Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Thirteen ten WIBA and ask the experts. Brought you by
Checkout Veterinary online. The website checkout vet dot com. That's
all one word checkout vet dot com. Great place to
learn more about Checkout Veterinary, learn about what makes their
clinics so unique, so special, so convenient to you and
your pet. Great opportunity. Also, they are accepting new patients. Yes,
(00:22):
they are accepting new patients at checkout Vet right now.
You can make an appointment right online or do it
the other win. A lot of folks like just giving
them a call and they love hearing from you. I
got to do is call the set up that appointment
six so eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That's
six eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That first
visit that exam. It's free. They're open seven days a
week out at Checkout Vet from nine am until five pm.
(00:43):
And they're super convenient for everybody to get to. If
you can hear us this morning, you are near the
Checkout Vet clinic and joining us this morning is doctor
Marty Greer. Doc Greer recognized as Veterinarian of the Year
from Westminster Kennel Club. Doctor, how you doing this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I'm doing really well. Thank you. It's just a beautiful
time of year.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
It is a great time a year, and tomorrow, of
course Halloween. I know for a lot of folks one
of their favorite holidays, and it is a lot of fun.
But anytime there's change in routine and those type of things,
it could be stressful on pets. It can also be
wonderful and a lot of fun. Let's talk a little
bit about just the action of trick or treating. You
want to be cautious with your pets this time of year,
(01:24):
don't you.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Absolutely. The number one day for pets to run away
from home is July fourth, but number two, the second
month most commonly that we lose pets is October, and
it really relates a lot to the Halloween and the
turket treating and the activities that go on in neighborhoods.
So we want to be really careful with our pets.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Cats have and I'm not this is not nothing against cats.
As a matter of fact, I'm quite envious of this.
They could be super sneaky.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Can't they They are. There's sealth, they're quiet, their stealth,
they're very servant of all of our behaviors and so
they're watching everything we do. They're memorizing all of our routines. Yeah,
they're kind, they're kind of sneaky little creatures. I love them.
I think cats are amazing, but they're they're not dogs.
(02:12):
They're not all dogs.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yeah, I know you've you've is that we think about that.
I think a lot of us I've we've talked about
how cats and done show specifically on cats, and I
think a lot of folks tend to treat them that way.
And cats are cats are a very different, very unique,
amazing pets, great animals, great creatures, but special pcautions. Do
you advise it for folks that may have like maybe
(02:34):
a separate area in the house, maybe because that's what
we do at the Prevole House. Not only do we
have cats, we have a chihuahua. And everybody knows how
chihuahuas respond to any visitor to the house. Homer just goes,
We've got put him in our bedroom. We lay him
in our bed, turn the radio on softly, and he
seems pretty cool. That do you advise like maybe folks
if they're able to find like a separate room or
(02:56):
a separate area, almost like a second line out of defense,
to maybe keep the pa that's away from the door,
especially if they're prone to running off.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Oh most definitely on the night of trick or treating.
You do not want your dog, your cat, any of
those things near the doorway because they may be startled
by a sound, they may see people that are dressed strangely.
It may really scare them and they may take off.
So you may want to put them into a crate
if you have one that's appropriate for your dog. For
your dog, your cat, you may want to put them
in a bedroom, a bathroom, you know, someplace that there's
(03:26):
doorways that can really be secured. Put a note on
the door, because sometimes the kids forget that they're there.
You have guests that come in and they may be
aware that if you open the door, the cat's can
start out, so really be thoughtful about that. Make sure
that they've got their tags on with identification. Make sure
they've got their microchip. There's a new tag called Buddy
Badge that has a QR code on it that you
can scan with your phone, so you don't need a
(03:48):
scanner like a microchip scanner to identify the pet's information.
But make sure they've got that tag on with your
phone number, and make sure the phone number is current.
Make sure you've got all the information on your microchip
up to date, because if you've changed your address or
your phone number and you've forgotten to update it on
the microchip and they try to contact you and the
old information is there, then it's not going to help
you very much. So just really be thoughtful about this.
(04:11):
Put a maybe a lighted collar on the dog if
you're going to go trick or treating with them, so
that you can see them in the dark. They make
some really cool led callers that are rechargeable that you
can just put around the dog's neck. By some puts
one on his dog when he takes them out in the backyard.
So there's a lot of great techniques that we have
that aren't, you know, super high tech. Now, they do
make tracking callers for dogs that are made by several
(04:32):
different companies. One is ce Fi that are really good
tracking callers. Some people use other devices like air tags,
although Apple doesn't endorse that. But there's a lot of
different ways that we have technology involved now to help
us keep our pets safe and to get them back
home safely. So don't overlook any of those. You have
a very little amount of time yet to get planned
(04:52):
for Halloween, So get stuff together so that you don't
have any tragedies on Halloween that would just really, you know,
sort of mare of the holiday for you going forward.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
What about Doctor, I think of the routine. I know
you've got the kiddos, and I've got kiddos, and you
know you got you got them coming home. The first
thing I think kind of for all the kiddos to
do is when they get home with their with their
big bag of goodies, the first thing they want to
do is dump it out on the floor and see
what all the.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Right but right calling through it, like where's the good chocolate? Oh?
