April 15 reflections

This is not a typical April 15 reflection that you might think it is. Sure the taxes are due, and this year we get a break and we don't have to have the forms postmarked until Monday.

But this April 15 happens to be my birthday. My 50th birthday.

And I have been happy about that. My plan for my life was so much different than what has happened the past 50 years, and I can not chronicle them all here. Yet I recall a few of them that - at the time - did not seem significant, yet as I look back, it is easy to see how God had a hand in this wonderful journey that He has had for me.

The first thing I recall is the challenge I had just to get into this elective class when I was in my last year and rotations in Veterinary school. It was not the class in medical photography, nor the one on soft tissue surgery, nor the ophthalmology rotation. It was a ballroom dance class that was off the veterinary school campus.

There was a 6 pm class, and it looked like a fun thing that my former non veterinary roommate (now graduate) and I had always talked about taking.
So I realized, this was my last chance. So I talked to the admissions folks at Veterinary school, and as long as it did not interfere with the rotations, that was fine. I talked to the Physical education college, and they said it was ok, as long as I got the approval of the instructor. I tried (over my limited lunch breaks) to run up and talk to the instructor, and each time the office hours were posted, when got to the office, Ms. Villacorta was not there. Two days later, I got a 30 minute break, and tried again, and unfortunately, she was not there again. I came back frustrated, and a classmate, Larry, encouraged me - Ray - try again - I can cover for you for 30 min this afternoon, and maybe you can catch the instructor at class. So I did, and met the instructor, and she asked if I could join this class - I told her no, with my 'other classes', so she allowed me to take the beginning ballroom dance class at 6 in the evening, even though classes had been going on for 1 week already. She had me come that first class and just observe. Of course, we end up with a sick case in the 'large animal' rotation, so I came in just at the time, with my clinic coveralls on. I am sure I looked like a total dork/ or hick. But it was interesting.

And in that class was where I met Kelly... my wife.

I am so greatful for the chance to meet her, and how God has put so many different opportunities in front of me, and how He has given me the courage and fortitude to take advantage to the opportunities. Just to name a few:
-worker at an animal ER clinic (before it was popularized on animal planet)
-moved to Milwaukee, and besides working there, was invited by our parish priest to be involved in the RCIA group. I learned more there than my sponsor did.
- start working as a 'relief' veterinarian in Milwaukee
- the birth of Natalie at St Luke in Milwaukee
- moving to Illinois to spend more time with extended family
- living in a home that truly have been a gift
- helping over 100 colleagues take a break from practice, and enjoy their own family time
- when the time came for something I had dreamed about back in veterinary school - it was time to own a practice, and the perfect practice became available.

I often think - why are we so scared of certain 'ages' we cross. I have not had that concern, and at first I was not sure why. Even when I was thinking about each of these different events, I had not thought - why not be scared/ remorseful, etc?

Then I realized why. On my dad's side, I have 3 cousins my same age. Michelle, Ramona, and Mickey.

Mic died in February 2009. He won't be celebrating a birthday this year with his earthly family. That makes me appreciate this birthday all the more.

Yet at the same time, I pray that he is celebrating his birthday this year with his parents and grandparents in heaven.

So I celebrate this birthday, and enjoy the thanks and fellowship of friends, pet owners, and colleagues who have been a part of my life, and helped me to become a better person. Thank you all for sharing your life with me.

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive,
it isn't."
- Richard Bach

Thinking about .... new year

I was thinking about the past year, and how greatful I am for so many things.

I am greatful for all of you who put up with my bad grammar. Hopefully, you can still get the message. :-)

The other thing I am truly greatful for is something I heard last year at this time, when talking about our habits.

How do you want your life to be different next year than it was this year? How was your life different this year than it was last year? If it is not, who have you blamed? ;-) (Matthew Kelly)

Our lives change when our habits change, and the person challenged us to thoughtfully consider making New Year resolutions that will change our life toward something different you want next year.

Pick one of these 6 areas and during the next 3 weeks, figure out something new to do to create that habit that will give you the life you want.
Look at
Your faith
Your family
your finances
Physical Health
Social Contribution
Ongoing education and vocation

These 6 areas are from Dave Durand's book "How to win the world without loosing your soul"

Pick something concrete to do, that is doable in one, two or maybe each category. But just pick one. Do not overwhelm yourself.

write it down and put it on your mirror in the bathroom.

I did that, and I am happy to say I kept each of them
I did a regular additional weekly reading from the Bible
I made a conscience effort to do things _with_ the family instead of just being in the same house
I cut back on eating out to save on finances - car pooled with my daughter to ICC 4 days a week.
I also take a 1 mile walk 5 days a week.

Next year, I plan to up the ante.
And I am planning it now.

What are your plans to improve your life? Make those plans, put them on the mirror.

And a Santa list for your dog or cat!

For your pet - consider a trial of Dasuquin. This is the joint supplement for our dogs AND cats. Nutramax is offering a money back trial.

Try the entire bottle of (84 count) and if it does not help your dog or cat, we will credit your account for the full price!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

Why is the anticipation of a holiday so much fun?

Sure, I know it is work. Baking pies, getting a turkey 'ready' for the oven/ fryer/ grill all take planning, and it takes some work. Getting the bread for the stuffing or dressing, finding the sweet potatoes or yams, or the cranberry sauce are also fun/ different, but hard. By the way, do you prefer the homemade cranberry salad, or the ocean spray with the little ridges? - weigh in on our Facebook page by clicking here

But it is the anticipation of the event that is the excitement. We sometimes loose that though, don't we? We get a little overwhelmed with the different things we think we 'should' do.

