The first two days of this Mission Rabies vaccination drive, we worked “static clinics”. We drive to a place, set up our makeshift clinic, and people bring us their dogs. Today, we did “roaming clinics”. We drive through an assigned area announcing that we’re offering free rabies vaccinations to dogs and cats. When we see someone with a dog, we…
Today we were scheduled to vaccinate at two separate sites. We arrived at our first site around 8:15 and set up shop. A minute later, our team leader Lucy received a phone call informing us that a dog had been hit by a motorcycle on the road nearby. Courtnie and I grabbed our supplies and ran up the road, and saw…
Today is Mission Rabies Tanzania Workday 1, the first day we hit the road and start vaccinating. Didn’t sleep great last night. Still getting used to it being so quiet. I’m up early now, so I’ll start this blog post now and finish it tonight. Last night I packed my backpack with all of the items I think I’ll need…
Mediocre night sleeping last night. It takes a little time to get used to a new bed, plus I’ve been drinking tons of water all day to ward off any potential kidney stones; this is something that I’m prone to in hot climates. I guess it’s working, because I got up to pee twice. After the second time I got…
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. A very well-written coming-of-age story about a black teenager, Niru, and his best friend, a white girl named Meredith, and their lives in Washington, DC. Niru is an excellent student and a track star who’s been accepted to Harvard in the fall. Meredith has a crush on Niru, but…
Until I adopted my cat Mittens, I had never had a cat who liked to sleep in the sink. One day I went into the bathroom and found her in the sink, and it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I hadn’t thought much about since, until I recently saw another photo of a cat in a sink that…
Last week, I read a Washington Post article about how there has been a huge surge in dog adoptions since the pandemic began. According to the article, shelters, rescue groups, pet stores, and breeders are having a hard time keeping up with demand. Rescue groups are getting dozens of applications for individual dogs. People have put themselves on waiting lists…
JOIN CFA EVERY WEDNESDAY ONLINE FOR MEOWY HOUR AT 6PM EDT/3PM PDT JULY 29, 2020Dr. Arnold Plotnick Shares His Tales About Cats Around the World 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐍, 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐊:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82809871152Or, watch live here on Facebook. <- This is also where all the shows are saved, so you can watch the recorded show any time. 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠Arden Moore, Casey the Pet Safety…
In an issue of the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery there was a pretty interesting article about the effect of various genres of music on a few parameters of feline anesthesia. Being a big music fan myself, I was intrigued. The aim of the study was to determine if cats were able to process auditory stimuli even though they…
I took a trip to Morocco several years ago, and just recently I was sorting out my folders of photos. I came across my collection of stray cat photos from Morocco.
Although cats are generally more discreet about what they put in their mouths compared to dogs, some cats have a penchant for chewing unusual objects. One thing both dogs and cats often chew on are electrical cords. This can be a hazard for two reasons. First, it can be a danger to your cat, because of potential electrical burns. Second,…
In 2015, I sold my cat hospital, Manhattan Cat Specialists, to a corporation that owns and manages several veterinary clinics. I continued to work at my hospital, however, in June of 2017, I decided to retire from veterinary practice. My hospital continued on, in the very capable hands of Dr. Victoria Sheheri, and my faithful technician Hiromi Karagiannis, who started…
After a busy (but fun) week of vaccinating dogs, we were rewarded with a bit of free time. Originally we were going to do some horseback riding on Saturday and then drive into Kumasi to see the huge market, but we were told that Sunday was probably not the best day to see the market, as this is a very…