December 17, 2024 • 30 mins
Discover the transformative power of early pet care with esteemed veterinarian Dr. Morgan Marshall, our guest who specializes in emergency medicine. Drawing from her personal journey, Dr. Marshall shares insights into the critical role pets play in our lives and how their health can be safeguarded through early detection and regular check-ups. With a focus on recognizing subtle symptoms like pale gums and changes in eating habits, learn how these early signals can make a significant difference in preventing severe health emergencies. Plus, you'll hear the remarkable tale of Emma, a pet who triumphed over multiple health challenges thanks to vigilant monitoring and care.
A trip to the vet doesn't have to be a source of anxiety for your furry friend. Dr. Marshall discusses practical strategies for minimizing stress during veterinary visits, especially for pets who are prone to anxiety. From anti-anxiety medications to creating positive associations, find out how you can make these necessary trips a positive experience for both you and your pet. We also introduce you to Bonito, a 14-year-old Yorkie who loves visiting the vet thanks to clever tricks and treats, proving that a little creativity goes a long way in calming pet nerves.
Pet ownership is a rewarding journey that requires a deep commitment, and we explore this dedication through the lens of adopting rescue animals. Discover the joy of pet-friendly spaces in Texas and across the United States, and how they compare to the inclusive policies of Europe. Personal anecdotes about visiting pet-friendly venues underscore the pleasures and responsibilities of having a pet. We emphasize the mantra "adopt, don't shop," and highlight the invaluable resource of the ASPCA Poison Control service for emergencies, inviting you to provide loving homes to animals in need. Tune in for heartfelt stories, expert advice, and a celebration of the bond between humans and their pets.
A trip to the vet doesn't have to be a source of anxiety for your furry friend. Dr. Marshall discusses practical strategies for minimizing stress during veterinary visits, especially for pets who are prone to anxiety. From anti-anxiety medications to creating positive associations, find out how you can make these necessary trips a positive experience for both you and your pet. We also introduce you to Bonito, a 14-year-old Yorkie who loves visiting the vet thanks to clever tricks and treats, proving that a little creativity goes a long way in calming pet nerves.
Pet ownership is a rewarding journey that requires a deep commitment, and we explore this dedication through the lens of adopting rescue animals. Discover the joy of pet-friendly spaces in Texas and across the United States, and how they compare to the inclusive policies of Europe. Personal anecdotes about visiting pet-friendly venues underscore the pleasures and responsibilities of having a pet. We emphasize the mantra "adopt, don't shop," and highlight the invaluable resource of the ASPCA Poison Control service for emergencies, inviting you to provide loving homes to animals in need. Tune in for heartfelt stories, expert advice, and a celebration of the bond between humans and their pets.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Two generations, one mic.
Here we are again, and we havea guest again this time, and
she's fabulous.
Her name is Dr Morgan Marshall.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, so she is a veterinarian, and the reason why
we have her is because we are afamily and we have three
doggies right and for us it'salways important to keep them I
don't know live as long as theycan.
Our eldest dog is 15.
Then we have another14-year-old, and then we also
(00:37):
have a 10-year-old, which wecall the baby.
But in this time, I think it'simportant that we can share some
information about our pets athome.
So, hi, morgan, hi, thanks forhaving me, of course.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yeah.
So to set the stage, you are adoctor of veterinary medicine.
You graduated Texas A&M.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yes, I graduated from Texas A&M in 2022.
So I've been a vet for aboutthree years and I work actually
actually mostly emergencymedicine, so I work like 12-hour
shifts and do just ER now.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
So yeah, Did you always want to be a vet?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I did, yeah, since I was little bitty, I grew up with
dogs and all kinds of animalsand horses and that kind of
thing, and so I knew from areally young age that that's
what was my passion.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You grew up in Texas.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
I grew up in Texas, yep, in the Houston area, so
kind of born and raised here,stayed here for school and yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
That's good.
Well, you have to have apassion.
I know Andy donates a lot ofmoney to charities for rescue
centers around the world.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Adopt done shop yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yes, her passion for puppies.
Every day I get another videoof another one that she wants to
rescue.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
If I could rescue all the dogs in the land Right, oh
my God.
Also yesterday I saw this videoof this cow.
It was the cutest littlehighland cow.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
The little fluffy ones.
Fluffy, yes, oh my gosh Cutestlittle highland cow, the little
fluffy ones.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Oh my gosh, they don't want to give me one for
Christmas.
That's rude.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Well, my daughter pointed out that we have.
Yes, you guys live in athree-story townhome.
Where are you going to put yourcow?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I don't know We'll find space, I know, but I think
for us, our pets are more thanthat.
For us, our pets are more thanthat.
For us, our pets are family,absolutely, and that's the way
it should be.
And I can't imagine being inthe ER like, how do you even
make?
I don't know, I don't think Icould handle it yeah, you know
(02:37):
it's definitely a calling for me.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Um, as far as you know, my passion is to help,
like people and their pets inthe hardest times that they're
going through, and most of thepeople that come into my clinic,
their pets, are their family.
It's definitely difficult, butit also can be extremely
rewarding when I can extendpets' lives or they get to leave
the hospital and those sort ofthings.
(03:01):
It's definitely not an easy job.
That's why I only do it threeor four days a week and have a
lot of time off in between there, but it is extremely rewarding.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Well, I would imagine , being that we're in the
metropolitan city, that themajority of animals you deal
with on a normal basis would becats and dogs.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Do you ever get any other animals, wild animals,
like wilder animals?
That would not be the normalpet.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Yeah, we do see some exotics, if you will, in the ER.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Like someone come with an alligator or something
like that.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
So wildlife?
I actually legally can't treatwildlife.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I don't have a license for it, so you have to
get a special license forwildlife.
If they've been like hit by acar or something sad like that,
I can help them out, and youknow, in their suffering and
those sort of things, but Ican't like treat them.
You have to have a speciallicense for that.
So but I do see things like alot of guinea pigs, like pet
(04:02):
birds, things like that.
You know on the ER a lot ofrabbits, but not as much, like
you know, cattle or stuff likethat, because we are in the
metropolitan area.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Right, and I just think, like I mean the ER right,
like for us having the dogs wehave, especially I mean we have
two Yorkies and one minischnauzer.
The mini schnauzer is 15.
And it's been 15 years ofgastroenteritis, yeah, which for
(04:33):
us, at this point, we know whento take her to the ER and when
not.
Right, because it's always Imean, sorry I'm graphic, but
it's always diarrhea, bloodydiarrhea.
It just looks like a shit show.
And at this point we justrealized, okay, we know what to
give her or what to keep on handin case that happens.
(04:55):
So is there something that,like, I don't know?
Sometimes people bring theirpets thinking, oh, it's an
emergency, and you're like, no,just.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah, there's definitely lots of times where
you know it's an emergency tothem and I always say if you are
worried, I'm worried, come inand you know we can always at
least take a look, we can have aconversation and if you know,
ok, go home and keep monitoring.
That's completely fine.
But yeah, there's some simplestuff like dogs like to get
their nails caught on things andthen they'll just start
(05:25):
bleeding and it's really, youknow, can be stressful for
owners and so they rush them in.
