A Living Exhibit

A couple months ago I saw this video with Dr. Fitzgerald of Animal Planet's Emergency Vet's fame touring the Smithsonian's new mobile exhibit on Veterinary Medicine.

It looked *awesome*, but I couldn't find a list of tour dates and was worried it would skip us here in the Smithsonian's home town - Washington DC.

I was really excited when I found out it would be right next to the natural history museum. When I tweeted for details, they told me they were looking for real life veterinarians to bring the topic to life by volunteering in the exhibit and answering questions about what it is like to be a vet.

Who could resist *being* the most interactive part of an exhibit?

I had a blast. Everyone had great questions and stories to tell about their pets.

Near the wall featuring x-rays of pets who swallowed everything from padlocks to chess pieces, many families shared the crazy items ingested by the animals that they had at home. Along the wall featuring tools used in large animal medicine, I got to explain why we make cows to swallow large magnets.

I saw one boy's eyes get big when he touched the large teeth marks in a ball that used to be a tiger's favorite plaything. Unfortunately, I did have to let a little girl down when I told her that no, I had not personally worked on dolphins, but she perked up when she learned I did know a vet who worked with elephants.

The exhibit was well done. They had 5 main sections (pets at home, large animal medicine, zoo medicine, wildlife, and in the veterinary clinic) and all of them let you touch, explore, and experiment.

One game showed you which pets would be best for you, another how to balance a cow's diet for maximum milk production, and another on how to target train a snake.

Arguably the most fun part of the exhibit was a interactive game that put you in the veterinarian's shoes and let you diagnose what is wrong with a dog, pig, or cheetah.

Like all Smithsonian exhibits, admission is FREE. While the AVMA and Zoetis are supporting this exhibit, they are still raising money for the 2014 tour. They'll have an official a list of tour dates when that's complete. If it's coming your way, you've got to check it out.

I'll try and post here when the list of tour dates comes out!

Perspective Changing Book - The Mount by Carol Emshwiller

What is it like to be an underestimated domesticated species?

This fascinating science fiction book gives you a little better idea of what it might be like to be a horse or a dog.

Domesticated by an invading alien species humans deal with conflicting desires for loyalty and freedom.

With a great story line, this is an intriguing and thought provoking read for any animal lover.

Check out The Mount by Carol Emshwiller

3 Steps to Choosing the Perfect Pet Sitter

1. Get References

Ask animal professionals like your veterinarian, groomer, or animal trainer which pet sitters they recommend. Not only can they tell you who they like working with, but they can give you a better idea than friends or family which pet sitters have genuine skill handling animals.

Any pet sitter should provide you with a list of client references upon request.

When I was looking for Riley's dog walker, I was impressed by the veterinary recommendations I got for Everything and the Dog, the group we eventually hired.

2. Get Personal

All professional pet sitters should insist on a meet and greet before they sign on. Many will offer this free of charge but sometimes there is a nominal fee.

Every pet and every pet sitter are different. You can't tell if it's a good match without a first date!

Pet sitters should want to know what makes your pet unique.

What do they like or hate? What are their daily routines? Does your pet have specific fears? A great pet sitter should get to know your pet personally and not treat them as just another dog or another cat.

3. Find a Professional

You get what you pay for. It might seem easier and less expensive just to hire the kid from next door, but you could be setting yourself up to pay a lot more in the long run.

This is what a professional pet sitter can give you that your neighbor can't:

I - Financial Protection

A professional pet sitter should be able to provide you with written proof that they are insured and bonded.

A company that is bonded is putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to their employee's honesty. You are covered in the event that anything is stolen from your home.

Pet sitters are insured in case your pet injures someone or in case anything happen to your home while they are pet sitting for you.

You want to make sure they have care, custody, and control insurance as well. This makes sure your pet and property within your home are protected against injury.

Say the neighborhood kid forgot to put Fluffy in her cage and she ate your entertainment center. You're out of luck financially, but you would have been covered if you had a pet sitter with care, custody, and control insurance.

A good pet sitting organization will also provide criminal background checks on their employees so you can be sure no unsavory characters are coming into your home.

The Pet Sitter International Pet Sitter Locator helps you locate professional pet sitters in your area and show you whether pet sitters are insured, bonded, background checked, even if they have pet first aid experience.

II - Expertise

Professional pet sitters have more animal handling experience and many have veterinary experience too. Ask your prospective professional pet sitter about their expertise.

When my dog Riley started having seizures at the end of his walks, it meant the world to me that our professional dog walker, Kim, knew exactly what to do.

Professional pet sitters should be easy to work with, set clear expectations for you and their pet sitters, and know what to do in the event of emergencies.

Pet Sitters International has a great list of interview questions for pet sitters to help you make sure this is the case.

Membership and certification by a professional pet sitting organization shows the pet sitter is committed to providing excellent service.

Pet Sitters International has a Certified Professional Pet Sitter (CPPS) Certification program and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters has a certification program too.

Both require the pet sitters to pursue continuing education in pet health and wellness so they can provide excellent care for your pets.

After speaking at the Pet Sitters International conference, I cannot recommend this excellent group of people enough. Learn more about this great organization in my blog entry "Is Your Pet Sitter a PSI Pet Sitter?"

So remember: If you want to find the perfect pet sitter just remember 1) request references, 2) get personal, and 3) make sure you hire a professional!

You can learn more at the websites below:

Find the Right Pet Sitter for You and Your Pets - Pet Sitters International

Choosing a Pet Sitter - The Humane Society

9 Tips for Hiring a Pet Sitter - Veterinary Pet Insurance

World Changing Book - Do You Believe in Magic by Dr. Paul A Offit

This book is the package insert that should come with any alternative medicine treatment. 