You know I'm not going to eat that. That's the
jolly rancher. I want to I want something chocolate. I
want a Reese's, I want a Hershy. Yes, I'm pretty
much a chocolate fan. I don't usually take in calories
that aren't chocolate, Like why would I bother?
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Right?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So, yes, And you know, there's always been the concern
about popcornballs and apples and safety and did somebody hide
something in any of those devices, you know, devices anything
sharp or anything into those So you want to be
as careful with your pets as you are with your kids.
But don't dump the bag of candy on the floor
because it's going to scoot around and the dog is
going to come over and think that they've just you know,
and into the best snack ever. And the dogs won't
(06:03):
just eat the chocolate, they'll eat the rappers. I've seen
obstructions from rappers. In fact, my mother in law had
a cat that came to the emergency clinic when I
worked there many many years ago that had a stomach
full of cellophane. She was one of those cats that
would just eat all kinds of weird stuff. So cassil
et cellophane that causes an obstruction. Dogs will lead the
rappers on her. She's kisses and Reese's cups and all
(06:25):
the stuff. So it's not just the chocolate that we're
concerned about, and it's not raisins if there are raisins
in this mix of whatever is happening on your floor,
but you want to be really careful that they're not
getting access to those things. So you know, kind of
when the kids get home, establish a nice place on
the kitchen table, the dining room table, the kitchen counter,
someplace that you really safely expose all the goodies and
(06:45):
sort out, you know, who gets what and how frequently
you're going to dule out these things because boy, you know,
most of us don't let our kids just you know,
go hog wild and eat everything in the bag the
first night, because that's that's going to end badly for everybody. Yeah,
just say, yeah, that.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Is for sure. And what, by the way, with I
hear about the toxicity for chocolate with dogs, what exactly
goes on there? What's kind of the what's the concert
like medically, what happens when a dog consumes chocolate?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
So it's theobroman that's in the chocolate, and it's there
for us too, but it doesn't affect us as profoundly.
It causes them to have high heart rates and you know,
just get really kind of wound up more than just
sugar alone. It's a stimulatet similar to caffeine. So dogs
just don't tolerate it very well and we have to
be cautious with that. But darker the chocolate, the more
theobroman there is in the chocolate. So my preference is
(07:39):
dark chocolate. I really like that, but the milk chocolate
is not as toxic to the dogs. And then if
it's something like a Reese's cup that has two thirds
peanut butter and one third chocolate, that even lowers the
risk of toxicity. But it just still doesn't mean that
you should let your dog, you know, have access to
those things too, that you should deliberately be feeding them
to them. So things like Eminem's, they're milk chocolate, but
(07:59):
it's still well, if you eat enough milk chocolate, if
that can be a problem. It's just that it takes
a smaller amount of dark chocolate to get you into trouble.
And then of course it's size related. If the dog
is really small, they're going to be less likely to
be able to tolerate a big dose of the chocolate.
Ben if it's a really large dog. So if you
have one hundred pound Labrador and of each one racis
peanut butter cup, I wouldn't get alarmed. If you have
(08:20):
your little Homer and he ate six pieces of dark chocolate,
I'd be pretty worried. So again, we have access to
poison control. There are two organizations, National Animal Poison Control
and Pet Poison helpline that you can call. There is
a charge for it runs around one hundred dollars. You
have to have a credit card in your hand so
that you can give them that when you call. But
they can take the size of the dog and the
(08:41):
amount of the chocolate or whatever, silatol, whatever it happens
that the dog may have gotten into, because that's another concern,
and they can calculate for you if you have had
a possible toxic dose. And if you have what that
treatment plan looks like, they'll give you a case number.
You can take it to your vet or your emergency
clinic with you and then they'll have the whole treatment
plan established. So know those phone numbers, have them in
(09:03):
your phone, have them taped to your kitchen, cabinet, whatever,
have your credit card available. And if you do have
a situation where silatol, sugar, the stum and candy, chocolate,
any of those things, Raisins you have any concerns about it,
possible toxicity. One hundred dollars is a good piece of
mind to know that you're safe or that if you're
not safe, what you need to do about it.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
What's the And you mentioned Raisins and grapes and kind
of medically what goes what happens there? Like what is
the the concern? Like what does that do to it?
It is due to dogs and is it similar for well,
I guess I've never seen a cat cry and eat
a raise and let alone be sick and val Well,
what's going on? This kind of goes on with those.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, tats typically don't have the toxicity problems with them,
but it causes grapes and raisins in some patients, and
some varieties of grapes and raisins, it causes kidney failure.
And we don't really know what the mechanism is. It
doesn't appear to be a spray, It doesn't appear that
homegrown or worse than store bought or vice versa. It
doesn't appear to be a certain variety of grape. We're
not really sure what it is that causes the toxicity,
(10:04):
but it's been pretty well established that there are toxic
doses of certain grapes and raisins or certain patients to
cause them to go into kidney failure. It's you know,
lily's in. Cats will go into kidney failure if they
eat a lily leaf, for the pedals off of a
lily like a peace lily or an easter lily or
any of those things. So there's different toxicities and different patients.
