Calling All Creatures Presents Caring For Creatures Great and Small

Join me as I chat with Dr. Robin Moore, owner of East Bay Animal Hospital in Largo, Florida.

Dr. Moore has dedicated her career to helping animals of all kinds—from cats and dogs to exotics—and she’s sharing her insights on compassionate care, senior pet health, and even a few tips for solving those tricky cat litterbox mysteries

We’ll talk about what’s changed in veterinary medicine, how to build a stronger partnership with your vet, and why understanding your pet’s behavior can make all the difference.

Because every creature deserves a little more care and understanding.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Good evening everybody, and welcome to Calling All Creatures. I
am your host, Lori, and tonight we have a great podcast.
I'm going to be talking to doctor Robin Moore, who
is the veterinarian and she's also the owner of East
Bay Animal Hospital and Florida, and so she's got all

(00:23):
sorts of great things to tell us tonight about all
sorts of different stuff that she does as a veterinarian.
And we're going to talk a little bit about cats
and some problems with litterboxes and stuff and how you
can kind of work on that with your kiddy cats.
So I'm very happy to have you on with me tonight, Robin.

(00:45):
It's great to have you on.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Oh thank you so much for the invitation.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
I'm super excited about all the things we're going to
talk about tonight.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Good good, I'm excited too, so so why don't we
just kind of start out with what inspired you to
become a vetian and how did that path kind of
lead you to the East Bay Animal Hospital.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Oh goodness, Laurier, I always tell people I was created
in the womb to be a veterinarian, because I can't
ever remember.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Not wanting could be one.

Speaker 3 (01:15):
Yeah, I started volunteering at my family vet's office when
I was like fifteen years.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Old and it just continued from there.

Speaker 3 (01:25):
How did I land at East Bay? I think that
was because when I was working as a young VET
team member, I had some really great mentors in the
veterinarians that were there. So I looked for that during
the interview process as I was becoming a veterinarian, and
I found that at east By Animal Hospital, the previous owner,

(01:47):
doctor Marshall, and his team, they were just so welcoming
and kind and he was a fantastic mentor.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
I probably couldn't have asked for a better one for me.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
And then as the as the owner of East Bay,
I've strived to continue to kind of keep that mentoring
mindset is philosophy.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
We host high.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
School shadows and the college kids who need to get
their hours. On any given day, I have volunteers and
students just swirling about me.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Well, that's awesome that you you know, keep that going
in that you guys have shadows and stuff like that.
That's pretty cool.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Yeah, Now you've had the hospital since about what two
thousand and eight, so in that timeframe between then and now,
and so how has veterinary medicine kind of changed since
you started?

Speaker 3 (02:38):
I think the way veterinary medicine has changed in general
since nineteen ninety six when I started working there to
two thousand and eight when I bought it is just
generally the way the world has changed as a whole.
Technology advancements. Veterinary medicine has been touched by that as well, right,
And it's you know, it's evolved tremendously and we we

(03:00):
now have that at our fingertips when it comes to
helping pets and pet parents and such like that.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Yeah, I know, there's been so many remarkable advancements over
the years in animal and human you know, medicine and
stuff like that. So yeah, yeah, that's awesome that, you know,
things have gotten so much better. So, now, what is
your philosophy when it comes to like balancing advanced medical

(03:33):
care with your personal compassionate touch.

Speaker 3 (03:40):
I think my philosophy is that they really aren't. You
can't separate them. They're inseparable. Very your medicine is a
combination of both, you know, like science and the soul.
We might have this cutting technique, cutting edge technology available
to us, but it shouldn't disconnect us from the person

(04:02):
who's holding the niche.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Otherwise you're missing.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Half of the picture, right, So my goal is always
to help pet parents navigate the intricacies of those advanced
testings in a way that like feels human. I always
try to explain complex things simply.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
I try to.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Guide them without judgment. If they can't afford the advanced diagnostics,
no judgment here, will work around that. And then always
try to remember that every all of my patients have
a family member behind them.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
Well, yeah, I mean exactly, and so many people you know,
view their pets as a family member that they do
want to.

Speaker 4 (04:46):
Have.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
I guess you might say that acknowledgement or that you know,
type of compassion that when it's something that's an emergency
or even health related to their pet, that they're just
as concerned as they would be if it was actually,
you know, their child old or their sibling or their
parent or something like that.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
Right.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
So, I mean, I think you do have to kind
of keep that in mind as a veterinarian and keep
that compassion. And yeah, and it is it is hard
out there in the world sometimes when it comes to
having to do some of these things with our pets
and and the you know, sometimes the costs and stuff
on them, because especially especially right now with the way
to think, with the way things are going, it's just

(05:26):
horrible out there, and it's so hard now to to
try to afford, you know, to I mean, it's hard
to afford the medical costs for ourselves all alone our pets.
You know, that's that's the bad part of it all.
And believe me, I know. I have a senior dog.
She is sixteen sees mcgirl. I've had her for well.