But really we kind of just putsome like quick stop, which is
medication to stop the bleeding,and then you know you monitor
it at home.
So there's some things you canhave on hand like first aid.
You can get that quick stopstuff you know like at the store
.
So there's things like that.
(05:54):
You know a couple episodes ofdiarrhea, like you experience,
you know, with Emma.
You know that can be kind ofmonitored at home.
You can usually fast them forone meal and then start them on
a bland diet at home, whetheryou get a prescription from your
vet to have on hand at home oryou cook like chicken and rice
those sort of things and kind ofmonitor it.
But if they're ever not eatingfor you having vomiting.
If there's a lot of blood inthe diarrhea, things like that,
then you know we do recommendthey come in on emergency basis,
(06:17):
you know.
But things like that, you know,one episode of vomiting, one
episode of diarrhea doesn'tnecessarily warrant an emergency
all the time.
But it's hard for pet owners toknow that at home.
So I say if you're worried,always at least call your
emergency vet or call yourveterinarian and let them help
you guide what to do.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Oh, absolutely.
I have a friend.
Her name is Jennifer.
She has a.
What is this?
Oh, the howling ones, the onesthat look like wolves, oh my God
A husky A husky yeah.
She has a husky and she alwaysasks me Andy, do you think I
should take her to the vet?
Like her name is Snowy, or likeshould I just like stay at home
(06:59):
?
Or like do I just schedule anappointment?
I'm like I don't know, jen,like what does she have?
Like the other day, like herpaw was bleeding, uh-huh, and I
think she got caught onsomething and she just leaked.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yes, yes, yes, like leaked, leaked, leaked, made a
hot spot is what we call, thatyeah.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
And of course it looked terrifying.
It swelled and everything, andI I think she's just like trying
to fix it, but I don't thinkyou should take her to the ER
for that.
Just like make an appointment,yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
So make an appointment.
Yeah, there's definitely lotsof things where it's like, OK,
you know they're not actively,you know having an emergency,
you know if you can get in withyour vet in the next couple of
days, you can do that.
There's also, though, some newurgent cares that are popping up
that are meant to be kind ofthat in-between, so you have
something you can't get intoyour vet, but you don't want to
take them to the emergency room.
Now, especially in themetropolitan areas, there's
(07:49):
these urgent cares popping up,so just like a human urgent care
, you know, if your kid had anear infection but you can't get
in with a pediatrician, they canhelp you out as kind of a
middleman.
So that's a nice kind ofservice that is starting to find
that middle space for thingsthat don't need a full-fledged
emergency room, but you want toget your pet some relief on a
quicker basis.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
What is the worst part of your job?
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Oh yeah, it's definitely when I can't save a
pet.
You know there's, unfortunately.
You know I'm a huge believer inpreventative medicine because I
see things that you know arejust too far gone, that I can't,
you know, save, and just havingto have those hard
conversations with, you know petparents that you know we can,
(08:36):
we can try here, but you know wemay just be prolonging the
inevitable.
And you know, or that there'ssomething that's just too far
gone, inevitable, or thatthere's something that's just
too far gone.
And so a couple examples of thatthat are potentially
preventable are things like petscan get masses on their spleen.
Actually it's unfortunately, afairly common form of tumor.
(08:58):
They can be cancerous ornon-cancerous, but the spleen is
an organ that produces bloodfor the body and helps filter
blood, so it's very vascular,has lots of blood vessels in it,
and so if those masses growquickly they actually can kind
of burst and it causes bleedinginto the belly and that's one of
the hardest cases that I get inthe ER because it's an, it's a
(09:23):
extreme emergency, um, and it'sit's something that we have to
take them to surgery immediatelyto try and fix and um sorry to
interrupt.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
How do you know when your pet has that?
How do you know they'reinternally bleeding?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
That's a great question yeah, so the symptoms
are usually.
It can can be kind of wide,depending on how quickly it's
happening, but things likecollapse, um, you know,
sometimes they'll kind of cryout.
A lot of my patients, though,will just kind of be weak and
lethargic.
They won't want to eat.
Their gums is a really goodthing to look at.
They'll get really pale.
(09:54):
So normal dog's gums should benice and pink, and so if they
look, you know, kind of white orpale, then that can be a sign
of that as well.
Or you kind of touch theirbelly and they're really painful
, are kind of the symptoms thattypically, you know, kind of
come in with that.
But for me, like in the ER,it's usually their gums are pale
(10:15):
, their heart rate's high,they're really weak, those sort
of things tell me, hey, I needto look, you know, in their
belly.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Oh Jesus, New level of fear unlocked.
I know it's mostly their belly.
Oh Jesus, you mentioned Newlevel of fear unlocked.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I know it's mostly larger dogs, so you know it's
less likely for your babies,unfortunately.
But yeah, talking kind of aboutthings we can do to prevent
that.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Is early detection is the biggest thing and I am a
huge proponent of earlydetection for our pets.
And you know, I think I knowyou guys had a recent podcast
about human health care.
I think that there's kind ofthis mentality of oh, my pets
are fine, I'm fine, I don't needblood work, I don't need
diagnostics.
It's expensive, those sort ofthings.
But there's a reason that we asvets, you know, recommend these
(10:57):
things for your healthy petsand it's early detection and so
for, like the spleens, I'm a bigproponent of having your vet do
brief ultrasounds yearlybecause we can detect those
masses before they become anemergency and we can schedule,
you know, a surgery toremovecancerous masses.
It's curative and then theywon't have that emergency and
(11:27):
same with, like you know, kidneydisease or other things like
that.
If we can catch it early, wecan prolong their life.
And so that's why earlydetection you know, yearly blood
work, ultrasound, x-rays isactually really important for
our pets because they can't tellus if they're having a pain
somewhere.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
We do blood work probably every six months, and
we also do ultrasounds every sixmonths on all three of them,
and so, because of exactly whatyou said, we've managed to catch
some things.
We absolutely prolonged Emma'slife because we caught.
What did she have?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
So when she was 12, suddenly and we thought this was
just the age, right, so theschnauzers are always again
picky and like with the food andthen she was just wanting to
eat, not her food, and she wasgetting very sleepy all the time
.
But I thought she was just lazy, right, so she will be sleeping
(12:21):
all the time and suddenly Alsovery overweight.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yeah, in three months , so she waited, sleeping all
the time and suddenly Also veryoverweight, yeah, in three
months.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
So she weighted how big she was, probably about 15
pounds, and then in three monthsshe went all the way to 22
pounds.
And I was like this is notnormal, like there's no way.
She's just like gaining thatmuch weight by eating the same
things.
And again, like at this point Ithought maybe she's just like
gaining that much weight byeating the same things.
And again, like I've, at thispoint, I thought maybe she's
(12:48):
getting older.
But I was like no, something isnot right.
So went to the vet and, ofcourse, blood work, ultrasound,
everything.
Well, the vet in Spain, becauseher vet is in Spain she told me
this blood work has more redthan anything I've seen in my
(13:13):
life.
I was like, oh my God, menchu,Her name is Menchu and I was
like Menchu, what do we dochu?
