we might as well get it all, shouldn’t we? Makes sense to me… only… how do we know how much to cut off? Everybody has rules to live by. Some are sensible, […]
When I was a Troop Guide in Wood Badge Course C-12-04, my patrol had a number of "Eclectic Ecstatic Eagles". One of them will receive his beads tonight in Fenton, Missouri, so I’m off to see the culmination of the journey we started together. Lots of driving for a short ceremony, but you gotta do […]
There comes a time in a young veterinarian’s education when he (or she) realizes that his idea of normal conversation has become somewhat deranged. When you’re in class six days a week, from 7:30 AM until 5:30 PM, and in the library until 11:00 or so, and everybody you see is a fellow veterinary student […]
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Most people hear this question in conjunction with the announcement that some couple has a new baby. In the early seventies, being one of the first guys with long hair in redneck-ville would get you the same question. Reminds me of my favorite line from "Easy Rider": "Looks […]
Old Yeller Alert You may remember Checkers from my post on chemotherapy. He was the poster boy and his success inspired a number of pet-owners to treat their buddy’s cancer instead of just throwing in the towel. Today, Checkers finally threw in the towel. I first met Checkers in August of 1998. He was a […]
Which should not be confused with Oliver Hardy’s stand-by, "Another Fine Mess". We had a fun campfire last night at Camp Lewallen. Temp dropped into the thirties, which makes for good sleeping if you’ve got enough sleeping bag, and I did. "Hey, Doc, have you ever slept cold out on the trail?" "Nope, never have…I’ve […]
Actually, it’s a beautiful day for anything (except duck-hunting, where you want it to be cold, dark, and raining — what a great hobby!). The sunshine is great after a few days of rain to test the new roof on the the clinic. The new roof works great, and I’m glad it’s on the building. […]