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Summer is winding down, and soon we’ll be able to enjoy cooler autumn weather. Along with the cooler weather comes the misconception that our pets no longer need their monthly flea and tick prevention.

Although it’s true that a lot of tick species are most active in the summer, there are some species of ticks that remain active in the fall in Illinois. Likewise, flea season in Illinois can last well into the winter. In fact, flea and tick infestations are most frequently encountered in September through November. Without the protection of monthly prevention, fleas and ticks can cause a variety of health issues for our pets.

Fleas

Our pets can get fleas from just about anywhere, including from other animals, outdoors, and even an indoor environment if the fleas hitch a ride from the outside on shoes. Fleas can cause itching and discomfort, and if your pet is allergic to fleas, they can develop flea allergy dermatitis. Flea allergy dermatitis causes intense itching, severe discomfort, hair loss, and secondary skin infections. In severe flea infestations, our pets can develop anemia secondary to blood loss from the fleas feeding. Finally, fleas also put our pets at risk for intestinal parasites called tapeworms, and Bartonella, a bacterial infection that may cause severe disease and require up to 6 weeks of treatment.

Ticks

Ticks can attach during walks, hikes, or any outdoor activity. This is especially true in wooded areas or places with tall grasses. Ticks can carry Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Anaplasmosis, and Babesiosis along with other bacterial and protozoal diseases. A variety of clinical signs can develop from these diseases, including swollen joints and lymph nodes, fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting. In severe cases, pets can develop heart and liver disease and kidney failure.

In addition to the health issues fleas and ticks cause for our pets, they can also infest your household. Clearing your household of these infestations can be labor-intensive, costly, and may take weeks to months to be fully effective.

So, as we approach the cooler months, keep your pets healthy and safe and resist the urge to skip that next monthly dose of their flea and tick prevention.

Dr. Jeanette Barragan

Photo by Tim Golder on Unsplash

Summer is here and full of celebrations, but these celebrations can induce high stress and anxiety in our pets! With fireworks ramping up, it is important to recognize the signs of anxiety and be prepared.  

Here are some tips on how to get through firework season:

Create a Safe Space

• Pets usually do better if they are not left home alone during fireworks events. This may not be possible, so creating a safe space is important!
• Keep windows, doors, and curtains closed to minimize the noise and light.
• Consider a white noise machine for the area they like to hide.
  • White noise or classical music is preferred over radio and TV as human voices or loud sounds can worsen anxiety.
  • “Through a Dog’s Ear” is a series of classical selections that has been shown to have calming effects on dogs. This is available on Spotify and Apple Music!
• Add pheromones (Feliway for cats and Adaptil for dogs) around the safe space.
  • Pheromones mimic the calming scent of the mother and have been found to decrease anxiety in cats and dogs.

Extra Exercise

• Play with their favorite toys or go on a longer walk to help tire them out.
• If possible, head out for the long walk before the sun sets.
• Double-check the fit of the collar and harness before going outside as the chances of loud noises scaring them off is much higher.

Encourage Hydration

• Fear makes dogs pant and summer is extra warm, so make sure to provide fresh water in multiple spots, particularly if they like to hide.

Calming Supplements and Sedatives

• If your pet has had bad reactions to fireworks or other noises in the past, reach out to discuss available supplements or sedatives to help keep them calm!

Signs of anxiety can include shaking, panting, drooling, excessive vocalizing, hiding, packing, and bolting. Escape attempts usually involve hiding in the home but the source of noise can be very confusing, so some dogs may want to escape to the outside. In fact, American pet advocacy groups point out that Independence Day is the busiest day of the year in shelters with pets getting lost or hurt. 

Tags and Microchips

• 1 in 3 pets go missing in their lifetime. Ensure they are wearing a collar tag and microchip with up-to-date information.
• Don’t know your pet’s unique microchip number? Check your veterinary or adoption paperwork or call a nearby shelter or veterinarian to have your pet scanned!
• If you do not know the brand of the microchip, visit the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Universal Pet Microchip Lookup to find the manufacturer so you can contact them to provide accurate contact information. 

And remember, firework debris can be present the morning after – and can be toxic! Watch out for debris and other items on the ground.

Lastly, Medical District Veterinary Clinic will be closed in observance of Independence Day on Monday, July 4, so please make sure to note the number and address to the closest emergency clinic.

