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You never forget your first patient.  This is the story of mine and how he shaped the rest of my career as a vet. The first three years of vet school you sit in lectures, watch others, and learn from the best and brightest vets in the world.  But it isn't until the fourth year that you actually see patients.  Of course, you are still a newbie at that point, so you have a resident doctor who oversees you, guides you, and points out your mistakes (hopefully) before you actually make them.

I was a newbie when I became Scout's vet 10 years ago. Her mom was a cool single lady who I always liked and Scout was a crazy young Golden. At some point through the years, she started bringing her boyfriend in and eventually, we added him to the chart when they married. She was so happy for me when I was pregnant during the visit when Scout ate a sock, and shared that she too was trying. At the visit when Scout got into some Aleve I noticed she started to have acne and looked bloated as she shared the "trying" wasn't working and they had started fertility drugs. After a few years, they began looking in to adoption. They would call for me to submit letters to adoption agencies that the dog was well behaved, Rabies vaccinated and they were responsible pet owners...

This is a cautionary tale about trusting Dr. Google instead of calling your trusted vet. Once upon a time there was a lovely lady who owned a lovely cat.  As they sat on their lovely sofa watching what I can only guess was an episode of Lawrence Welk or the Golden Girls, the lovely lady was horrified to find a less than lovely parasite affixed to her precious cat.  A tick.  A big fat tick! Well after screaming and running around the sofa a few times, the lovely lady calmed down...

This Cat is Toast This is the story of what started out as a euthanasia. A Good Samaritan brought in a cat she found dragging both rear legs down her street. "Dr. Revel, you've got an ER in Room 2. Looks like an HBC." That's medical slang for "hit by car." Oh no! I walked in the room and introduced myself the client. I looked at my patient. A tiny little four pound gray tabby cat...