My name is Dr. V. Actually, it’s Jessica, followed by a long last name that no one can ever pronounce correctly, so I think it’s best that we just do what everyone at my work does and call me Dr. V. You can call me Jessica if you insist, but don’t expect me to answer any questions about your cat if you do.
I’ve been working as a small animal veterinarian since 2002, after a brief and feverish attempt to throw 8 years of college out the window and become something else entirely. The dogs won me over. They always do. I decided to start a blog about my pets and the veterinary field after I realized just how many people are interested in the odd little vignettes that make up my day, both in and out of the vet clinic.
To sum up the cast of characters and bring new readers up to speed:
Brody
Goldenbeast extraordinaire, chewer of everything, lover of bully sticks, making his pawcurious debut in August 2009.
You may have seen his face over on Cute Overload, where it’s been re-distributed over the internet and pops up in the strangest places. He really is cute, though. There’s lots more Brody in these posts.
Apollo
The Jungle Ocelot, Squeaky Shadow, Sir Hides-a-lot, etc. A very sweet black cat who is not mentioned nearly enough on the blog, mostly because it’s very hard to photograph him well.
He’s been a part of my life since sophomore year in vet school. That is a long time. He has food allergies and is sad he can’t try any new food.
Ghosts of Pets Past
Emmett- The Best Dog Ever. Died in July 09 after a brief and ferocious fight with an aggressive lymphoma. His stories are filed under “Cancer sucks,” because, well, it does.
Calypso- my affectionate lovebug kitty who made one and only one venture outside, and was never seen again. (Still torn up over that one.)
Mulan, i.e Sweetest Dog Ever, died of melanoma on New Years Eve 2008.
And Ariel the guinea pig, whose death came so quickly after arriving in the house she never even made it onto the blog. What a disaster.
Extraneous humans
Me.
Tech support: My husband, IT guy and chief photographer. I take some of the pictures you see here but chances are if it’s a really good one, it’s his (with the exception of the donut pictures).
Kids: 5 year old daughter, 3 year old son, absolute marvels but you won’t see them here. If you’re into blogs about someone’s kids, not to worry, the web is rife with them.
You’ll find some tips* here, some observations about the field and thoughts on pet related topics, but others do the serious stuff far better than I. I use Barbies to animate my posts, for God’s sake. I narrate my Brody stories in a stuffy British nature show presenter voice. We don’t take ourselves too seriously here, unless we’re talking about Michael Vick and then I get all angry again so we just avoid it.
My professional colleagues are most assuredly appalled at my attempt to be light and airy instead of getting all Sanjay Gupta on you. That’s OK though, because I read in James Herriot that we veterinarians are stubborn individualists so I can do my own thing without fear.
If you’re reading here, you’re probably one of those people who secretly thinks of their pet as a kid, even if you have human ones too. You had to take some time off of work when you had to put your cat to sleep. You cry at the end of Marley and Me even though it’s painfully obvious what’s going to happen because they ALWAYS DIE, yet you can’t stop yourself from watching. You’ll eat Kraft boxes for a month before making your pet eat food you think is not good enough. You’re not alone. Welcome. 
* Disclaimer: The information contained here is intended solely for the general information of the reader. It is not intended to diagnose health problems or to take the place of professional medical care. The information contained herein is neither intended to dictate what constitutes reasonable, appropriate or best care for any given health issue, nor is it intended to be used as a substitute for the independent judgment of a veterinarian for any given health issue.