We wish you and your beloved companions a happy and stress-free holiday!

Dr. Valbuena

As most of us start returning to normal (well, at least a “new” normal), a lot of us are starting to make plans for new adventures to new places. For those of you who want to take your furry family members, your first thoughts may be about what size carrier you will need, or if your pets will need something to calm their nerves. But first and foremost, you should familiarize with yourself with this website:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel

That’s because the almost every animal that crosses international borders needs approval from the federal government, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to be specific. Each nation on the planet has its own set of requirements for an animal to enter that country, and a USDA-certified veterinarian needs to sign off that your pet has met those requirements.

This process can be as simple as keeping a rabies vaccine up to date (Germany) or as complicated as sending blood samples across the globe to be tested for certain diseases well before their little paws get anywhere near the airport (South Africa). It can sometimes take months of preparation (Hawaii and Australia), or strict time frames that require multiple pet visits (England).

Luckily, all the doctors at the Medical District Veterinary Clinic have USDA certification to complete these health certificates, and we can help guide you through the process making sure you cat or dog can safely travel.

But there are a few things that we ask of you:

1. Notify our clinic as soon as you have any inclination that you may want to travel with your pet. This process is T-E-D-I-O-U-S, it takes a lot of our time to ensure that your pet has everything it needs, and especially if you have let your pet become overdue for vaccines, it can add months to prepare your pet for travel.
2. Understand that this can be costly. It takes a lot of people and time to ensure that your pet qualifies to travel. The bureaucracy can be very frustrating, but remember that it is in place to ensure the same transport for not only your pet, but for the public as a whole. Plus, some countries require tests that can cost several hundred dollars (Aloha, Hawaii and Australia!).
3. Plan to do some legwork on your own. Since COVID, the USDA APHIS office has gone digital in many ways. All paperwork has to be submitted electronically and then mailed back to you. That means you’ll have to provide a rabies certificate (if we haven’t vaccinated your pet) and a pre-paid shipping label in PDF form to be digitally submitted.

Finally, if all of this makes you go cross-eyed, there are companies that will help you through this whole process. They can make your life and ours a lot easier too.

Happy travels and, before I sign off, I’d like to say “Welcome!” to our new doctors, Dr. Valbuena, Dr. Barragan, and Dr. Calderon! I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to work with these exceptional veterinarians.

— Dr. Alyssa Kritzman

The Medical District Veterinary Clinic is excited to introduce Dr. Jeanette Barragan, who joins our practice on June 15. Dr. Barragan has lived on the southwest side of Chicago her whole life – except for the nine years she attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a bachelor’s degree in integrated biology, a minor in chemistry, and to earn her veterinary degree.

For the past two years she has practiced in a Naperville clinic, and she is looking forward to becoming part of the care team at the Medical District Veterinary Clinic.

“I have actually been bringing my own cats to the Medical District Veterinary Clinic since before I entered my veterinary studies,” she says. “I was always impressed by the friendly staff and the high standards of care the doctors provided.”

My focus as a practitioner is to provide outstanding preventative and medical care, and to develop lifelong relationships with my patients and their families.

Dr. Jeanette Barragan

The collaborative atmosphere of a multi-doctor practice will be a welcome change for Dr. Barragan, who has been the sole veterinarian at the clinic in Naperville. She’s also eager to see a more diverse clientele at the Harrison Street location, which will reflect the neighborhood she grew up in.

“My focus as a practitioner is to provide outstanding preventative and medical care, and to develop lifelong relationships with my patients and their families,” she says. “My goal is to build trust with pet owners by ensuring the best experience for them. That means offering a variety of treatment options and supporting my clients as they choose what’s right for their family.”

Dr. Barragan’s dream of becoming a veterinarian started when she was just a child. As she pursued this goal, she realized that community outreach and serving pet owners without access to quality veterinary care was something she wanted to incorporate into her professional life. She also hopes to get involved at animal shelters in her time away from the clinic.

Her own pet family currently consists of three cats: Mia, Finn, and Dory. “Of course, I love caring for all dogs and cats, but I am partial to cats,” she admits.

