I recently had the pleasure of lecturing on veterinarian/client communication skills at the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA) annual conference. Dr. Doug Knueven, a holistic veterinarian (combines Eastern and Western medicine) in Beaver, Pennsylvania was the conference coordinator. Much to my delight, Dr. Knueven has graciously offered to provide you with some pearls from the conference. [More]

Heads up everyone! This Saturday, September 17th is Puppy Mill Awareness Day. I’ve spent plenty of time on my soapbox in an uproar about puppy mills and I will continue to do so until I no longer have to witness the physical maladies, behavioral nightmares, and broken hearts created by those who profit from the mass production of puppies. [More]

I refer to my last week at work as the “Murphy and Ruska Show” in honor of two delightful patients who arrived at my doorstep one day apart, each with a life-threatening disorder called pneumothorax. “Pneumo” means air and “thorax” refers to the chest cavity, so “pneumothorax” is air within the chest cavity. [More]

Mark your calendar for Wednesday August 24th so you can watch the HBO documentary, Madonna of the Mills. I was able to preview the film and liked what I saw. The movie documents the passion of Laura Amato (the Madonna) on her forays into Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Her sole purpose for traveling into the heart of Amish country is the rescue of puppy mill dogs, specifically those who are “used up” (no longer capable of breeding) and slated to be destroyed. [More]

Nothing quite tickles my heart like stories conveying the human animal connection. Sometimes such stories put a big goofy grin on my face, and sometimes they cause my eyes and nose to become uncontrolled leaky faucets. Needless to say, I prefer the former to the latter! [More]