So we don't really understand it as well as we'd
(10:26):
like to. But we've known about reason and grape toxicity
for probably twenty five or thirty years, and it still
hasn't really come to the forefront that we can establish
exactly what chemical it is in that grape or raisin
that costs the toxicity. So just avoid them. And I
have people that go, oh, well, I do it all
the time, Oh well, please stop, because we don't know
when the next batch of grapes is going to be
the one that caused the issues. So if you've gotten
(10:46):
away with it, that doesn't mean you should continue. It
doesn't mean your dog is somehow super dog. Just don't.
Just don't set yourself up for that because you're going
to be pretty heartbroken if something goes awry. So you know,
we'll sometimes see the chocolate covered raisin as the double
whimmy because then we have chocolate and raises that we
have to deal with.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Fortucticity, really important guidance, and really important precautions. A great
time of year, What a great holiday. It is so
much fun for everybody. I just make sure you're being
safe and being smart. Talking this morning with doctor Mardy
Greer of Checkout Veteran Area online checkout vet dot com.
That's checkout vet dot com. Great data, start that relationship.
They are accepting new patients right now at checkout Vet.
(11:23):
So it's a fantastic opportunity for you and for your pet.
You can make that appointment right online checkout vet dot
com or Peck phone. Givem a call six oh eight
three one eight sixty seven hundred at six oh eight
three one eight sixty seven hundred. Great doctors and a
great team at checkout Vet. We're going to talk about
veterinary care and healthcare for your pet. You may be
surprised that there are some shortages of folks out there
(11:47):
that are that are taking that career path. We're going
to get the details from doctor Greer. We will do
that next as Ask the Experts with Checkout Veterinary continues
right here on thirteen ten wiv A thirteen ten WIBA
and Ask the Experts with Checkout VETT. Talking this morning
with doctor Marty Greer of checkout veterinary the website checkout
(12:08):
vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. Super convenient
at checkout vet for you and your pet, low stress.
They make it really easy. It's designed from the ground
up for that. You can learn more about checkout Veterinary
again on the website checkout vet dot com. They are
accepting new patients right now, so it's a great opportunity
for you and your pet. You make that appointment right
online or give them a call. Six so eight three
(12:30):
one eight sixty seven hundred. That's six eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. And doctor, I know, as the
clinic has expanded, you've brought on uh more techs and
more doctors as well out at checkout vet. And I
know for a lot of kids, they really badly want
to become veterinarians and work with pets when they grow up.
I was a little surprised to learn that that it's
becoming harder and harder to find vets. What's what's going
(12:54):
on out kind of in the in the kind of
the the big picture, what's kind of the underlying issue there?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Doctor, Well, being a veterinarian takes a lot of years
of school, and there's death that's associated with it. So
people are graduating with a fairly significant amount of debt
depending on which school they go to and what their
financial situation is. Now, there is a website that's run
by a veterinarian called in and there's an opportunity there
for any student that thinks they might want to go
(13:19):
to veterinary school to go onto that website, take a
look and figure out which veterinary school is based on
what state you're a resident of, would be most cost effective.
So there are some great tools out there, and I
really encourage people to go into veterinary medicine. I think
it's the best career in the world. I love, love,
love what I do. We have so much fun, and
we have such a great opportunity to help people and
help help their paths that I just find it to
(13:41):
be a really rewarding career. And I have people all
the time they are like, don't retire. I'm like, well,
I'm not planning on it, because I'm terrible to not
do this anymore. So I'm not planning on going anywhere.
But it's not just the veterinarians, it's the veterinary staff
as well, So veterinarians typically have a three year undergraduate
maybe four years, and then four years of veteran school,
and then if they choose to, it doesn't have to
(14:02):
be done. After you graduate. You can do an internship
and residency and then become a specialist in dermatology or
optimology or cardiology or on cology or whatever ology you
want to do. There's a lot of choices if you
decide that you want to go on, but you can
graduate from veterinary school four years, go out, go into practice,
or go work in industry, or you know, go do
one hundred other jobs. They see lots of things that
(14:22):
you can do with a career in veterinary medicine. That
gives you great opportunities. So it's a great career. It
gives you a lot of versatility, and there's so many
options for what you can do with it, and so
if animals are really in your heart, it's a wonderful
place to spend your life in your career. Then we
also have the veterinary technicians and there is ave tech
school in Madison, and then there's several online courses that
(14:43):
you can take and those then graduate sort of the
nurse equivalent of what happens on the human side is
those are people who are allowed to do things beyond
what a veterinary assistant can do. They're allowed to do
bravy saxinations, They're allowed to do X rays, do dentistries,
do anesthesia. So there's a lot of things that the
vet techs can do that put them at a higher
(15:05):
level than just being hired at a veterinary clinic and
being an assistant. But even being an assistant is a
great step forward. If you think that you want to
do this, then you can become a veterinary assistant. Decide
if you want to go on to vet tech school,
go on to veterinary school. Those are all stepping stones
along the way, and we encourage young people that are
even remotely interested in this to take a look at it.
