As I write this on Ash Wednesday, Catholics of the world begin their celebration of Lent. During this 40-day period, people strive to become more aligned with divinity by giving up habits that distract them from pursuing their higher spiritual goals. As a child, the practice of giving up things...

Integrative veterinary oncology is a rapidly-growing field. Researching new techniques allows us to improve outcomes and options for both people and our beloved animal friends. [1] [2] [3] These advances are leading to expanded discussions about the ethics of treating cancer in animals.

The word "doctor" means "one who teaches," and we can tell how well we do this in our practices by simply looking in the waiting room. If doctors teach well, then people will understand their veterinary care and make wiser health choices, and that should translate into healthier patients. Caring,...

The harsh morning sun bore down on the primitive surface of the Earth. None rode their bicycles on that morning because vertebrate life had not yet appeared. The atmosphere was far from friendly. Some clutches of primitive bacteria clung to the surface of rocks and took steps to survive in...

In Adam Sandler's comedy film Grown Ups, a group of high school buddies spend some time together at a reunion. In one scene they find themselves in a swimming pool exposed for public urination by a "secret dye" in the water that turns blue when contacting human urine....

Humanity can be a strange group. Our cultures grow and fade, and our ability to access information improves only to be lost as a civilization falls. Important healing knowledge won over long generations of trial and error is being lost each day as elderly indigenous healers die without handing their...

Jack London is an incredible Alaskan Husky dog that suffers from a form of autoimmune disease, which results in his body attacking the skin of his nose. The condition can be difficult to manage in some dogs, but Jack responds well to a combination of tetracycline and a...

As I shook off sleep and rode off into the darkness at 5:00 this morning, I was struck with the same set of observations that I make each morning. My 53-year-old legs stretched, objected for a couple of moments and then began to sing with each turning of my bike's...

Freedom is beloved in our country. The Declaration of Independence recognized that each of us has inalienable rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And our founding fathers took that heartfelt belief and created our constitution, so we could live free, and in so doing improve the lot...

It was a tough day for a new veterinarian. I stepped out of the exam room and walked to my desk visibly upset. The senior partner of the three-doctor practice asked me what was wrong. Three times that morning a client had asked me if they should end their pet's...

People and veterinarians want to help keep their pets pain-free. According to both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Animal Hospital Association, which has strict hospital accreditation standards, managing pain is both an ethical and medical concern in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians promise to use their knowledge...

Surfers often rise before the sun and travel to their favorite locations in search of the perfect wave. Surfing is more than just a sport. It contains elements of physics and athletics, and many surfers experience a spiritual/mental awakening and love of nature as they achieve...

Many years ago I woke from fitful sleep. My mind churned. I could not get the image of my gentle, trusting client and her sweet golden retriever being abused by the New York, snake-oil salesman who called himself a veterinarian. The image occupied my mind at all hours of the...

As I watered my garden this morning and admired my green, red and black kale, I was struck by the simple importance of diversity. In the 1991 film, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," a small white-skinned, English peasant girl sees her first dark skinned Muslim and...

How do we know things? This question has been asked by scientists and philosophers for many years. In the case of medicine, we need to find the truth and apply it in ways that lead to improved health. That is our job. For many of us it is...

Wizard is a great cat. He's perfect in just about every way. If not for his troublesome difficulty with feline asthma and respiratory infections, he would hardly even need a veterinarian.

Since many cases of asthma are related to upsets and difficulties in the intestinal tract, we...

It was a glorious morning. As I returned from my 5 a.m. bike ride, the air was laden with jasmine and eucalyptus oil. The grass gave off a clean earthy aroma. As I bent down to greet our new Chihuahua puppy I couldn't help but smile as his little tongue...

Whisky, a seven year old cat suffering from chronic, recurring Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection, sat on our exam table looking near death. He came to us after several days of hospitalization and tests in another veterinary hospital where a well-trained, extremely competent veterinarian had done everything possible...

The medical record said simply, "Discuss condition," which didn't give me much of a clue why I was entering the exam room. The client, a sharply dressed professional woman who drove from Beverly Hills sat in the corner of the room. Her petite pug rested under her chair and sat...

My veterinary training did not include anything about the use of algae. To me algae was that slippery stuff that grew in ponds and which I loved to look at when studying cells as a child. Now scientists are very interested in algae. This "first food" may assist...