After two long years of this pandemic, we still do not know much about pets and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), but over the last few months I have learned a lot. I am writing this blog as I am isolated in my basement with COVID-19. I am thankful for the protection I have received from vaccines as I am only experiencing very mild signs.

Transmission

We believe that transmission to pets is from contact with a positive human within the household. Transmission from pets to humans is considered extremely low. Due to the risk of transmission to pets, the CDC recommend avoiding close contact with pets if you are ill. The occurrence of severe illness in pets is rare, but transmission is possible. Pets presumed positive should remain isolated from other pets until clinical signs have resolved.

Clinical Signs

It is important to remember this is a human pandemic. We know that by comparing the large number of human cases of COVID 19 and the very few cases documented in pets.

I truly believe that most pets do not acquire the virus. If they do, they are typically asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms. The clinical signs I observed in these presumptive positive cases were upper respiratory signs: nasal congestion, sneezing, reverse sneezing, and gag-like cough. These signs were odd and did not fit with classic tracheobronchitis (canine cough). When I examined these dogs, they did not cough when I touched their neck to palpate their trachea, which is the typical response during a physical exam when the patient has classic canine cough.

We have seen patients with clinical signs suspected to be secondary to SARS-CoV-2 in the past 2 to 4 weeks.

Treatment

Unfortunately, there is no approved or documented treatment for COVID in dogs or cats, but in most cases, they do not need treatment. For those pets with more severe clinical signs, I have found that corticosteroids seem to provide the most relief. The brachycephalic breeds seem to have more nasal congestion and difficulty breathing. In these pets, I have started anti-inflammatory doses of steroids and they seem to respond well.

In a few of these cases, chronic rhinitis (irritation/swelling of the mucous membrane in the nose) and sneezing has lasted for weeks to months. Home care for pets is similar to home care for most human COVID-19 cases. The virus needs to run its course. Be sure your pets continue to eat and drink. You can also put the pets in the bathroom with the shower running; the warm humid air can be soothing for the upper airway.

Testing

SARS-CoV-2 testing is not widely available for dogs or cats, but most large veterinary laboratories are offering PCR testing. Antibody testing is not widely available at present. If you feel you dog or cat has signs of SARS-CoV-2 after exposure to an infected person, I recommend contacting your veterinarian.

If you are a client at Medical District Veterinary Clinic, feel free to reach out to me and I may be able to assist in testing as I am collaborating with Dr. Ying Fang, a virologist, at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.

– Dr. Drew Sullivan

Should I go to veterinary school? Although there’s no right or wrong answer, if it’s something that you’ve always dreamed about, if you have passion and drive and can’t see yourself doing anything else because that is the one thing you’ve always wanted to do since you were little, then the answer is ABSOLUTELY.

Yes, it will be hard. Yes, it will be exhausting at times. And yes, you will have to give it your absolute all, but I promise that after all of that hard work, it will be one of your proudest moments when you finally say, “I did it, I AM a veterinarian.”

School, School, and More School

Now, of course, having passion and drive is great, but how do you really get there? Well, if I count the number of years that I have spent in school (starting from my very first day in kindergarten; yes, that counts too!), it would be about 4/5ths of my life. To be exact, I have spent 22 years at an educational institution of some sort.

Supe que quería ser veterinaria desde muy joven, por eso decidí asistir a la Escuela Secundaria de Ciencias Agricultural de Chicago.

Dra. Angélica Calderón

Let’s take this way back. Now that you got through elementary school and graduated high school, you need to go to college and complete various prerequisites needed for veterinary school. (Prerequisites include the dreaded subjects of physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, anatomy, and biochemistry, just to name a few). Every veterinary school is different so it is important to keep up with the admissions websites and keep track of what is required for their application process.

There is no specific major required, as long as all of the prerequisites for the veterinary school you are applying to are met. And finally, the GRE—the Graduate Record Examination—is required for most veterinary schools. The GRE tests students on verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills.

Although getting good grades is very important and obtaining a high GRE score will certainly be very appealing to the admissions committee, the application process entails much more.

Grades Aren’t Everything

Yes, you heard that right. Let’s just say that you don’t have to be #1 in your class to get into veterinary school. During the application process, experience, extracurricular activities, and most important letters of recommendations are aspects that can be of great value. It is very important to start working on these parts of the application very early.