Come spend a day with us, pack a lunch, because
(15:26):
we sometimes don't slow down very long. We have some
guidelines for you know, you got to have your mom's
phone number or your dad's phone number in case something
comes up. But come on in, you know, spend the
day with us. See if this is the way you
want to spend your career and enjoy what you do
for a living. Because it is truly a remarkable career
and we just love it. But there are shortages. There's
a lot of competition for jobs that people can work
(15:49):
from home and do other things, and in the vet
tech world, we generally work at the office because the
pets need to be handled at the veterinary clinic. They
need to be you know, helped out with the nursing care,
so it's not something that can be exclusively done over
the phone. There are some work from home jobs for Vetex,
but the ones that people really you know, if they're
really engaged in the animal care itself, hands on, they're
(16:11):
going to be at a veterinary clinics. So you can't
outsource that, man. You know, we need people in our
veterinary clinics to help with those things, answer the phones
and take care of the pets, and take care of
the clients and help with surgery and anesthesia and X
rays and you know, all the stuff that we get
to do as veterinarians. It's a wonderful and a really
great career. So I'd encourage people to look hard at
that if they think they're interested and they have good grades.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Talking this morning with doctor Marty Greer, of checkout Veterinary online,
checkout VET dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. What
an amazing career opportunity that could be for you to
follow that path. And doctor speaking of clinics too, I
think a lot of folks may be surprised check out VET.
Locally owned, locally operated. That's becoming more and more rare,
(16:53):
and for folks that aren't aware, there are a lot
of different factors, economic factions and other things that make
that more rare. But a lot of these communities, smaller
community clinics, whether it's through challenges of finding vets, are
finding finding people to take ownership of them. They're in
a tough spot as well, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Doctor Right about there's estimates that probably about half of
the veterinary clinics out there are now owned by corporate entities.
So it's different than it used to be back in
the day when you know it's a mom and pop
organization like Dan and I still run. So yes, it
has definitely changed. So doctor Griffiths and I are pretty
committed to the ongoing private ownership and small, you know,
(17:35):
local feel of the veterinary clinics. So we're committed to it.
It's not for everybody, and some of the organizations that
have purchased the veterinary clinics are pretty good at not
allowing you to really understand that it's no longer privately owned.
So shop local is kind of the message that I
like to share with people. And there aren't a lot
of big clinics that are left anymore that are locally on.
(17:55):
Most of the larger clinics, the ones with more than
a few doctors, are going to be owned by corporate.
So if you prefer doing local business and having your
decisions made locally, then make sure that you are researching
the clinics that you go to and that you understand
that local means local and what corporate really means. There
are advantages to corporate, but there are certainly disadvantages as well,
(18:17):
and you don't have that boots on the ground ownership
that if something goes on that doesn't work out well,
or you want to just talk to somebody that owns
the place, you know we're available. So I think those
are important things to know that the bigger the organization,
the harder it is to have that personal feel and doctor.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Before we wrap up this week, one of the things
I often will say, is you know, great data start
that relationship and along these lines, it truly is. I
think about the passion you have and all the doctors
and the entire team at checkout vet for what you're doing.
You guys really care about the patients, You really care
about the families, and it is it is, really, it
is a It is a very important relationship that develops there,
(18:58):
isn't it.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
It really is. And I have We've had our practice
in Lamairah for forty four years, so I have relationships
that go back that far. It's really rewarding. It's really
heartwarming to walk into the examin and see your second
or third generation of pet owners. To know the people,
and you know, it's just really nice to know who
they are and how they think and what kind of
(19:19):
care they want for their pets. So you don't have
to do this whole introductory kind of dance that you
do when you're trying to establish what kind of expectations
each of you have for each other. We just know.
So it's a pretty warm and fuzzy feeling when you've
got that relationship. We've got some really incredible staff members here,
the doctors and team members that are truly committed to
(19:40):
the care of your pets. So be sure that you
understand how much they enjoy working with you and show
some appreciation. You know, be really careful that you're polite
and kind to everybody, from the person who answers the
phone all the way to the doctor. Don't just think
that being nice to the doctor is going to get
to there. You need to be nice to everybody on
the team.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
It's a great team have at checkout Vet, also the
Marshall Clinic and checkout Vet. You can learn more online
the website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com.
Yesterday is a great day to start that relationship. At
checkout Vet. They are accepting new patients. It's gonna make
an appointment right online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout
vet dot com. Or of course you can always pick
up phone and make an appointment that way. Six oh
(20:20):
eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That's six oh
eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That first visit.
That exam is free. A great opportunity for you to
get to know the vets as well. At checkout Vet.
Again the website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet
dot com. Doctor Greer, thank you so much for joining
us this morning. You have a great day.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
News comes your way next right here. On thirteen ten
wuiv a
Thirteen ten WIBA and ask the experts. Brought you by
Checkout Veterinary online. The website checkout vet dot com. That's
all one word checkout vet dot com. Great place to
learn more about Checkout Veterinary, learn about what makes their
clinics so unique, so special, so convenient to you and
your pet. Great opportunity. Also, they are accepting new patients. Yes,
(00:22):
they are accepting new patients at checkout Vet right now.
You can make an appointment right online or do it
the other win. A lot of folks like just giving
them a call and they love hearing from you. I
got to do is call the set up that appointment
six so eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That's
six eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That first
visit that exam. It's free. They're open seven days a
week out at Checkout Vet from nine am until five pm.
(00:43):
And they're super convenient for everybody to get to. If
you can hear us this morning, you are near the
Checkout Vet clinic and joining us this morning is doctor
Marty Greer. Doc Greer recognized as Veterinarian of the Year
from Westminster Kennel Club. Doctor, how you doing this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I'm doing really well. Thank you. It's just a beautiful
time of year.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
It is a great time a year, and tomorrow, of
course Halloween. I know for a lot of folks one
of their favorite holidays, and it is a lot of fun.
But anytime there's change in routine and those type of things,
it could be stressful on pets. It can also be
wonderful and a lot of fun. Let's talk a little
bit about just the action of trick or treating. You
want to be cautious with your pets this time of year,
(01:24):
don't you.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Absolutely. The number one day for pets to run away
from home is July fourth, but number two, the second
month most commonly that we lose pets is October, and
it really relates a lot to the Halloween and the
turket treating and the activities that go on in neighborhoods.
So we want to be really careful with our pets.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Cats have and I'm not this is not nothing against cats.
As a matter of fact, I'm quite envious of this.
They could be super sneaky.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Can't they They are. There's sealth, they're quiet, their stealth,
they're very servant of all of our behaviors and so
they're watching everything we do. They're memorizing all of our routines. Yeah,
they're kind, they're kind of sneaky little creatures. I love them.
I think cats are amazing, but they're they're not dogs.
(02:12):
They're not all dogs.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yeah, I know you've you've is that we think about that.
I think a lot of us I've we've talked about
how cats and done show specifically on cats, and I
think a lot of folks tend to treat them that way.
And cats are cats are a very different, very unique,
amazing pets, great animals, great creatures, but special pcautions. Do
you advise it for folks that may have like maybe
(02:34):
a separate area in the house, maybe because that's what
we do at the Prevole House. Not only do we
have cats, we have a chihuahua. And everybody knows how
chihuahuas respond to any visitor to the house. Homer just goes,
We've got put him in our bedroom. We lay him
in our bed, turn the radio on softly, and he
seems pretty cool. That do you advise like maybe folks
if they're able to find like a separate room or
(02:56):
a separate area, almost like a second line out of defense,
to maybe keep the pa that's away from the door,
especially if they're prone to running off.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Oh most definitely on the night of trick or treating.
You do not want your dog, your cat, any of
those things near the doorway because they may be startled
by a sound, they may see people that are dressed strangely.
It may really scare them and they may take off.
So you may want to put them into a crate
if you have one that's appropriate for your dog. For
your dog, your cat, you may want to put them
in a bedroom, a bathroom, you know, someplace that there's
(03:26):
doorways that can really be secured. Put a note on
the door, because sometimes the kids forget that they're there.
You have guests that come in and they may be
aware that if you open the door, the cat's can
start out, so really be thoughtful about that. Make sure
that they've got their tags on with identification. Make sure
they've got their microchip. There's a new tag called Buddy
Badge that has a QR code on it that you
can scan with your phone, so you don't need a
(03:48):
scanner like a microchip scanner to identify the pet's information.
But make sure they've got that tag on with your
phone number, and make sure the phone number is current.
Make sure you've got all the information on your microchip
up to date, because if you've changed your address or
your phone number and you've forgotten to update it on
the microchip and they try to contact you and the
old information is there, then it's not going to help
you very much. So just really be thoughtful about this.
(04:11):
Put a maybe a lighted collar on the dog if
you're going to go trick or treating with them, so
that you can see them in the dark. They make
some really cool led callers that are rechargeable that you
can just put around the dog's neck. By some puts
one on his dog when he takes them out in the backyard.
So there's a lot of great techniques that we have
that aren't, you know, super high tech. Now, they do
make tracking callers for dogs that are made by several
(04:32):
different companies. One is ce Fi that are really good
tracking callers. Some people use other devices like air tags,
although Apple doesn't endorse that. But there's a lot of
different ways that we have technology involved now to help
us keep our pets safe and to get them back
home safely. So don't overlook any of those. You have
a very little amount of time yet to get planned
(04:52):
for Halloween, So get stuff together so that you don't
have any tragedies on Halloween that would just really, you know,
sort of mare of the holiday for you going forward.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
What about Doctor, I think of the routine. I know
you've got the kiddos, and I've got kiddos, and you
know you got you got them coming home. The first
thing I think kind of for all the kiddos to
do is when they get home with their with their
big bag of goodies, the first thing they want to
do is dump it out on the floor and see
what all the.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Right but right calling through it, like where's the good chocolate? Oh?
You know I'm not going to eat that. That's the
jolly rancher. I want to I want something chocolate. I
want a Reese's, I want a Hershy. Yes, I'm pretty
much a chocolate fan. I don't usually take in calories
that aren't chocolate, Like why would I bother?
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Right?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So, yes, And you know, there's always been the concern
about popcornballs and apples and safety and did somebody hide
something in any of those devices, you know, devices anything
sharp or anything into those So you want to be
as careful with your pets as you are with your kids.
But don't dump the bag of candy on the floor
because it's going to scoot around and the dog is
going to come over and think that they've just you know,
and into the best snack ever. And the dogs won't
(06:03):
just eat the chocolate, they'll eat the rappers. I've seen
obstructions from rappers. In fact, my mother in law had
a cat that came to the emergency clinic when I
worked there many many years ago that had a stomach
full of cellophane. She was one of those cats that
would just eat all kinds of weird stuff. So cassil
et cellophane that causes an obstruction. Dogs will lead the
rappers on her. She's kisses and Reese's cups and all
(06:25):
the stuff. So it's not just the chocolate that we're
concerned about, and it's not raisins if there are raisins
in this mix of whatever is happening on your floor,
but you want to be really careful that they're not
getting access to those things. So you know, kind of
when the kids get home, establish a nice place on
the kitchen table, the dining room table, the kitchen counter,
someplace that you really safely expose all the goodies and
(06:45):
sort out, you know, who gets what and how frequently
you're going to dule out these things because boy, you know,
most of us don't let our kids just you know,
go hog wild and eat everything in the bag the
first night, because that's that's going to end badly for everybody. Yeah,
just say, yeah, that.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Is for sure. And what, by the way, with I
hear about the toxicity for chocolate with dogs, what exactly
goes on there? What's kind of the what's the concert
like medically, what happens when a dog consumes chocolate?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
So it's theobroman that's in the chocolate, and it's there
for us too, but it doesn't affect us as profoundly.
It causes them to have high heart rates and you know,
just get really kind of wound up more than just
sugar alone. It's a stimulatet similar to caffeine. So dogs
just don't tolerate it very well and we have to
be cautious with that. But darker the chocolate, the more
theobroman there is in the chocolate. So my preference is
(07:39):
dark chocolate. I really like that, but the milk chocolate
is not as toxic to the dogs. And then if
it's something like a Reese's cup that has two thirds
peanut butter and one third chocolate, that even lowers the
risk of toxicity. But it just still doesn't mean that
you should let your dog, you know, have access to
those things too, that you should deliberately be feeding them
to them. So things like Eminem's, they're milk chocolate, but
(07:59):
it's still well, if you eat enough milk chocolate, if
that can be a problem. It's just that it takes
a smaller amount of dark chocolate to get you into trouble.
And then of course it's size related. If the dog
is really small, they're going to be less likely to
be able to tolerate a big dose of the chocolate.
Ben if it's a really large dog. So if you
have one hundred pound Labrador and of each one racis
peanut butter cup, I wouldn't get alarmed. If you have
(08:20):
your little Homer and he ate six pieces of dark chocolate,
I'd be pretty worried. So again, we have access to
poison control. There are two organizations, National Animal Poison Control
and Pet Poison helpline that you can call. There is
a charge for it runs around one hundred dollars. You
have to have a credit card in your hand so
that you can give them that when you call. But
they can take the size of the dog and the
(08:41):
amount of the chocolate or whatever, silatol, whatever it happens
that the dog may have gotten into, because that's another concern,
and they can calculate for you if you have had
a possible toxic dose. And if you have what that
treatment plan looks like, they'll give you a case number.
You can take it to your vet or your emergency
clinic with you and then they'll have the whole treatment
plan established. So know those phone numbers, have them in
(09:03):
your phone, have them taped to your kitchen, cabinet, whatever,
have your credit card available. And if you do have
a situation where silatol, sugar, the stum and candy, chocolate,
any of those things, Raisins you have any concerns about it,
possible toxicity. One hundred dollars is a good piece of
mind to know that you're safe or that if you're
not safe, what you need to do about it.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
What's the And you mentioned Raisins and grapes and kind
of medically what goes what happens there? Like what is
the the concern? Like what does that do to it?
It is due to dogs and is it similar for well,
I guess I've never seen a cat cry and eat
a raise and let alone be sick and val Well,
what's going on? This kind of goes on with those.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, tats typically don't have the toxicity problems with them,
but it causes grapes and raisins in some patients, and
some varieties of grapes and raisins, it causes kidney failure.
And we don't really know what the mechanism is. It
doesn't appear to be a spray, It doesn't appear that
homegrown or worse than store bought or vice versa. It
doesn't appear to be a certain variety of grape. We're
not really sure what it is that causes the toxicity,
(10:04):
but it's been pretty well established that there are toxic
doses of certain grapes and raisins or certain patients to
cause them to go into kidney failure. It's you know,
lily's in. Cats will go into kidney failure if they
eat a lily leaf, for the pedals off of a
lily like a peace lily or an easter lily or
any of those things. So there's different toxicities and different patients.