A must read for any medical professional today. 

Don't misunderstand, the book discusses the potential and sometimes scientifically validated benefits of some alternative therapies. However, like any form of treatment there are always benefits AND risks. 

Even as the holistic veterinarian I work with knows, just because something is called "natural" doesn't make it safe. 

As this book describes, just because something was the way people did things for a long time doesn't mean it was the right way to do things. He cites statistics that less than 18% of Chinese rely on alternative therapies, and acupuncture is almost exclusively used by the rural poor. 

Any treatment should not be based on whether it is "natural" or whether it is ancient but on its own merits - what are its risks and does it work or not?

The book describes what big business alternative medicine is, what lobbyists they have to support them, and what tools they use to prey on the vulnerable - especially individuals with cancer and parents with sick or autistic children. He describes clear set of guidelines for when alternative medicine has crossed the line from something "probably not harmful" into true exploitation. 

He talks quite a bit about supplements specifically and especially how the 1994 supplement act has crippled the FDA's power to protect us. 

Since the FDA cannot require safety studies, cannot recall products, cannot require label changes, or require the company give warnings about product dangers, the FDA has *less* ability to protect us from supplements than they can protect us from unsafe foods. 

He describes the system that so often drives patients to alternative therapies. He suggests that one of the biggest draws of alternative practitioners is their ability to comfort patients and make them feel like they are getting individualized care in a medical system that feels ever more like an assembly line. 

We have to remember to be healers of people not just of diseases. 

He also talks about the very real power of the placebo effect and how we might harness that power to help people without exposing them to the potential risks of some alternative therapies. 

An absolutely compelling book and vital for anyone willing to know the whole story about alternative medicine. 

Worlds Vets Textbook Drive

Earlier this year after seeing these great videos (here and here) by Dr. V of Pawcurious and Dr. Andy Roark I went to our local veterinary medical association to organize our own local textbook drive.

These books help World Vets, an organization that provides veterinary relief across the world. Anyone can help this organization, even if you don't have veterinary textbooks, by volunteering or donating needed supplies.

I worked with our local veterinary medical association president on the project. We found that it was fun, easier than we expected, and brought together our local community of veterinarians.

Here's what we did:

1 month prior: Faxed flyer to all practices in our local veterinary association telling them about the book drive and discussed it at our monthly meeting.

1 week prior: Called hospitals and asked if they had any books to donate and reminded them when we were coming to pick up books. About half the hospitals we called were still unsure whether they were donating, but the phone call reminded them to check with their doctors.

If they did not have any books to donate, we told them we would repeat the drive next year and to hang onto any unneeded books in the future.

1 day prior: Called hospitals that were not sure if they had books to donate. Set up final pick up schedule.

Day of Pick Up: Drove to hospitals and picked up books. Boxed them in banker's boxes (file size boxes available at most office supply stores) and shipped. Many shipping companies give discounts if all your boxes are the same size, and these boxes are perfectly sized for textbooks.

Zoetis Animal Health generously paid for shipping.

Overall it was a great experience.

If you're interested in running a drive yourself you can get more details at the World Vets Textbook Drive website.

Has anyone else run a similar drive? How did yours go? Were there any pitfalls you would avoid or any unique ideas that helped?

Animal Safety Pt. 3

Here is the next installment of the Animal Safety series. This document is adapted from the Pet Sitter Safety Handout I, Kim Fields, and Chris Wooten created. Learn more about what inspired this document in my blog The Complicated Contracts of Dog Walkers.

I have just learned I will be speaking at the Pet Sitters International conference in September in North Carolina on these topics.

Our last post (Animal Safety Pt. 2) discussed how to identify pets that are scared or agressive. In this installment we discuss how to safely handle scared or aggressive pets.

Animal Safety Pt. 2

This is the next installment in our animal safety series inspired by my mission to keep pet sitters safer on the job.

Animal Safety Part 1 talked about how to protect yourself from pet diseases. Below we will talk about how to identify scared or aggressive pets.

Animal Safety Pt. 1

I am proud to finally present Introductory Animal Safety.

This document is a labor of love, created over the past 8 months originally as a resource to help keep pet sitters safe.

You may remember my post in February, The Complicated Contracts of Dog Walkers, where I said I wanted to create training resources for new pet sitters to help them stay safe on the job.

Two excellent pet sitters, Chris Wooten of One of a Kind K9 and Kim Fields at Everything and the Dog generously gave of their time to make sure this document would be helpful to new pet sitters in their field.

I would also like to thank Lili Chin, Dr. Karen Overall, and Elsevier Publishing for making the animal behavior images in the document available for non-profit use.

Since I could not find any similar documents available through the two major pet sitting organizations I will also be sending this handout along to them in the hopes they can use it for their members.

Since this safety information is helpful for all pet lovers I will present it here too. It will be split into at least 3 posts. This first section focuses on how to avoid catching animal diseases:

Creating Vet-Loving Cats

I spoil my feline patients every chance I get. I absolutely adore cats but for a variety of reasons can’t have them at home.  So, I try to enjoy my kitty patients as much as possible.

It is not easy to earn a cat’s love, and it’s even harder as a vet. It seems that cats take longer to warm up to people to try to give them vaccines.  

Luckily, our veterinary profession is finding new ways to keep kitties happier at the vet.

My hospital just finished a handout for our clients about making their cats’ visits low-stress.  Here are some of the highlights: