petdoctor

A Cornelia veterinarian explores rich memories of becoming a veterinarian, her veterinary education,and people and places along the way. Gain insights into the daily life of a small animal veterinarian in northeast Georgia.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Chasing Squirrels

Sometimes we just feel bad because our mouth hurts. I broke a tooth very recently, and Dr. Mark Barr did an emergency root canal to save my tooth & stop the pain. I seem to always be able to relate to how my patients feel, and this was the case with a particular beautiful and loving feline patient.

She was experiencing severe dental pain, and I cancelled my trip to New Mexico to stay in town & attempt to help her. It was a very involved case. I was quite concerned about how my senior patient had handled the stress of an extended anesthetic episode and oral surgery so I telephoned her owner the following morning. Much to my relief, it was reported that the feline in question had been outside chasing a squirrel.

I also felt great the day after my root canal; however, I left the squirrels alone.

Monday, June 11, 2007

The Pied Piper of Cornelia

Walking is a great form of exercise, and I feel cheated when I miss my evening walk. The walk literally flies by if someone is joining me. Even the solitary walks are very enjoyable because they are almost a form of meditation.

There are a lot of free roaming dogs on Tower Mountain. As I walk up the mountain, there are usually one to four dogs following at my heels. Most are very friendly, but there are one or two that have surprised me with their zeal to encourage me to be on my way. If threatened, I clasp & lift my hands high above my head to protect them because I could not practice veterinary medicine without my hands. Usually by twisting & turning my body (with hands lifted), I have eluded the snapping teeth at my thighs. These dogs are not to be blamed for this behavior, but the owners do need to know where their pets are roaming & what havoc they are up to. Do you know where your "children" are?