And I was like Menchu, what dowe do?
She's like I don't even knowwhat to target first.
So she had diabetes, she hadher gallbladder was about to
burst, she.
She was like she had alsoproblems with her thyroid, yeah,
(13:35):
and, and also kidneys.
I was like, oh my gosh, this isit.
And she's like, don't worry,we're going to treat her and
let's see how it reacts.
Well, we started with thyroidmedication, which was great.
She lost all the weight.
So that was the thyroid andthat was causing the diabetes.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
and also extra weight .
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, the extra weight and also the gallbladder.
Well, that was an extra thingand we treated her with.
There's this medication whichis Ursodiol yeah, that Ursodiol
and she still takes that tilltoday.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Right, it's an amazing medication.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I love that medication we couldn't do
surgery because you know, likeit was a 12-year-old dog already
Right, and after that, you'll,I'll, I'll.
You'll see guys like this dognowadays.
She's, she's 15, right, she'sin a perfect weight.
She's still picky with her food, but whatever, that's her
natural judgmental, as ever yes,she judges.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
I love a good old schnauzer like that, you're like
where you going, where youthink you're going, woman yeah
my dog doesn't bite, she judgesyou.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
That's Emma.
And now again, like because ofthat preventive thing, we did
like the blood work, otherwiseshe will be long gone, because
we thought it was just hergetting older, right, and that
wasn't it.
The other two kids puppies wehave same like Bonito, he's a
14-year-old.
He's a 14 year old.
(14:59):
He was having also like alittle bit of a um um lump in
here.
Thank god that's not um bad oranything.
But also he was drinking abunch of water and pissing
inside the house and we thoughtthis is not normal, right.
So he has, uh, cushing syndrome, it's called, which we we
detected again With blood work,with blood work and everything.
(15:19):
Now, the little one.
The little one that's, she's alittle shithead all the time,
but she never gets sick oranything, right?
Speaker 1 (15:28):
She just sounds like she's choking.
She just sounds like she'schoking, but that's from her
colostomy trachea.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
But that's the thing with Yorkies they sound like
they're choking, but that's justtheir normal basis.
And we also run.
I mean, if we're runninganalytics on two of them, just
do the little one too, and she'sperfect all the time.
She doesn't need anything.
And I'm telling you that's themain key Do preventive things.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Not because they're dogs and I get it here.
I'm telling you I try my bestnot to take them to the vet.
Yeah, because I especially theyare.
Yes, they take up.
Why would they do that?
Speaker 3 (16:09):
They take your pet away.
You cannot go in there withyour pet, yeah, and so there is
a new kind of model that'scoming out.
There's some ERs and in townthat have an open concept, so
you stay with your pet the wholetime in the ER.
But you know, that can bedefinitely really stressful and
we at my practice try to dopractice what's called fear-free
medicine, so we try to limitthe stress as much as possible.
So you know, part of that forpets is, you know, keeping them
(16:34):
with their owners as long as wecan and keeping them in the room
and those sort of things.
Obviously there's some caseswhere we have to rush them back
and they can't, you know, stayand those sort of things.
But I you know obviously thatcan be really stressful for
owners.
So I definitely try my best tocommunicate the whole time and,
you know, keep pet parents withtheir pets as long as we can and
(16:54):
then obviously to take themback for diagnostics and things
like that.
But I mean, I could definitelybe very stressful.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
I mean, I can tell you my Emma every time we take
her to the vet yeah, she'sshaking without control and her
blood pressure is to the roof.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Why?
Because she's scared.
Yeah, she's like they'retouching her and everything.
And she also has this longblood pressure, high blood
pressure in her lungs.
So she needs to take viagraevery day.
Yeah, to fix that.
But every time they take her,her um, I don't know, it's like
(17:28):
an ekg or something and, uh,she's so stressed because
they're touching her and and andshe doesn't know what's
happening, but it's part of thatright, yeah if, if, if you
don't have your pet and theydon't see you, and then some
strangers are just touching them, yeah, what's?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
happening, yeah, and because you can't explain it to
them.
You know, and there aremedications that some pets do
really well on, like before vetvisits.
It's kind of part of that fearfree mindset in veterinary
medicine and some parents, youknow pet parents are a little
bit afraid of it.
Like I don't want to give mypet more medications, but
there's some medications we cangive them that are just
anti-anxiety medications thatyou just give them like the
(18:03):
night before and like a couplehours before the visit, and I've
seen massive changes in petswhere they would get aggressive
in the clinic because they're soscared and things like that,
and it's been reallytransformative for them.
Obviously, in the ER it's alittle bit harder because
they're bringing them in anemergency, but for regular
visits, you know, I definitelyrecommend people kind of talk to
their vets about, you know,what are ways that I can make
(18:25):
this less stressful, because wewant them to be.
We want you guys to, you know,bring your pets into us so that
we can find things and and notbe stressful for the pets.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Yeah, that would be yeah for bonito for sure.
Well, no, our bonito, the, the14 year old yorkie.
He just loves going to the vetbecause he, yeah, they always
give him like yeah, yeah, welove to give trees, they're like
.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
We want it to be a good experience.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
We want you to come here he he just there for the
treats he doesn't care like he'sthe funniest thing, so you
could be poking him like withdrop blood, anything, yeah, and
as long as he has a treat in hismouth, he just sells his soul
to the devil like that littleguy to go those are our favorite
kind of pets, but the other oneno, emma will not take a treat
(19:09):
outside the house?
Yeah, she will never, so it'svery complicated like doing that
with her she just wants to getout of.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
So what's the most rewarding part of your?
Speaker 3 (19:18):
job.
I mean definitely kind of wastalking about you know, when I
get to help a pet and when theyget to go back home and I get to
see kind of that, that joy fromyou know, that reunited kind of
bond between, I mean the bondbetween our pets and people is
so special, I think, and thatthat's the most rewarding thing
for me is getting to you knowpets and people is so special, I
think, and that's the mostrewarding thing for me is
(19:39):
getting to you know, experience,that bond and help to extend.
That is super rewarding for me.
And you know, unfortunately Idon't always get to you know
prolong that, but when I do it'sextremely rewarding.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
We also like to see the advancement, slowly but
surely, here in Texas and in thestates in general, of allowing
people to bring their puppies inmore places.
We've said before, we live inEurope half the year, half the
year going back and forth, andin Europe, where we live, in
(20:14):
Spain, puppies are allowedeverywhere.
So, we bring them in therestaurants.
They sit at the bar with us.
Everybody loves them.
They bring their own littlebowls.
They bring them snacks.
Everybody loves seeing thepuppies.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
I'm sorry If you're one of those people that oh, but
duck hair.
There's worse things that canhappen to your food.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Believe me.
Duck hair is one of the lessconcerning things that's my
biggest pet peeve when peoplesay, oh, I can't imagine you're
letting the puppy sit at the bar, I'm like I can't imagine
you're letting your kid sit atthe bar.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I would rather sit with the puppy than your loud
little kid that's making a bunchof noise at the bar.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
The bars are not made for kids.
That's what tables are for.