(05:49):
I used to do animal control and she came to
me at the shelter when I think she was one
or two, and I brought her home. I couldn't She's
very dog she was very dog picky, and I wasn't
able to find any dogs. She wasn't getting adopted, and
so it came to a situation where my chief was
like basically telling me to put her down if I didn't,

(06:11):
you know, and I wasn't about to do that. So
she got adopted by me. So I brought her home
and I've had her ever since. So I've had her
about twelve years now, and she's oh yeah, she's been
one of the and I know everybody says this about
their dogs, but she has been one of the better
dogs that I've ever owned. She's never given me any problems.

(06:32):
She always is so mellow, So you know, it's just
those things, you know, you know, And she's a girl.
She's laying here on the couch for me right now,
looking at me because she knows I'm talking to her,
so I'm talking about that. Yeah, so yeah, so I
can kind of understand. You know, it is a good
thing that, you know, veterinarians are able to keep that

(06:54):
level of compassion for the owners, because that's very important.
It's very important. Now, as we were just talking about
it and you mentioned you love them, you do have
a soft spot for the senior pet. So what makes
caring for them so special for you?

Speaker 3 (07:15):
I think the soft spot for senior pets has developed,
probably because.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Of the where I live.

Speaker 3 (07:22):
It's a high retirement age population, and so I see
a lot of older pets. Senior pets just have like
this quiet wisdom about them, and I mean, I simply
love their gray faces. It melts my heart every time.
But you know, they've grown alongside their families. I have

(07:43):
been in my practice now thirty years. So I've seen
generations of families, and thus I've seen generations of pets.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
But you know, they grow alongside their families.

Speaker 3 (07:52):
They share those chapters of life, and you can actually
see that when I look at my patients, I can
see that in their eyes. And so winning the trust
of those families to take care of these pets in
their golden years is just a blessing to me.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
And I always I struggle when people say.

Speaker 3 (08:12):
She's just getting old, she's just slowing down, because getting
old is not a disease. And I strive to like
help my clients who've had these pets understand that it's
just a season of life that deserves as much care
and comfort and to be celebrated as any other stage
of life. And it's important that we help the owners

(08:35):
understand that when we address the issues of aging, their.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
Pets can become like that.

Speaker 3 (08:44):
You can become more vitality. That's the word I'm looking for.
That vitality can be maintained even into the most senior
years that pets experience. I mean that's true for people too.
You know, if you manage all of this symptoms of aging,
you can maintain vitality.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, yeah, well, I know my girl here, she she
sleeps a whole lot more than she ever used to.
But she still likes her treats and her dinner and
stuff like that. So you know that the main things
of life for her. And it's funny because you know,
I've got dog beds throughout the house for her. But
my son was actually here the other day and he

(09:25):
was laughing because she's got me so trained. She can't
she you know, her age, she doesn't she can't jump
up on the couch anymore. So she literally will walk
over to the couch and stand there and just stare
at me like, yeah, are you gonna help me up
on the couch or what. So, yeah, she did that

(09:46):
the other day. My son was here and he wants
her do that and help her get up on the couch,
and he just started laughing. You know, he's like, oh, yeah,
she's got your trained. Like, well, you know, she can't
do it herself anymore, so you got yeah, you know,
so I told him, I said, if I ever get
to that point and I can't walk and I'm in
a wheelchair or something, you're gonna have to push me around. Yeah, exactly,

(10:09):
I might, Hey, you need to help Gamma couch. So yeah,
so he was laughing. So yeah, I got kind of
a software. She's my last one out of I had six,
and she's my last girl. Now she's the last. Yeah,
she's the last. So it'll be a sad day when
she does finally go. But we've all had a good

(10:30):
time with her. She's been so good and surprisingly enough,
you know her coming from a background I never knew
anything about she actually has done I mean great with
my grandkids and everything.

Speaker 3 (10:40):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (10:40):
Oh yeah, she's she did great with my grandkids and
everything growing up.

Speaker 3 (10:44):
You know, they just think sometimes the shelter pets are
the most appreciative of a comfortable home.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
I think so too sometimes. And it's so sad that
so many people, you know, don't adopt, and so many
dogs and cats too are getting put to sleep because
they don't have homes. You know, it's really sad. But
hopefully one day the world will get better and people
will change and we won't have the put over population problem.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
And yeah, well things like your podcast can help make
a difference with that. You know, it feels like it's.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
A drop in a bucket of water, but every little
drop has ripples, right, it does.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
And you know, we used to talk about that in
animal control, for the spay and neutering and stuff like that,
and it'd be funny because you know, I would tell
people some years working at the shelter, it seems like
I could kind of see that spaying and neutering was
making a difference, But then the very next year it
was like, yeah, I don't know if it really did,
because there's right back up to where it was, you
know before, So you just never know, but it is