I knew that I wanted to be a veterinarian at a very young age. That is why I decided to attend the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Did you know they have one of the last standing farms in Chicago? I was fortunate enough to take animal science at CHSAS for two years and even attended veterinary camp at Michigan State University with my class. My animal science teacher was actually a U of I veterinary graduate, and she wrote one of my letters of recommendation.

During my time in college at the University of Illinois-Chicago, I was part of a club called ASB (Alternative Spring Break), where we traveled to various states and participated in volunteer projects. I traveled to Kentucky on two separate occasions. The first trip was to Independence, Ky., where I worked with the Milestones Equestrian Achievement Program. There I learned and cared for their horses and assisted in their equestrian program. The second trip was to Mammoth Cave, Ky., where I was able to cave dive and count bats as they were undergoing a bottleneck due to poor water conditions from local landfills. I was also able to test the water from various caves and educate elementary school students on the importance of keeping local waters clean, as water quality has a big impact on local animal populations.

My favorite trip was to Emerald Coast Zoo in Crestwood, Fla., where I was able to help a very passionate family restore an old zoo they had purchased. During my time at UIC, I also worked at Archer Animal Hospital for two years where I had various duties, as I was one of only two employees in the whole clinic. Working alongside Dr. Vinu made my passion for veterinary medicine even greater.

As you can see it is important to start early, not only with the educational requirements for veterinary school but also with animal experiences and resources for letters of recommendation. In high school I was able to get farm animal experience, during college I was able to get exotic animal experience, and while working as a veterinary assistant I was able to get small animal experience. All of these experiences also led me to great resources for letters of recommendation.

Finally Got into Veterinary School!!! Now what?

If that sounded hard and complicated, well, that was the easy part.

You got into veterinary school. Congratulations! Now things are going to get interesting. Different schools have different curriculums, but I’ll talk about my experience. First year was quite tough for me. It was a new experience being away from home and there was so much information to absorb.

First year consisted of learning the “normals” for various species, second year consisted of learning the “abnormals” of various species, and third year was clinical applications and putting the big picture together.

Not only did we have to learn anatomy, physiology, neurology, pharmacology, oncology, ophthalmology, and all the other “ology’s” you can think of, but we had to learn them for various species. That not only included cats and dogs, but also horses, cows, chickens, other farm animals, exotic animals like reptiles, guinea pigs, rabbits, pet birds, etc.

Fourth year was my favorite year in veterinary school, apart from having to take the NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Exam), which is the veterinary national boards exam required to get licensed to practice veterinary medicine. Things finally made sense and I was putting all of my hard work into practice. Everything that I had studied and learned paid off, and it was the best feeling ever. I was finally a veterinarian.

A Beautiful Career

I always knew that I wanted to work in small animal primary care, which is why I decided to start working after graduation. However, that’s not the case for everyone. Some of my classmates have a passion for exotic animals or want to specialize after graduation. That calls for additional schooling. Not only do they have to do a rotating internship, but they also have to do a three-year residency and take another board exam to become a specialist. That’s another 4+ years of school, but I won’t get into those details.

Veterinary medicine is a very beautiful and rewarding career. It takes a lot of work, motivation, passion and drive to get to the finish line, but with the right mindset, anything can be accomplished.

– Dr. Angelica Calderon

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February is National Pet Dental Health Month, an annual reminder of how important dental health is in our pets. I personally love dentistry, so this month is a mini celebration for me! Dental disease is very common in dogs and cats. In fact, it is one of the most common conditions we treat in our patients. Fortunately, there is a lot that can be done to help maintain the dental health of your pets.

Around 85% of pets have periodontal disease, which is disease around the outside of the tooth. The way to prevent periodontal disease in pets is the same approach used for people: home dental care and professional cleanings. The goals of home dental care are to remove plaque from teeth and bacteria from the mouth. Without regular home dental care, the plaque on the teeth will mineralize. Eventually plaque becomes tartar, which is the hardened, solid material on the teeth. If your pet has tartar on her teeth, it will tend to have a brown/black color. The heaviest amount is seen on the back teeth.

As the tartar (also known as calculus) accumulates in the space around the tooth, inflammation and infection can develop. Ultimately there will be damage to the attachment of the tooth. By this stage, you will see redness and swelling of the gums around the teeth. You may even notice a tooth is loose. Once this occurs, a professional dental cleaning is necessary to address these teeth. Without a cleaning, the periodontal disease will continue to worsen.