Go over there and eat with thefamily.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Don't complain about the puppy, who's doing nothing
but sitting there and being cuteand everybody loves the puppy
and there's definitely areas inthe US that are like much more,
you know, like pet friendly thanHouston isn't, I don't think,
the most pet friendly city.
It's changing those indifferent spots, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
We went to some great sports bars recently, oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
It's called.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
PKO.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
We were like wow, we saw them and they were like,
yeah, you should come here andbring the puppies and hang out
over here Everybody brings theirpuppies and sits outside.
I was like oh, I love that thatenvironment is just changing.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
There's definitely a lot of outdoor bar areas and
stuff like that that definitelyallow it.
How?
Speaker 2 (21:26):
do you call them Beer houses?
No, ice houses, ice houses yes.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
One of my technicians .
She has a little chihuahua.
He's like I don't know, only acouple of pounds.
He's like the size of a rat, Idon't know.
He's tiny and um, she will justbring him in her purse, just
like everywhere.
She's like I don't care if dogsare allowed here, they won't
even know.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
He just stays in my purse, yeah like a little
chihuahua, yeah, like a littletiny, yeah I will do the same
thing, but mine start likethey're heavy, they get heavy
yeah, and three of them they getheavy.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
So what would you think?
Um, I I think our peopleviewing they're very interested
in knowing, like, the most toxicfoods for dogs that we have at
home.
Okay, yeah, and also cats.
I don't know if cats are evenlike allergic to something.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Those are evil things I love cats.
We've had one so, um, definitelymost toxic things for dogs and
cats in the house are going tobe things like chocolate is
extremely toxic for pets, onionsare very toxic, and then a lot
of like you know, kind ofmedications.
Like people think, oh, my pet'sin pain, I want to give them
(22:34):
medications.
But our human medications,especially like for cats,
acetaminophen, is really toxicfor them.
So, like you know, you're youthink, oh, I'm helping them, but
it's actually can be really,really dangerous and require a
lot of hospitalization andthings for them because they
can't process it correctly.
And then things like you know,ibuprofen for dogs is not, is
(22:59):
not good for them, it can damagetheir kidneys, you know.
And then, yeah, so those are, Imean, those are kind of the big
things that everybody is goingto like kind of have in their
household that your pets may getinto.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
At what point?
Like do you, for example,because dogs are dogs, right.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Like if they get a hold into, like some chocolate.
Yeah, at what point is like?
Do I take him and rush him topuke, or is this amount okay?
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So, especially for chocolate,it is actually dose dependent.
So a really great resource ingeneral if you think my dog ate
something that may be toxic isASPCA Poison Control.
I love their service.
You call them Sometimes there'sa little bit of a wait on the
phone.
They ask you for a small feeand you get to talk to somebody
(23:44):
and they will consult with aveterinarian and tell you if you
need to take your pet into thevet or not.
And it is life saving for a lotof pets and you know.
So.
If you ever think your pet atesomething toxic, please call
ASPCA, like that is.
And if pet owners call me andsay, hey, my pet ate whatever I
say, get on the phone with ASPCAwhile you're on your way here.
(24:06):
That way I can immediately knowwhat their recommendations are,
because I just I can't know.
You know every toxic thing andthey're just a great resource
because they have veterinariansthat specialize in that.
So they'll give me treatmentplans for them.
They'll tell me you knowexactly the step-by-step what I
need to do to help your pet thebest, because you know things
like chocolate.
Like I know exactly what to dofor a chocolate toxicity because
(24:29):
it's so common, but more rarethings medications, supplements,
other stuff like that that's agreat resource for veterinarians
and for pet parents, and that'salso for cats and everything.
Yeah, cats, dogs, they'll helpyou with any species.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Well, that's a great resource.
Thank you, definitely that's agreat resource.
Yeah, you have a hand at alltimes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Well, we can't stress enough the importance we think
and we promote this all the timeis rescue and adopt.
Don't shop yes, they're notdisposable toys or gifts that
you are infatuated with or yourchild is infatuated with for the
moment, for the holiday,whatever it is, it's not a
Christmas present, it's alifelong commitment.
(25:08):
Right moment for the holiday,whatever it is, it's not a
christmas present, it's alifelong commitment, right.
And they're expensive.
And you know I always say Iapply.
You shouldn't treat your puppyor kitty or whatever, any
difference than you would treatyour human child.
So would you do that to yourhuman child?
right then you shouldn't do itto a puppy right you know you
shouldn't chain a puppy to atree yeah, I mean, and hopefully
(25:29):
they've outlawed that.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Yeah, the laws have really gotten much better about
that too.
As far as you can't leave yourpets chained outside, it's
illegal now, and they have tohave shelter and food, and in
Houston they have investigatorsthat that's their sole job is to
investigate animal cruelty, soit's definitely something that
you know is continuing toimprove.
(25:51):
As far as, like the pets rights.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Yeah, you know, we were so happy in in in Madrid
and Spain where we live thatthey enacted these laws.
It's it's new laws they havethere which guarantees puppies
and animals and things almostthe same rights as humans.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
So if you, if you chain your puppy up like that,
you're going to jail.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Yes, yep, it's the same in Houston If you leave
your puppy longer than thisperiod of time.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Like you cannot leave your animals by themselves at
home for a longer period of timeLike a dog is different than a
cat.
Right, a cat can like I thinkthey're a little bit more
independent.
But at the end is more um you,you shouldn't be leaving your
animals by themselves Right,like at home, because For a long
like an exorbitant amount oftime.
Yeah, like days at a time.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
You will go to jail and that's good, and you know,
god forbid you get caughtabandoning a puppy.
I think if you, if you take apoor little puppy that's been in
your family and just I'mgetting rid of this puppy and
just drop him off somewhere, youare a piece of shit Again.
Would you do that to your child?
Oh, I'm tired of my child.
(26:59):
I'm going to drop him off on alonely street somewhere.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Yeah, and if you're moving to a place where, like oh
, no pets allowed, I need to getrid of my pets, well, find a
place that allows pets.
That's another bullshit excuse,oh.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
I got to move and they don't allow pets, they
allow kids.
Same thing.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
No difference.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Yeah, they shouldn't.
No difference, no difference.
So find another place to move.
They're all bullshit excuses.
You're just making up crapbecause, you don't think of them
as like a living creature.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
There's so many pets that that do need homes.
You know the the statisticshave been improving, but you
know there were, I think, almost7 million pets that went into
the shelter in in 2023.
And only like less than five umwait, 7 million, yeah and like
only 5 million got adopted.
(27:48):
Um, and so you know there's ahuge disparity and unfortunately
, in America, um, you know, alot of those pets are put down
um because they can't find homesand um, there's definitely
there's some States where youknow they, they don't do that,
um, where it's it's illegal toto euthanize a pet just because
they don't have a home.
But, you know, not all statesare like that.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
I think California is like that.
Yeah, California, Because theyalso outlawed that's another
thing we're not big fans of.
They also had Californiabreeding them for sale, for
profit.
And they outlawed that inCalifornia you can't breed
animals for profit like thatpuppies anymore.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Yeah, like the pet stores can't sell.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Really I didn't know that they stopped all that
that's outlawed in Spain too.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
I mean there's definitely I do think there's
ethical breeders.
