Tonight is the full moon (the “Buck Moon”)…
Give your monthly preventatives!
Note: If you have another way to remember to give your preventatives, that’s okay too! Do what works for you. I thought it might be fun for us to all give it together.
I am writing this the day after we tabled at PRIDE in Providence. This is something I have always wanted to do and my team, especially Coty and Leah, worked hard to make it happen. This week Fr Richard Rohr has been writing on JOY. It is one of the three daily readings that I open every morning before my own prayers and meditation. You can find a link to the week’s writings HERE.
JOY was palpable at the PRIDE celebration. I’m not an extrovert, but my daughter Sarah was GREAT at the table, asking each person if they had dogs or cats and handing out treats and stickers. It was fantastic to see all the costumes and to spend some time in a joyful, celebratory space. (I passed on the phallic candles with the strategically placed wicks.) For me, it was life giving. I left energized and so glad I could support this community. I am trying to participate in more life-giving activities, where I give from my overflowing cup rather than because I “should” or because I feel obligated.
June has been a whirlwind of activities, sports banquets, my graduation, Carter’s graduation, Carter’s college orientation at UMAINE. In just a few days I am in Nashville for a four day veterinary conference. I will bring home the latest and greatest veterinary information to share with my team and my patients. I’ll meet my cousin there. She is my body double and a cancer survivor and we will spend a day together in Nashville before the conference begins. She and I share so many memories of my maternal grandmother who was a real character. Grandma cussed like a sailor and could fix anything from roofs to water heaters. She rented out several houses in La Grange, Georgia and sometimes took her rent payment in the form of government issued cheese. Once she made about 200 popcorn balls for an event at her church, got the date confused and we got to eat all of them. It might have been the happiest couple days of my entire childhood! We have caramel creams leftover from PRIDE if your sweet tooth is as big as mine. We are happy to share!
What’s new at the animal hospital?
We did a resection and anastomosis. Another young dog ate something stupid, in this case a sock, and it made it ALMOST all the way to the colon. Once a foreign body is in the colon you can almost always leave it there because they almost always poop it out. This was unfortunately stuck at the junction of the jejunum and ileum. Those are the two more distal portions of the small intestine. The tissue there had started to die because of the pressure of the sock. It was black and necrotic, so I removed the sock and the portion of the damaged intestine. Then I put the undamaged ends back together. Apologies and thanks to the two clients whose appointments had to be rescheduled to allow us to do this surgery late on a Friday afternoon and kudos to Sydnee, who just graduated from veterinary technician school, for a GREAT job with anesthesia and recovery and for being willing to stay late on a Friday afternoon!!! Kudos to Missy for recognizing this dog had a problem and getting her in immediately. Kudos to Krysta for cleaning and autoclaving the four packs we used on Wednesday’s surgeries so we were ready to go immediately without having to wait for clean packs. And Kudos to Coty for ordering everything we need at the hospital and having it at our fingertips when it’s needed. It really does take a village to turn off a successful surgery. Go team!!!
As of this morning (Sunday) my patient is back to eating.
One book I have read since the last full moon and can recommend is:
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine! By Gail Honeyman
Happy reading!
Happy Summer!
Enjoy the beach but don’t leave any pets in the hot car!
Happy full moon gazing!
Remember your monthly heartworm and/or flea and tick prevention!
– Dana