So we don't really understand it as well as we'd
(10:26):
like to. But we've known about reason and grape toxicity
for probably twenty five or thirty years, and it still
hasn't really come to the forefront that we can establish
exactly what chemical it is in that grape or raisin
that costs the toxicity. So just avoid them. And I
have people that go, oh, well, I do it all
the time, Oh well, please stop, because we don't know
when the next batch of grapes is going to be
the one that caused the issues. So if you've gotten
(10:46):
away with it, that doesn't mean you should continue. It
doesn't mean your dog is somehow super dog. Just don't.
Just don't set yourself up for that because you're going
to be pretty heartbroken if something goes awry. So you know,
we'll sometimes see the chocolate covered raisin as the double
whimmy because then we have chocolate and raises that we
have to deal with.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Fortucticity, really important guidance, and really important precautions. A great
time of year, What a great holiday. It is so
much fun for everybody. I just make sure you're being
safe and being smart. Talking this morning with doctor Mardy
Greer of Checkout Veteran Area online checkout vet dot com.
That's checkout vet dot com. Great data, start that relationship.
They are accepting new patients right now at checkout Vet.
(11:23):
So it's a fantastic opportunity for you and for your pet.
You can make that appointment right online checkout vet dot
com or Peck phone. Givem a call six oh eight
three one eight sixty seven hundred at six oh eight
three one eight sixty seven hundred. Great doctors and a
great team at checkout Vet. We're going to talk about
veterinary care and healthcare for your pet. You may be
surprised that there are some shortages of folks out there
(11:47):
that are that are taking that career path. We're going
to get the details from doctor Greer. We will do
that next as Ask the Experts with Checkout Veterinary continues
right here on thirteen ten wiv A thirteen ten WIBA
and Ask the Experts with Checkout VETT. Talking this morning
with doctor Marty Greer of checkout veterinary the website checkout
(12:08):
vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. Super convenient
at checkout vet for you and your pet, low stress.
They make it really easy. It's designed from the ground
up for that. You can learn more about checkout Veterinary
again on the website checkout vet dot com. They are
accepting new patients right now, so it's a great opportunity
for you and your pet. You make that appointment right
online or give them a call. Six so eight three
(12:30):
one eight sixty seven hundred. That's six eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. And doctor, I know, as the
clinic has expanded, you've brought on uh more techs and
more doctors as well out at checkout vet. And I
know for a lot of kids, they really badly want
to become veterinarians and work with pets when they grow up.
I was a little surprised to learn that that it's
becoming harder and harder to find vets. What's what's going
(12:54):
on out kind of in the in the kind of
the the big picture, what's kind of the underlying issue there?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Doctor, Well, being a veterinarian takes a lot of years
of school, and there's death that's associated with it. So
people are graduating with a fairly significant amount of debt
depending on which school they go to and what their
financial situation is. Now, there is a website that's run
by a veterinarian called in and there's an opportunity there
for any student that thinks they might want to go
(13:19):
to veterinary school to go onto that website, take a
look and figure out which veterinary school is based on
what state you're a resident of, would be most cost effective.
So there are some great tools out there, and I
really encourage people to go into veterinary medicine. I think
it's the best career in the world. I love, love,
love what I do. We have so much fun, and
we have such a great opportunity to help people and
help help their paths that I just find it to
(13:41):
be a really rewarding career. And I have people all
the time they are like, don't retire. I'm like, well,
I'm not planning on it, because I'm terrible to not
do this anymore. So I'm not planning on going anywhere.
But it's not just the veterinarians, it's the veterinary staff
as well, So veterinarians typically have a three year undergraduate
maybe four years, and then four years of veteran school,
and then if they choose to, it doesn't have to
(14:02):
be done. After you graduate. You can do an internship
and residency and then become a specialist in dermatology or
optimology or cardiology or on cology or whatever ology you
want to do. There's a lot of choices if you
decide that you want to go on, but you can
graduate from veterinary school four years, go out, go into practice,
or go work in industry, or you know, go do
one hundred other jobs. They see lots of things that
(14:22):
you can do with a career in veterinary medicine. That
gives you great opportunities. So it's a great career. It
gives you a lot of versatility, and there's so many
options for what you can do with it, and so
if animals are really in your heart, it's a wonderful
place to spend your life in your career. Then we
also have the veterinary technicians and there is ave tech
school in Madison, and then there's several online courses that
(14:43):
you can take and those then graduate sort of the
nurse equivalent of what happens on the human side is
those are people who are allowed to do things beyond
what a veterinary assistant can do. They're allowed to do
bravy saxinations, They're allowed to do X rays, do dentistries,
do anesthesia. So there's a lot of things that the
vet techs can do that put them at a higher
(15:05):
level than just being hired at a veterinary clinic and
being an assistant. But even being an assistant is a
great step forward. If you think that you want to
do this, then you can become a veterinary assistant. Decide
if you want to go on to vet tech school,
go on to veterinary school. Those are all stepping stones
along the way, and we encourage young people that are
even remotely interested in this to take a look at it.