Now, am I a huge proponent foradopting?
Yes, I have two adopted petsthat I love more than anything,
and so I think that, if it is,if you're just trying to find a
companion, the rescue is areally great place for that.
But there are ethical breedersout there and there are reasons
(28:54):
for breeding certain breeds,like working dogs, labs and
things like that, Police dogs,those sort of things, and even
some companion dogs or huntingdogs and things like that.
So if your dog is going to havea job, then you know you may
want a purebred for that job.
Um, but they have to be, youknow, ethically bred and bred
(29:14):
for a purpose and, um, you know,you know.
So definitely doing yourresearch if you're trying to
find a specific breed for aspecific reason, but definitely
if you're just looking for areally great companion, you know
, at least start with theshelters and then, you know,
kind of go from there.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Yeah, Rescue is always good.
All three of ours are rescuesfrom different times and they
they're our babies and we lovethem more than life itself.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Yeah, so well.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, we can talk to youforever, oh yeah.
This is can take from this iswhat you said the aspcacom yeah,
aspca, poison hotline, poisonhotline.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Okay, poison hotline is the best thing to do there
and adopt, don't shop.
Yes, yes, awesome.
Thank you so much, doctor sogreat being here.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Well, don't forget to subscribe, like and share.
If you guys have any questionsor suggestions, also let us know
.
Two generations, one mic.
Here we are again, and we havea guest again this time, and
she's fabulous.
Her name is Dr Morgan Marshall.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, so she is a veterinarian, and the reason why
we have her is because we are afamily and we have three
doggies right and for us it'salways important to keep them I
don't know live as long as theycan.
Our eldest dog is 15.
Then we have another14-year-old, and then we also
(00:37):
have a 10-year-old, which wecall the baby.
But in this time, I think it'simportant that we can share some
information about our pets athome.
So, hi, morgan, hi, thanks forhaving me, of course.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yeah.
So to set the stage, you are adoctor of veterinary medicine.
You graduated Texas A&M.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yes, I graduated from Texas A&M in 2022.
So I've been a vet for aboutthree years and I work actually
actually mostly emergencymedicine, so I work like 12-hour
shifts and do just ER now.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
So yeah, Did you always want to be a vet?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
I did, yeah, since I was little bitty, I grew up with
dogs and all kinds of animalsand horses and that kind of
thing, and so I knew from areally young age that that's
what was my passion.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You grew up in Texas.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
I grew up in Texas, yep, in the Houston area, so
kind of born and raised here,stayed here for school and yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
That's good.
Well, you have to have apassion.
I know Andy donates a lot ofmoney to charities for rescue
centers around the world.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Adopt done shop yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yes, her passion for puppies.
Every day I get another videoof another one that she wants to
rescue.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
If I could rescue all the dogs in the land Right, oh
my God.
Also yesterday I saw this videoof this cow.
It was the cutest littlehighland cow.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
The little fluffy ones.
Fluffy, yes, oh my gosh Cutestlittle highland cow, the little
fluffy ones.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Oh my gosh, they don't want to give me one for
Christmas.
That's rude.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Well, my daughter pointed out that we have.
Yes, you guys live in athree-story townhome.
Where are you going to put yourcow?
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I don't know We'll find space, I know, but I think
for us, our pets are more thanthat.
For us, our pets are more thanthat.
For us, our pets are family,absolutely, and that's the way
it should be.
And I can't imagine being inthe ER like, how do you even
make?
I don't know, I don't think Icould handle it yeah, you know
(02:37):
it's definitely a calling for me.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Um, as far as you know, my passion is to help,
like people and their pets inthe hardest times that they're
going through, and most of thepeople that come into my clinic,
their pets, are their family.
It's definitely difficult, butit also can be extremely
rewarding when I can extendpets' lives or they get to leave
the hospital and those sort ofthings.
(03:01):
It's definitely not an easy job.
That's why I only do it threeor four days a week and have a
lot of time off in between there, but it is extremely rewarding.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Well, I would imagine , being that we're in the
metropolitan city, that themajority of animals you deal
with on a normal basis would becats and dogs.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Do you ever get any other animals, wild animals,
like wilder animals?
That would not be the normalpet.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Yeah, we do see some exotics, if you will, in the ER.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Like someone come with an alligator or something
like that.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
So wildlife?
I actually legally can't treatwildlife.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I don't have a license for it, so you have to
get a special license forwildlife.
If they've been like hit by acar or something sad like that,
I can help them out, and youknow, in their suffering and
those sort of things, but Ican't like treat them.
You have to have a speciallicense for that.
So but I do see things like alot of guinea pigs, like pet
(04:02):
birds, things like that.
You know on the ER a lot ofrabbits, but not as much, like
you know, cattle or stuff likethat, because we are in the
metropolitan area.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Right, and I just think, like I mean the ER right,
like for us having the dogs wehave, especially I mean we have
two Yorkies and one minischnauzer.
The mini schnauzer is 15.
And it's been 15 years ofgastroenteritis, yeah, which for
(04:33):
us, at this point, we know whento take her to the ER and when
not.
Right, because it's always Imean, sorry I'm graphic, but
it's always diarrhea, bloodydiarrhea.
It just looks like a shit show.
And at this point we justrealized, okay, we know what to
give her or what to keep on handin case that happens.
(04:55):
So is there something that,like, I don't know?
Sometimes people bring theirpets thinking, oh, it's an
emergency, and you're like, no,just.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah, there's definitely lots of times where
you know it's an emergency tothem and I always say if you are
worried, I'm worried, come inand you know we can always at
least take a look, we can have aconversation and if you know,
ok, go home and keep monitoring.
That's completely fine.
But yeah, there's some simplestuff like dogs like to get
their nails caught on things andthen they'll just start
(05:25):
bleeding and it's really, youknow, can be stressful for
owners and so they rush them in.
But really we kind of just putsome like quick stop, which is
medication to stop the bleeding,and then you know you monitor
it at home.
So there's some things you canhave on hand like first aid.
You can get that quick stopstuff you know like at the store
.
So there's things like that.
(05:54):
You know a couple episodes ofdiarrhea, like you experience,
you know, with Emma.
You know that can be kind ofmonitored at home.
You can usually fast them forone meal and then start them on
a bland diet at home, whetheryou get a prescription from your
vet to have on hand at home oryou cook like chicken and rice
those sort of things and kind ofmonitor it.
But if they're ever not eatingfor you having vomiting.
If there's a lot of blood inthe diarrhea, things like that,
then you know we do recommendthey come in on emergency basis,
(06:17):
you know.
But things like that, you know,one episode of vomiting, one
episode of diarrhea doesn'tnecessarily warrant an emergency
all the time.
But it's hard for pet owners toknow that at home.
So I say if you're worried,always at least call your
emergency vet or call yourveterinarian and let them help
you guide what to do.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Oh, absolutely.
I have a friend.
Her name is Jennifer.
She has a.
What is this?
Oh, the howling ones, the onesthat look like wolves, oh my God
A husky A husky yeah.
She has a husky and she alwaysasks me Andy, do you think I
should take her to the vet?
