I’m as shocked as you are. That gruesome image of a big yellow tom with the arrow through his head? It’s repulsive and wrong –– more so given that a veterinarian saw fit to boast about it on Facebook, absurdly referencing her “awesomeness” while crowing about her “first bow kill.”

But as the coverage ramped up to a fever pitch, I started feeling a little testy about it –– and not just because this Hunger Game-fantasy-gone-wrong had seen an animal brutally slaughtered by someone I’m supposed to call a colleague.

Lots of chatter lately on the issue of vaccinations, right? Measles wreaks havoc at Disney Land and the once-rare whooping cough makes a return. Given the rise of the “anti-vaxxer” culture, even polio could be poised for a global surge again. But what does this have to do with pets?

Lots, actually. Because plenty of pets go unvaccinated against “core” vaccines, too. Which is bad. But what about so-called “lifestyle” vaccines like the dog flu vax? Is it “bad” to skip those too? 

Every year I embark on a perilous journey of discovery. I dissect, radiograph, surgify and otherwise play with Peeps in a veterinary setting. It's just useless fun, I know, but my staff gets such a morale boost from it that it's worth the annual pilgrimage to Peep-landia. I hope you enjoy this year's Peep Parade too!

Happy Easter! (Oh, and at the end of this post please don't forget to vote for your favorite Peep in the parade.)

It's necessary. But luckily, it's not hard. Use this handy calorie counter to select your dog's life stage and his or her weight. It'll then calculate the calories your dog needs every day.

Now it's up to you: Add up the calories in your pet treats and dog food to make sure you're feeding the right amount (the calories are almost always on the manufacturers' websites). That's it! 

Go ahead … ask any veterinarian in the US. Not one will give you a straight answer regarding the legality of tail docking, ear cropping, declawing and other surgical procedures deemed “medically unnecessary” by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).  

That’s because there is none. Despite the hotly contested nature of these procedures with respect to animal welfare, the shocking truth is that these procedures are almost entirely unregulated. 

My title says it all. Most veterinarians are downright afraid to discuss nutrition with their pet owning clients. It’s perhaps the single one issue we feel most apprehensive about discussing freely. Only pet behavior challenges the ins-and-outs of nutrition for its many conversational intricacies and potential inter-personal pitfalls.

I should know. After all, I’m not immune to the phenomenon of exam room nutrition unease. ...

Ever wondered what goes into a "simple" spay? This common surgical procedure is really not so simple after all. While an experienced surgeon can make it look fast, it's really a lot tougher than it looks. 

Perhaps I've made this 16-minute procedure look too easy by speeding up this video eight times. Still, I think it demonstrates enough of this procedure's complexity that you get the idea. 

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” –– George Orwell, Animal Farm

Hmmm … seems Orwell was onto something.

I don’t know about you but as a veterinarian and pet health writer, I have this thing about pet-related words and all their quirks. Seems to me the English language has a way of being unfair to animals –– pets in particular.

I’d like to convince you to adopt an unpopular opinion: Namely, that Purina’s behemoth brand, Beneful, may not deserve the collective national excoriation it’s received over the past couple of weeks.

In case you haven’t heard, this über-popular pet food is the subject of a lawsuit alleging deadly toxicity. The recent death of two dogs fueled both legal action and a highly effective nationwide social media campaign designed to condemn the Beneful brand. ...

Every veterinarian is different. Some like cats more than dogs. Some prefer female pets to males. Some like working in small clinics while others prefer large hospitals. Some use technicians to help them perform the basics while others want to do it all on their own. Still others like to "whisk pets away to the back" to get things done during a routine visit.

This latter practice is defensible. But should this increasingly common approach be veterinary medicine's default setting?