Category Archives: General

Over-the-Counter Medications for Pets – Part 2 of 3

This is a continuation of Part 1 which can be found here. Please read that post first. I’m also supposed to tell you that paid links in this post help to support this blog. I also need to buy chocolate, so help a girl out! Anti-histamines When it comes to anti-histamines, you have to beContinue reading “Over-the-Counter Medications for Pets – Part 2 of 3”

Over-the-Counter Medications for Pets – Part 1 of 3

My last post discussed pet medications and how to best communicate with your vet about whatever your pet may be taking, especially in an emergency. I had mentioned that it isn’t a good idea to give an over-the-counter medication for people to your pet without speaking to your vet first. Sometimes your vet WILL tellContinue reading “Over-the-Counter Medications for Pets – Part 1 of 3”

What Medications Does He Take?

Have you ever had this conversation as you’re trying to get a history from a client? “What medications does Rocky take?” “Oh he’s just on a vitamin.” “Which vitamin is that?” “Oh, you know. The one in the brown bottle.” “Do you know the name of it?” “It’s… Life Gold. Is that a good one?”Continue reading “What Medications Does He Take?”

Please Stop Calling Poison Control

I wanted to elaborate on some thoughts that I put on Twitter earlier this week. First, here is the incident that prompted this: I had an 8-month-old, roughly 30 pound dog come into the ER after she ate a lot of raisins about an hour and a half ago. Raisins are toxic to dogs –Continue reading “Please Stop Calling Poison Control”

When the Doctor is Sick

We are halfway through Memorial Day weekend right now and I just finished my last shift: today is the first of four days off in a row. Why do I feel so exhausted? Emergency work is hard. Doctors and support staff work long days, often several in a row. We put our best in becauseContinue reading “When the Doctor is Sick”

The Schedule of an ER Doc

I’ve been a bit quieter for the past few days, both here and on Twitter. That’s because I just started a run of 5 ER shifts in a row as of today. To make this feasible, I had to make sure I had the rest of my domestic life in order before jumping in forContinue reading “The Schedule of an ER Doc”

The Most Common Cause of Emergency Visits

Dogs are notorious for eating crazy inappropriate things. Whether it’s just a gross snack like rabbit or deer droppings, a dip into the garbage can, or pieces of their once favorite toy, chances are that some dog out there has tried to eat it. I doubt that this is truly the most common cause ofContinue reading “The Most Common Cause of Emergency Visits”