News
Is Your Pet a Tick Magnet? Here’s What to Do if You Find One!
While cicada coverage has dominated the news this year, another insect has been causing a lot more issues for our dogs and cats. We’ve seen a surge in tick cases lately, with many pets needing tick removal. Don’t worry, this is not an emergency and most pet owners can handle tick removal at home –…
Read MoreCounselor’s Corner: Calmness Through Breath
By John Mysz, LCSW VSW, CCFP 5 patients coding, 4 dogs barking, 3 impossible veins, 2 owners yelling, and one angry cat. The hardest shift in your career? Not likely. Stressful? Absolutely. You can feel the stress building, maybe get a headache or feel your body tense up. Maybe you notice you’re holding your breath randomly…
Read MoreCounselor’s Corner: Traumatic Grief
By John Mysz, LCSW – We’ve all heard about the stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. But what happens when we never quite get to true acceptance? What if we don’t integrate the loss and continue moving forward? In my clinical experience, I’ve seen many people who experience a difficult or traumatic…
Read MoreDealing with Community Trauma
By John Mysz, LCSW – Every week or more in this country, we hear about a new, terribly traumatic mass shooting that shakes a community and onlookers to their core. Uvalde, Buffalo, and now Highland Park. It can feel as if these events are slowly, or very quickly, getting closer to home if they haven’t hit…
Read MoreCounselor’s Corner: Perfectionism
By John Mysz, LCSW – “I’m a horrible veterinarian/tech” – “There’s no reason I should have missed that” “How could I have forgotten to do that?” Do any of those phrases sound familiar to you? They likely do considering you’re in veterinary medicine and numerous studies indicate that those in this field tend to score high…
Read MoreCounselor’s Corner: Comforting Grieving Owners
By John Mysz, LCSW – While this may not be the primary job description for everyone in veterinary medicine, it is absolutely an essential part of the job that many of you will run into at some point. I understand it’s a very uncomfortable experience for many and wanted to share some suggestions/guidelines for you…
Read MoreCounselor’s Corner: You Are What You Eat
By John Mysz, LCSW – Well not really. But the food you consume has an incredible relationship to your health. We all know the importance of a good diet for physical health. All of our doctors have talked to us about food choices and blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat percentage, and even life expectancy. What…
Read MoreKiara’s Story: Shedd Aquarium Turns to VSC to Provide Sea Otter with Lymphoma Treatment
For many years, Veterinary Specialty Center has collaborated closely with the Shedd Aquarium providing surgery and specialty care for some of their animals. Recently, Dr. Rhonda Feinmehl and her team worked with them to create a special protocol, provide treatment and direct the care for Kiara the sea otter who was diagnosed with lymphoma. Her…
Read MoreDiabetes in Dogs
Mimi Noonan, DVM, DACVIM Diabetes is a common hormonal problem of dogs and occurs when there is either a deficiency of insulin or cellular resistance to its effects. Dogs with diabetes most commonly come to the veterinarian because they are losing weight, drinking excessive amounts of water and urinating more frequently, sometimes breaking housetraining. Just…
Read MoreWhat’s With the Cat’s Big Kidneys
Jerry A. Thornhill, DVM, DACVIM There is an assumed differential diagnostic dilemma of Renomegaly (big kidneys) in cats, encountered by veterinarians in private practice, ER facilities, specialty clinics, and veterinary school teaching hospital settings. The standard thought process separates the anatomically enlarged Renal Structure(s) – noted on abdominal palpation, and confirmed by Abdominal Radiograph application…
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