Come spend a day with us, pack a lunch, because
(15:26):
we sometimes don't slow down very long. We have some
guidelines for you know, you got to have your mom's
phone number or your dad's phone number in case something
comes up. But come on in, you know, spend the
day with us. See if this is the way you
want to spend your career and enjoy what you do
for a living. Because it is truly a remarkable career
and we just love it. But there are shortages. There's
a lot of competition for jobs that people can work
(15:49):
from home and do other things, and in the vet
tech world, we generally work at the office because the
pets need to be handled at the veterinary clinic. They
need to be you know, helped out with the nursing care,
so it's not something that can be exclusively done over
the phone. There are some work from home jobs for Vetex,
but the ones that people really you know, if they're
really engaged in the animal care itself, hands on, they're
(16:11):
going to be at a veterinary clinics. So you can't
outsource that, man. You know, we need people in our
veterinary clinics to help with those things, answer the phones
and take care of the pets, and take care of
the clients and help with surgery and anesthesia and X
rays and you know, all the stuff that we get
to do as veterinarians. It's a wonderful and a really
great career. So I'd encourage people to look hard at
that if they think they're interested and they have good grades.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Talking this morning with doctor Marty Greer, of checkout Veterinary online,
checkout VET dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. What
an amazing career opportunity that could be for you to
follow that path. And doctor speaking of clinics too, I
think a lot of folks may be surprised check out VET.
Locally owned, locally operated. That's becoming more and more rare,
(16:53):
and for folks that aren't aware, there are a lot
of different factors, economic factions and other things that make
that more rare. But a lot of these communities, smaller
community clinics, whether it's through challenges of finding vets, are
finding finding people to take ownership of them. They're in
a tough spot as well, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Doctor Right about there's estimates that probably about half of
the veterinary clinics out there are now owned by corporate entities.
So it's different than it used to be back in
the day when you know it's a mom and pop
organization like Dan and I still run. So yes, it
has definitely changed. So doctor Griffiths and I are pretty
committed to the ongoing private ownership and small, you know,
(17:35):
local feel of the veterinary clinics. So we're committed to it.
It's not for everybody, and some of the organizations that
have purchased the veterinary clinics are pretty good at not
allowing you to really understand that it's no longer privately owned.
So shop local is kind of the message that I
like to share with people. And there aren't a lot
of big clinics that are left anymore that are locally on.
(17:55):
Most of the larger clinics, the ones with more than
a few doctors, are going to be owned by corporate.
So if you prefer doing local business and having your
decisions made locally, then make sure that you are researching
the clinics that you go to and that you understand
that local means local and what corporate really means. There
are advantages to corporate, but there are certainly disadvantages as well,
(18:17):
and you don't have that boots on the ground ownership
that if something goes on that doesn't work out well,
or you want to just talk to somebody that owns
the place, you know we're available. So I think those
are important things to know that the bigger the organization,
the harder it is to have that personal feel and doctor.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Before we wrap up this week, one of the things
I often will say, is you know, great data start
that relationship and along these lines, it truly is. I
think about the passion you have and all the doctors
and the entire team at checkout vet for what you're doing.
You guys really care about the patients, You really care
about the families, and it is it is, really, it
is a It is a very important relationship that develops there,
(18:58):
isn't it.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
It really is. And I have We've had our practice
in Lamairah for forty four years, so I have relationships
that go back that far. It's really rewarding. It's really
heartwarming to walk into the examin and see your second
or third generation of pet owners. To know the people,
and you know, it's just really nice to know who
they are and how they think and what kind of
(19:19):
care they want for their pets. So you don't have
to do this whole introductory kind of dance that you
do when you're trying to establish what kind of expectations
each of you have for each other. We just know.
So it's a pretty warm and fuzzy feeling when you've
got that relationship. We've got some really incredible staff members here,
the doctors and team members that are truly committed to
(19:40):
the care of your pets. So be sure that you
understand how much they enjoy working with you and show
some appreciation. You know, be really careful that you're polite
and kind to everybody, from the person who answers the
phone all the way to the doctor. Don't just think
that being nice to the doctor is going to get
to there. You need to be nice to everybody on
the team.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
It's a great team have at checkout Vet, also the
Marshall Clinic and checkout Vet. You can learn more online
the website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com.
Yesterday is a great day to start that relationship. At
checkout Vet. They are accepting new patients. It's gonna make
an appointment right online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout
vet dot com. Or of course you can always pick
up phone and make an appointment that way. Six oh
(20:20):
eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That's six oh
eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That first visit.
That exam is free. A great opportunity for you to
get to know the vets as well. At checkout Vet.
Again the website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet
dot com. Doctor Greer, thank you so much for joining
us this morning. You have a great day.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
News comes your way next right here. On thirteen ten
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