Like her name is Snowy, or likeshould I just like stay at home
(06:59):
?
Or like do I just schedule anappointment?
I'm like I don't know, jen,like what does she have?
Like the other day, like herpaw was bleeding, uh-huh, and I
think she got caught onsomething and she just leaked.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yes, yes, yes, like leaked, leaked, leaked, made a
hot spot is what we call, thatyeah.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
And of course it looked terrifying.
It swelled and everything, andI I think she's just like trying
to fix it, but I don't thinkyou should take her to the ER
for that.
Just like make an appointment,yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
So make an appointment.
Yeah, there's definitely lotsof things where it's like, OK,
you know they're not actively,you know having an emergency,
you know if you can get in withyour vet in the next couple of
days, you can do that.
There's also, though, some newurgent cares that are popping up
that are meant to be kind ofthat in-between, so you have
something you can't get intoyour vet, but you don't want to
take them to the emergency room.
Now, especially in themetropolitan areas, there's
(07:49):
these urgent cares popping up,so just like a human urgent care
, you know, if your kid had anear infection but you can't get
in with a pediatrician, they canhelp you out as kind of a
middleman.
So that's a nice kind ofservice that is starting to find
that middle space for thingsthat don't need a full-fledged
emergency room, but you want toget your pet some relief on a
quicker basis.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
What is the worst part of your job?
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Oh yeah, it's definitely when I can't save a
pet.
You know there's, unfortunately.
You know I'm a huge believer inpreventative medicine because I
see things that you know arejust too far gone, that I can't,
you know, save, and just havingto have those hard
conversations with, you know petparents that you know we can,
(08:36):
we can try here, but you know wemay just be prolonging the
inevitable.
And you know, or that there'ssomething that's just too far
gone, inevitable, or thatthere's something that's just
too far gone.
And so a couple examples of thatthat are potentially
preventable are things like petscan get masses on their spleen.
Actually it's unfortunately, afairly common form of tumor.
(08:58):
They can be cancerous ornon-cancerous, but the spleen is
an organ that produces bloodfor the body and helps filter
blood, so it's very vascular,has lots of blood vessels in it,
and so if those masses growquickly they actually can kind
of burst and it causes bleedinginto the belly and that's one of
the hardest cases that I get inthe ER because it's an, it's a
(09:23):
extreme emergency, um, and it'sit's something that we have to
take them to surgery immediatelyto try and fix and um sorry to
interrupt.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
How do you know when your pet has that?
How do you know they'reinternally bleeding?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
That's a great question yeah, so the symptoms
are usually.
It can can be kind of wide,depending on how quickly it's
happening, but things likecollapse, um, you know,
sometimes they'll kind of cryout.
A lot of my patients, though,will just kind of be weak and
lethargic.
They won't want to eat.
Their gums is a really goodthing to look at.
They'll get really pale.
(09:54):
So normal dog's gums should benice and pink, and so if they
look, you know, kind of white orpale, then that can be a sign
of that as well.
Or you kind of touch theirbelly and they're really painful
, are kind of the symptoms thattypically, you know, kind of
come in with that.
But for me, like in the ER,it's usually their gums are pale
(10:15):
, their heart rate's high,they're really weak, those sort
of things tell me, hey, I needto look, you know, in their
belly.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Oh Jesus, New level of fear unlocked.
I know it's mostly their belly.
Oh Jesus, you mentioned Newlevel of fear unlocked.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I know it's mostly larger dogs, so you know it's
less likely for your babies,unfortunately.
But yeah, talking kind of aboutthings we can do to prevent
that.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Is early detection is the biggest thing and I am a
huge proponent of earlydetection for our pets.
And you know, I think I knowyou guys had a recent podcast
about human health care.
I think that there's kind ofthis mentality of oh, my pets
are fine, I'm fine, I don't needblood work, I don't need
diagnostics.
It's expensive, those sort ofthings.
But there's a reason that we asvets, you know, recommend these
(10:57):
things for your healthy petsand it's early detection and so
for, like the spleens, I'm a bigproponent of having your vet do
brief ultrasounds yearlybecause we can detect those
masses before they become anemergency and we can schedule,
you know, a surgery toremovecancerous masses.
It's curative and then theywon't have that emergency and
(11:27):
same with, like you know, kidneydisease or other things like
that.
If we can catch it early, wecan prolong their life.
And so that's why earlydetection you know, yearly blood
work, ultrasound, x-rays isactually really important for
our pets because they can't tellus if they're having a pain
somewhere.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
We do blood work probably every six months, and
we also do ultrasounds every sixmonths on all three of them,
and so, because of exactly whatyou said, we've managed to catch
some things.
We absolutely prolonged Emma'slife because we caught.
What did she have?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
So when she was 12, suddenly and we thought this was
just the age, right, so theschnauzers are always again
picky and like with the food andthen she was just wanting to
eat, not her food, and she wasgetting very sleepy all the time
.
But I thought she was just lazy, right, so she will be sleeping
(12:21):
all the time and suddenly Alsovery overweight.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yeah, in three months , so she waited, sleeping all
the time and suddenly Also veryoverweight, yeah, in three
months.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
So she weighted how big she was, probably about 15
pounds, and then in three monthsshe went all the way to 22
pounds.
And I was like this is notnormal, like there's no way.
She's just like gaining thatmuch weight by eating the same
things.
And again, like at this point Ithought maybe she's just like
gaining that much weight byeating the same things.
And again, like I've, at thispoint, I thought maybe she's
(12:48):
getting older.
But I was like no, something isnot right.
So went to the vet and, ofcourse, blood work, ultrasound,
everything.
Well, the vet in Spain, becauseher vet is in Spain she told me
this blood work has more redthan anything I've seen in my
(13:13):
life.
I was like, oh my God, menchu,Her name is Menchu and I was
like Menchu, what do we dochu?
And I was like Menchu, what dowe do?
She's like I don't even knowwhat to target first.
So she had diabetes, she hadher gallbladder was about to
burst, she.
She was like she had alsoproblems with her thyroid, yeah,
(13:35):
and, and also kidneys.
I was like, oh my gosh, this isit.
And she's like, don't worry,we're going to treat her and
let's see how it reacts.
Well, we started with thyroidmedication, which was great.
She lost all the weight.
So that was the thyroid andthat was causing the diabetes.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
and also extra weight .
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, the extra weight and also the gallbladder.
Well, that was an extra thingand we treated her with.
There's this medication whichis Ursodiol yeah, that Ursodiol
and she still takes that tilltoday.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Right, it's an amazing medication.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I love that medication we couldn't do
surgery because you know, likeit was a 12-year-old dog already
Right, and after that, you'll,I'll, I'll.
You'll see guys like this dognowadays.
She's, she's 15, right, she'sin a perfect weight.
She's still picky with her food, but whatever, that's her
natural judgmental, as ever yes,she judges.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
I love a good old schnauzer like that, you're like
where you going, where youthink you're going, woman yeah
my dog doesn't bite, she judgesyou.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
That's Emma.
And now again, like because ofthat preventive thing, we did
like the blood work, otherwiseshe will be long gone, because
we thought it was just hergetting older, right, and that
wasn't it.