Yet that is not the reason for Thanksgiving.

I remember this quote from President Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation in 1863: "he year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come" (the full proclamation is here)

I know too often I forget the fortunate situations which God has given to me. I have seen man walk on the moon, and communication and information be so available at our fingertips.

I am so greatful for the many blessings which we have been fortunate to receive.

Presenting at state meeting

Hello all,

I have been privileged to present two workshops at the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association this past weekend in Lombard, IL.

The state of Illinois Veterinary association only has 1 meeting a year, and they invited me to come and speak.

I thought of all of you as I was preparing my talk, and how much all of you have encouraged me (especially with our house selling journey) and been so helpful.

We also hope and pray that this has been a reciprocal relationship, and we have extended the life of your beloved dogs and cats.

WE learned some new things on liver disease in dogs, in particular some copper storage disease. Look for our paper newsletter which will detail which breeds we need to monitor to make sure we catch these problems early. Like all the diseases we find and treat, we find that the earlier we find out about these diseases, then easier and less expensive it is to treat.

Look for that information soon.

Halloween

If you are a subscriber to our newsletter, you will soon learn the details of what to watch for when thinking about giving dogs a snack from your trick or treat bag.

I think may folks are aware of the chocolate problems - interestingly, a 10 lb dog can get into toxicity problems with only 2 ounces of the dark sweet chocolate! That is not much!

The other danger we want to make dog owners aware of is the Xylitol containing candies and gums.

Xylitol is a sugar free sweetener. In the dog's body, the body things it has enough sugar, so the body sends out signals not to allow more glucose in the blood. The problem is the blood does not have enough glucose when this happens. These dogs can go into a coma and die if not immediately taken to a hospital, receive IV fluids with glucose supplement. This may last 2 - 4 days.

The most popular gum that contains Xylitol is Orbit gum.

So don't do so much with Orbit that your dog will get into trouble (unlike the commercials). :-)

technology and pets - what is common?

Technology - it's great when it works.

This week has been an interesting one at the clinic. Our color printer which prints the color pictures of your wonderful pets when you are here, was having 'issues'.

It thought it needed to move itself sidways - but only the color - and the yellow moved more than the red and blue.

Hmm...
So we check the support manual, and we have to recalibrate, so we do that 5 times - no luck.
Then download the new firmware version.
Do that.... recalibrate 3 times, still no change.

Then they suggest we do a 'hard reset' where you turn it off, and reset the factory settings,
then we had to set them back up to the way the network recognized the printer.

And voila (for those not speaking french that is: Woo hoo!! it works) The colors all reregistered and are now all aligned properly!

But it is amazing how much we get to rely on these wonderful gadgets.

It is sort of like our dogs and cats, isn't it?

If they are not feeling well, we try to do some things at home - like we would for ourselves - maybe no food if their tummy is upset. We allow them to have the remote, and have some chicken soup.

If that does not help things, we bring them in to the Doctor and he does an exam and diagnosis the problem and situation and see if that helps.

But it is always a reevaluation and reassessing of the situation. We are all constantly learning. 100 years ago, blood letting was a common treatment for a number of diseases. We now think that is unreasonable - and really counter indicated.
50 years ago, if a dog or cat was sick, we would 'wait a few days and see of he/ she got better' and if not, then if not we brought them in to the Doctor.

And 20 years ago, we knew a lot more about preventative vaccines, and when Parvovirus came on the dog scene in 1979, I remember it well. As a 'kennel boy' at Chatham Veterinary Clinic in Chatham IL (sough of Springfield), I remember coming in the morning to clean kennels and we had anywhere from 3-8 dogs - usually puppies - who were vomiting and had diarrhea, and IV fluids in their legs. We used special isolation techniques to make sure we did not infect other patients.

And the great medical marvel is that within 4-6 months, there was a vaccine produced by a company named Fort Dodge where we could vaccinate the dogs and protect them from this deadly disease. It was a truly remarkable and shining moment for Veterinary Medicine. We had a virus that was very contagious, and had a high death rate, and in very short order, we had a preventative vaccine.

Now, practically the only patients that we diagnose with Parvovirus, are dogs that are not vaccinated.

What a triumph.

And I also want to credit you, the pet owners, who are so responsible and keep your dog and cats preventative care up to date to keep them the healthiest they can be!

What is your favorite thing you do at home that helps you keep your pet's healthy? Share that on our Facebook page!

Birthday bash

Hello everyone,

My oldest daughter celebrated her 19th birthday this week.

In some ways, it seems like only yesterday that my wife, Kelly, and I brought Natalie home from the hospital.

It was exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. What were we supposed to do? How does this stuff work? How do we take care of a new baby?

Well, time gives us some answers and it has been a joyous ride. I say joyous, because sometimes our society tends to focus on the immediate sense of happiness or hard work and not on the long term benefit.

I know of many folks who, at the end of their life, wish their children were around more. I even heard one mom say that she wished she had more children when they were younger (her children at the time were 28-22).

It is amazing how our life is easier to see the priorities when looking in the rear view mirror, isn't it?

I think our pets help us with that thought process. They live for the moment - the excited toy for the dog, or the bouncing ball for the kitty. They just enjoy the moment, and let later worry about later.

Of course, they have a full food bowl most of the time to worry about, rather than having to earn a living but they do their best.