The bacteria in the mouth can also affect other parts of the body, and may even lead to infection in the heart, liver, and kidneys. That is why it is vital to address any periodontal disease your pet has: this is not only a dental issue.

I hope by now I have convinced you that the dental health of your pet is an essential aspect of their health, and that you’re super excited to start your pet’s home dental routine! There are various home dental care options and below are examples you can try with your pet:

• Brushing the teeth
• Dental wipes, rinses, and pads
• Dental diets and treats

I recommend using products that are approved by The Veterinary Oral Health Council. Please visit the following website for a list of products that they have approved. Contact us if you have any questions about these home dental care options and products.

Practicing regular home dental care also helps you identify dental problems such as fractured teeth or masses in the mouth. It is a good idea to make a practice of opening your pet’s mouth and looking inside from the time your pet is young, so it becomes a comfortable process for you both.

Now onto part two, which is the professional cleaning. The type of cleaning we perform for your pet is very similar to what is done when you go to the dentist for your regular checkups, except general anesthesia is necessary with dog and cats for us to fully examine the teeth and gums and determine what treatments are necessary. Even with routine home dental care, a cleaning will eventually be needed, but the hope is that cleanings will be needed less often. A veterinarian can determine whether a dental is necessary during a regular health examination of your pet.

I recommend visiting the following website, which has a handout that discusses what the procedure involves in more detail. Please contact us if you have any further questions about the dental procedure or if you are interested in having a dental performed for your pet.

Amber Slaughter, DVM

The sprawling earth-warming record-breaking green Christmas of 50-degree weather and rainstorms once again fills us with nostalgia at this time of year.

Ice-cold eggnog and air conditioners whir to the crash of Christmas trees being brought down by your pandemic puppy’s first attempt to eat ornaments, your Aunt’s novelty gift of “football”-scented candles exude hints of leather and burning bushy cattails, and, of course, OF COURSE, your hypothetical 7-year-old son (who seems to only like the first bite of $15 pastries) has fed the tenth hypothetical chocolate Santa to his hypothetical best-friend dog, which is now hypothetically a zombie from the amount of hypothetical grapes, coffee, ant traps, and chocolate-based gifts he has hypothetically ingested by way of one’s hypothetical son.

And with this picture painted, I bring to you again another uplifting Spirit of the Holiday bummer blog post about EMERGENCIES and fear-based cheer and goodwill.

To ER, or not to ER?

Yes, you know that this time can be stressful for some. And despite my oddly disproportionate love of the holiday season that brings a 300X increase in workload and overall Things That Need to BE DONE RIGHT NOW, I never tire of holiday puppets playing jug band music as a soundtrack to the slew of catastrophic pet events that seem to dominate my life via a 24/7 stream of strangers reaching out to me because their cousin’s cryptocurrency dealer’s previous neighbor once brought their cat to see me in 2019 for a wellness exam and they heard that I would help.

And because this is my last blog post before my departure to the ER world, I also wish you all goodbye and thanks for everything.

Dr. Brett Grossman

And the question always comes down to a form of this: My dog/cat just did something to my something and is either acting undefinably weird, is sleeping, has blood pouring out of their eyeballs, or possibly coughed once.

Should I go to the ER right now despite having to meet my Anti-Vax Uncle from North Carolina at the airport in one hour? Or can I wait until next week when I will have more time?

So what is an Emergency and when should you act? And after I say you should go to the ER, when should you actually listen to me and when should you google to find out why seizures are normal for adult dogs staring at Christmas trees?

Listen to Your Veterinarian

First, I cannot know if anything is an emergency without evaluation. If you think your cat or dog is not doing well, is suffering, or if you need evaluation by a doctor to be able to enjoy said Anti-Vax Uncle’s visit, then just go to the ER. You don’t have to be afraid. Most ERs are equipped to deal with nervous dogs, cats, and people. The wait may be long, but that’s because there are 600 people on your block alone going through the same thing right now. So just go and treat your ER staff nicely.