The other two kids puppies wehave same like Bonito, he's a
14-year-old.
He's a 14 year old.
(14:59):
He was having also like alittle bit of a um um lump in
here.
Thank god that's not um bad oranything.
But also he was drinking abunch of water and pissing
inside the house and we thoughtthis is not normal, right.
So he has, uh, cushing syndrome, it's called, which we we
detected again With blood work,with blood work and everything.
(15:19):
Now, the little one.
The little one that's, she's alittle shithead all the time,
but she never gets sick oranything, right?
Speaker 1 (15:28):
She just sounds like she's choking.
She just sounds like she'schoking, but that's from her
colostomy trachea.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
But that's the thing with Yorkies they sound like
they're choking, but that's justtheir normal basis.
And we also run.
I mean, if we're runninganalytics on two of them, just
do the little one too, and she'sperfect all the time.
She doesn't need anything.
And I'm telling you that's themain key Do preventive things.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Not because they're dogs and I get it here.
I'm telling you I try my bestnot to take them to the vet.
Yeah, because I especially theyare.
Yes, they take up.
Why would they do that?
Speaker 3 (16:09):
They take your pet away.
You cannot go in there withyour pet, yeah, and so there is
a new kind of model that'scoming out.
There's some ERs and in townthat have an open concept, so
you stay with your pet the wholetime in the ER.
But you know, that can bedefinitely really stressful and
we at my practice try to dopractice what's called fear-free
medicine, so we try to limitthe stress as much as possible.
So you know, part of that forpets is, you know, keeping them
(16:34):
with their owners as long as wecan and keeping them in the room
and those sort of things.
Obviously there's some caseswhere we have to rush them back
and they can't, you know, stayand those sort of things.
But I you know obviously thatcan be really stressful for
owners.
So I definitely try my best tocommunicate the whole time and,
you know, keep pet parents withtheir pets as long as we can and
(16:54):
then obviously to take themback for diagnostics and things
like that.
But I mean, I could definitelybe very stressful.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
I mean, I can tell you my Emma every time we take
her to the vet yeah, she'sshaking without control and her
blood pressure is to the roof.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Why?
Because she's scared.
Yeah, she's like they'retouching her and everything.
And she also has this longblood pressure, high blood
pressure in her lungs.
So she needs to take viagraevery day.
Yeah, to fix that.
But every time they take her,her um, I don't know, it's like
(17:28):
an ekg or something and, uh,she's so stressed because
they're touching her and and andshe doesn't know what's
happening, but it's part of thatright, yeah if, if, if you
don't have your pet and theydon't see you, and then some
strangers are just touching them, yeah, what's?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
happening, yeah, and because you can't explain it to
them.
You know, and there aremedications that some pets do
really well on, like before vetvisits.
It's kind of part of that fearfree mindset in veterinary
medicine and some parents, youknow pet parents are a little
bit afraid of it.
Like I don't want to give mypet more medications, but
there's some medications we cangive them that are just
anti-anxiety medications thatyou just give them like the
(18:03):
night before and like a couplehours before the visit, and I've
seen massive changes in petswhere they would get aggressive
in the clinic because they're soscared and things like that,
and it's been reallytransformative for them.
Obviously, in the ER it's alittle bit harder because
they're bringing them in anemergency, but for regular
visits, you know, I definitelyrecommend people kind of talk to
their vets about, you know,what are ways that I can make
(18:25):
this less stressful, because wewant them to be.
We want you guys to, you know,bring your pets into us so that
we can find things and and notbe stressful for the pets.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Yeah, that would be yeah for bonito for sure.
Well, no, our bonito, the, the14 year old yorkie.
He just loves going to the vetbecause he, yeah, they always
give him like yeah, yeah, welove to give trees, they're like
.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
We want it to be a good experience.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
We want you to come here he he just there for the
treats he doesn't care like he'sthe funniest thing, so you
could be poking him like withdrop blood, anything, yeah, and
as long as he has a treat in hismouth, he just sells his soul
to the devil like that littleguy to go those are our favorite
kind of pets, but the other oneno, emma will not take a treat
(19:09):
outside the house?
Yeah, she will never, so it'svery complicated like doing that
with her she just wants to getout of.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
So what's the most rewarding part of your?
Speaker 3 (19:18):
job.
I mean definitely kind of wastalking about you know, when I
get to help a pet and when theyget to go back home and I get to
see kind of that, that joy fromyou know, that reunited kind of
bond between, I mean the bondbetween our pets and people is
so special, I think, and thatthat's the most rewarding thing
for me is getting to you knowpets and people is so special, I
think, and that's the mostrewarding thing for me is
(19:39):
getting to you know, experience,that bond and help to extend.
That is super rewarding for me.
And you know, unfortunately Idon't always get to you know
prolong that, but when I do it'sextremely rewarding.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
We also like to see the advancement, slowly but
surely, here in Texas and in thestates in general, of allowing
people to bring their puppies inmore places.
We've said before, we live inEurope half the year, half the
year going back and forth, andin Europe, where we live, in
(20:14):
Spain, puppies are allowedeverywhere.
So, we bring them in therestaurants.
They sit at the bar with us.
Everybody loves them.
They bring their own littlebowls.
They bring them snacks.
Everybody loves seeing thepuppies.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
I'm sorry If you're one of those people that oh, but
duck hair.
There's worse things that canhappen to your food.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Believe me.
Duck hair is one of the lessconcerning things that's my
biggest pet peeve when peoplesay, oh, I can't imagine you're
letting the puppy sit at the bar, I'm like I can't imagine
you're letting your kid sit atthe bar.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I would rather sit with the puppy than your loud
little kid that's making a bunchof noise at the bar.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
The bars are not made for kids.
That's what tables are for.
Go over there and eat with thefamily.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Don't complain about the puppy, who's doing nothing
but sitting there and being cuteand everybody loves the puppy
and there's definitely areas inthe US that are like much more,
you know, like pet friendly thanHouston isn't, I don't think,
the most pet friendly city.
It's changing those indifferent spots, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
We went to some great sports bars recently, oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
It's called.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
PKO.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
We were like wow, we saw them and they were like,
yeah, you should come here andbring the puppies and hang out
over here Everybody brings theirpuppies and sits outside.
I was like oh, I love that thatenvironment is just changing.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
There's definitely a lot of outdoor bar areas and
stuff like that that definitelyallow it.
How?
Speaker 2 (21:26):
do you call them Beer houses?
No, ice houses, ice houses yes.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
One of my technicians .
She has a little chihuahua.
He's like I don't know, only acouple of pounds.
He's like the size of a rat, Idon't know.
He's tiny and um, she will justbring him in her purse, just
like everywhere.
She's like I don't care if dogsare allowed here, they won't
even know.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
He just stays in my purse, yeah like a little
chihuahua, yeah, like a littletiny, yeah I will do the same
thing, but mine start likethey're heavy, they get heavy
yeah, and three of them they getheavy.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
So what would you think?
Um, I I think our peopleviewing they're very interested
in knowing, like, the most toxicfoods for dogs that we have at
home.
Okay, yeah, and also cats.
I don't know if cats are evenlike allergic to something.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Those are evil things I love cats.
We've had one so, um, definitelymost toxic things for dogs and
cats in the house are going tobe things like chocolate is
extremely toxic for pets, onionsare very toxic, and then a lot
of like you know, kind ofmedications.
Like people think, oh, my pet'sin pain, I want to give them
(22:34):
medications.
But our human medications,especially like for cats,
acetaminophen, is really toxicfor them.
So, like you know, you're youthink, oh, I'm helping them, but
it's actually can be really,really dangerous and require a
lot of hospitalization andthings for them because they
can't process it correctly.
And then things like you know,ibuprofen for dogs is not, is
(22:59):
not good for them, it can damagetheir kidneys, you know.
And then, yeah, so those are, Imean, those are kind of the big
things that everybody is goingto like kind of have in their
household that your pets may getinto.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
At what point?
Like do you, for example,because dogs are dogs, right.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Like if they get a hold into, like some chocolate.
Yeah, at what point is like?
Do I take him and rush him topuke, or is this amount okay?
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So, especially for chocolate,it is actually dose dependent.
So a really great resource ingeneral if you think my dog ate
something that may be toxic isASPCA Poison Control.
I love their service.
You call them Sometimes there'sa little bit of a wait on the
phone.
They ask you for a small feeand you get to talk to somebody
(23:44):
and they will consult with aveterinarian and tell you if you
need to take your pet into thevet or not.
And it is life saving for a lotof pets and you know.
So.
If you ever think your pet atesomething toxic, please call
ASPCA, like that is.
And if pet owners call me andsay, hey, my pet ate whatever I
say, get on the phone with ASPCAwhile you're on your way here.
(24:06):
That way I can immediately knowwhat their recommendations are,
because I just I can't know.
You know every toxic thing andthey're just a great resource
because they have veterinariansthat specialize in that.
So they'll give me treatmentplans for them.
They'll tell me you knowexactly the step-by-step what I
need to do to help your pet thebest, because you know things
like chocolate.
Like I know exactly what to dofor a chocolate toxicity because
(24:29):
it's so common, but more rarethings medications, supplements,
other stuff like that that's agreat resource for veterinarians
and for pet parents, and that'salso for cats and everything.
Yeah, cats, dogs, they'll helpyou with any species.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Well, that's a great resource.
Thank you, definitely that's agreat resource.
Yeah, you have a hand at alltimes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Well, we can't stress enough the importance we think
and we promote this all the timeis rescue and adopt.
Don't shop yes, they're notdisposable toys or gifts that
you are infatuated with or yourchild is infatuated with for the
moment, for the holiday,whatever it is, it's not a
Christmas present, it's alifelong commitment.
(25:08):
Right moment for the holiday,whatever it is, it's not a
christmas present, it's alifelong commitment, right.
And they're expensive.
And you know I always say Iapply.
You shouldn't treat your puppyor kitty or whatever, any
difference than you would treatyour human child.
So would you do that to yourhuman child?
right then you shouldn't do itto a puppy right you know you
shouldn't chain a puppy to atree yeah, I mean, and hopefully
(25:29):
they've outlawed that.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Yeah, the laws have really gotten much better about
that too.
As far as you can't leave yourpets chained outside, it's
illegal now, and they have tohave shelter and food, and in
Houston they have investigatorsthat that's their sole job is to
investigate animal cruelty, soit's definitely something that
you know is continuing toimprove.
(25:51):
As far as, like the pets rights.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Yeah, you know, we were so happy in in in Madrid
and Spain where we live thatthey enacted these laws.
It's it's new laws they havethere which guarantees puppies
and animals and things almostthe same rights as humans.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
So if you, if you chain your puppy up like that,
you're going to jail.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Yes, yep, it's the same in Houston If you leave
your puppy longer than thisperiod of time.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Like you cannot leave your animals by themselves at
home for a longer period of timeLike a dog is different than a
cat.
Right, a cat can like I thinkthey're a little bit more
independent.
But at the end is more um you,you shouldn't be leaving your
animals by themselves Right,like at home, because For a long
like an exorbitant amount oftime.
Yeah, like days at a time.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
You will go to jail and that's good, and you know,
god forbid you get caughtabandoning a puppy.
I think if you, if you take apoor little puppy that's been in
your family and just I'mgetting rid of this puppy and
just drop him off somewhere, youare a piece of shit Again.
Would you do that to your child?
Oh, I'm tired of my child.
(26:59):
I'm going to drop him off on alonely street somewhere.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Yeah, and if you're moving to a place where, like oh
, no pets allowed, I need to getrid of my pets, well, find a
place that allows pets.
That's another bullshit excuse,oh.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
I got to move and they don't allow pets, they
allow kids.
Same thing.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
No difference.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Yeah, they shouldn't.
No difference, no difference.
So find another place to move.
They're all bullshit excuses.
You're just making up crapbecause, you don't think of them
as like a living creature.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
There's so many pets that that do need homes.
You know the the statisticshave been improving, but you
know there were, I think, almost7 million pets that went into
the shelter in in 2023.
And only like less than five umwait, 7 million, yeah and like
only 5 million got adopted.
(27:48):
Um, and so you know there's ahuge disparity and unfortunately
, in America, um, you know, alot of those pets are put down
um because they can't find homesand um, there's definitely
there's some States where youknow they, they don't do that,
um, where it's it's illegal toto euthanize a pet just because
they don't have a home.
But, you know, not all statesare like that.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
I think California is like that.
Yeah, California, Because theyalso outlawed that's another
thing we're not big fans of.
They also had Californiabreeding them for sale, for
profit.
And they outlawed that inCalifornia you can't breed
animals for profit like thatpuppies anymore.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Yeah, like the pet stores can't sell.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Really I didn't know that they stopped all that
that's outlawed in Spain too.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
I mean there's definitely I do think there's
ethical breeders.
Now, am I a huge proponent foradopting?
Yes, I have two adopted petsthat I love more than anything,
and so I think that, if it is,if you're just trying to find a
companion, the rescue is areally great place for that.
But there are ethical breedersout there and there are reasons
(28:54):
for breeding certain breeds,like working dogs, labs and
things like that, Police dogs,those sort of things, and even
some companion dogs or huntingdogs and things like that.
So if your dog is going to havea job, then you know you may
want a purebred for that job.
Um, but they have to be, youknow, ethically bred and bred
(29:14):
for a purpose and, um, you know,you know.
So definitely doing yourresearch if you're trying to
find a specific breed for aspecific reason, but definitely
if you're just looking for areally great companion, you know
, at least start with theshelters and then, you know,
kind of go from there.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Yeah, Rescue is always good.
All three of ours are rescuesfrom different times and they
they're our babies and we lovethem more than life itself.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Yeah, so well.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, we can talk to youforever, oh yeah.
This is can take from this iswhat you said the aspcacom yeah,
aspca, poison hotline, poisonhotline.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Okay, poison hotline is the best thing to do there
and adopt, don't shop.
Yes, yes, awesome.
Thank you so much, doctor sogreat being here.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Well, don't forget to subscribe, like and share.
If you guys have any questionsor suggestions, also let us know
.
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