Second, listen to your vet. I may have some bias, but we have families, pets, and a full schedule too. We have already squeezed in 10 people this morning, so even if you only want to see a particular doctor, if we tell you to go to an ER it’s not because we don’t care. It may be because we cannot give the treatment that your pet deserves given the schedule and our brain’s load of, honestly, dying and sick patients. If Sir Puggle Wuggle may have swallowed your friend’s custom-made Run-DMC Christmas ornament and is doing fine and you want to be seen, going to ER may be the only option.

So. What Is an Emergency?

1. Anything your regular trusted vet tells you is an emergency. (Don’t try to out-google-smart them to get the answer you want.)
2. If your animal is in pain: Crying, screaming, cannot get comfortable.
3. If your animal is non-responsive: Won’t get up, won’t wag its tail, won’t respond to things it normally responds to.
4. If your animal ingested a known toxin: Anti-freeze, chocolate, rat bait, a whole bottle of CBD chews that your sweet Anti-Vax Uncle brought you and then left on the table, Tylenol, an overdose of prescribe medication such as insulin or anti-inflammatories. You can always call the ASPCA poison control hotline for advice: (888) 426-4435
5. If your animal is unable to breathe correctly: Wheezing, panting, congested, is turning blue.
6. If your animal is bleeding from somewhere, and it will not stop.
7. If your animal is having active seizures.
8. If your animal is uncontrollably anxious and you can’t figure out why.
9. If your animal has a broken bone, was hit by a car, suffered an extreme trauma like burn, severe cold, attack by a dog/coyote/Anti-Vax Uncle.
10. If your animal cannot go to the bathroom (not hasn’t gone to the bathroom, but is trying and cannot).
11. If your animal has GI distress: Vomiting non-stop, having non-stop diarrhea, not eating for days in a row.
12. And, as a general rule, if you are freaking out because something is not right and you know your pet better than anyone else and you just know something is wrong. (This is valid.)

No One Likes a Holiday Tragedy

In these cases, and other select cases I didn’t think to mention, you can call and ask. But just plan on going to the ER.

I say this while acknowledging that not everyone can afford a visit to the ER, but don’t fear a $10,000 bill. Some things are the same price as a visit with us. Making a dog vomit up a Run-DMC ornament won’t be a life-altering expense, but waiting for the Run-DMC ornament to pass, it getting stuck, and needing a life-saving surgery in 2 days may be. It’s Like That and It’s Tricky.

I also realize that if you are home alone with a child at 2 am, you cannot always run somewhere and take care of it, but, sometimes, the alternative is to explain to an awake child something worse about Sir Puggle Wuggle, and then we are entering every Holiday Tragedy movie about angels in heaven, and I don’t like these movies at all. Nope.

What Isn’t an Emergency?

Note: Do not avoid going to the ER because of this list and blame me for it, but these are common things people call about that don’t require immediate attention.

Your animal is generally doing alright, happy and alert, but:

1. Your animal hasn’t eaten today.
2. Your animal had some loose stool (even a little blood in it).
3. Your animal vomited twice this month.
4. You think your animal may be losing weight.
5. Your animal seems to be favoring one leg but is not in terrible pain.
6. Your animal sneezed or coughed.
7. Your animal has some discharge from the nose or eyes.
8. Your animal didn’t go to the bathroom today.
9. Your animal is scratching, you saw fleas, you found a tick and got it off.
10. You saw some worms in your animal’s feces.
11. Your friend/uncle’s dog just died of cancer and you are worried that your animal has it.

There are countless more. I’m not saying that these things aren’t worthy of being addressed. And of course if any of these things causes discomfort, pain, or anxiety on your part, going to the ER is not wrong. I’m just saying these things do not require immediate attention on Christmas Eve (or as we one-eighth Jewish Canadians refer to as “Justin Trudeau’s birthday eve”).

My Hopes and Wishes for You

I can totally follow a scenario where you keep your animal at home and monitor and one of these non-emergencies turns into one. But for now, there are plenty of OTC fixes that we can recommend to help before an ER visit is needed.

So, I hope all your holiday plans go seamlessly well without trauma or tragedy. I hope your new year is safe and fun.

And because this is my last blog post before my departure to the ER world, I also wish you all goodbye and thanks for everything.

Vaccinate, stay safe, and please read this book and become the tree you deserve to be.

Brett Grossman, DVM