(11:44):
what it is. And hopefully, like I said, one day,
the world will be different and things won't be as
they are and we won't have to worry about having
dogs and shelters or cats and shelters being put to sleep,
and they'll have homes. So every dog I think deserves one.
So kind of coming into one of the things I saw,

(12:06):
I watched your you did a blog pause real Box,
and so I was watching that you were talking about
the kiddy litter and the cats and the cat boxes
and stuff, which was kind of why I wanted to
talk to you a little bit more about that issue,
because it's funny because during animal control, so many people

(12:27):
would turn in their cats because of litter box issues,
and you know, you would try to help them to
understand and try to figure out It's like, hey, did
you go to the vat make sure there wasn't any
health issues. It might be the type of litter, It
could be this, it could be that. But you know
a lot of times those litter box issues, people just
don't want to deal with it and they bring them

(12:49):
in instead of trying to figure out what the problem is.
And that's sad because a lot of times it can
be corrected.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
Oh yeah, absolutely, So.

Speaker 1 (12:59):
On your on that talk about the litter box issues,
what kind of inspired you to tackle that subject?

Speaker 2 (13:07):
So pretty much what you just said.

Speaker 3 (13:10):
It's well documented that litter box issues is, if not
the top, one of the top reasons why cats are
surrendered to shelters or rehomed, and so tackling this topic
came from me seeing pet parents three years being so

(13:31):
frustrated and that there will wits end. That I've had
many cats surrendered to me personally to me at my
that hospital because they've been brought in to be euthanized
as a result of it. So, I mean that was
kind of why it's a passion of mine in veterinary
medicine is to get to the bottoms of those is
to be able to keep cats in their home.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
But the true.

Speaker 3 (13:54):
Inspiration, which I actually talk about during the talk is
that I ended up having a personal experience with litterbox
wars in my own home. My two senior kiddies began
combating each other to see who could most effectively not
go inside of the box, who could do it best,
And then, you know, experiencing it firsthand gave me more

(14:16):
intimate understanding of how pet parents feel about the situation
and why they get to that point where they're ready
to surrender a rehome because I was there myself with
both of these cats. So in my cat box Wars
one on one talk, I wanted to bridge the gap
between what pet owners feel, the stress, the confusion, the anxiety,

(14:42):
the anger, and what's actually happening from a medical behavioral standpoint.
And by doing that with catbox Wars, I can help
people understand their cats better.

Speaker 2 (14:52):
That's on a level that.

Speaker 3 (14:53):
Can literally save the lives and preserve these relationships and
keep cats in their homes.

Speaker 1 (14:59):
Right right, So, from I guess your personal experience and
listening to all these other people. What are some of
the most common causes when cats start avoiding their litter box?

Speaker 3 (15:15):
If I could lump it into one word, the most
common cause is stress. Stress of any type can lead
to just a myriad of behavioral reasons for avoiding the box.
But those behavioral reasons thing can trigger something called if
I see feline idiopathic cystitis, and from a medical standpoint,

(15:38):
we document that to be sixty percent of the medical
cases of lower urinary track disease and cats. The three
main stressors, if you will, are medical, behavioral or environmental.
Of course, medical things like infection, stones, that.

Speaker 2 (15:54):
Type of thing.

Speaker 3 (15:55):
Behavioral anything in the household that changes the dynamic will
stress your cat out, you pet, house guests, changing your
work schedule, anything like that. And then environmentally you forget
to clean the bottomp litter box, well for one week,
you know your cat piece outside of the box, Well,

(16:15):
he's going to do it again because now that area
smells like his urine. So it really boils down to
if we can identify the why, then we can fix
the problem and maybe again keep these cats in.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
Their homes right right, So when it comes down to
something kind of like that. How can owners kind of
tell whether it's maybe a medical issue versus something behavioral
or environmental. What are some things they might be able
to look for.

Speaker 3 (16:47):
Yes, you know, if it's a one or two off
and your cat just didn't go in the box once
or twice and then they're right back to normal, it
was probably purely behavioral and what its Through trial and error,
you probably remedied the situation. But if it happens, I
always say three strikes, you're out.

Speaker 2 (17:07):
You know, third time you got to go to the vet.

Speaker 3 (17:10):
Because especially if there's outward signs like drinking, more urinating, more,
decreased appetite, vomiting, low energy, if you've got other things
called going on, it almost always signifies that it's a
medical problem as opposed to a behavioral problem. And of
course the first thing you need to do is.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
Just go see your met right. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
And I know, like I said, I've had so many
people come and tell me and never even thinking about it.
And sometimes it's the litter that you're using, sure, absolutely,
I mean they might not like the smell, or they
might not like the feel of it, or something on
their paws. I mean, it can be a number of things.

Speaker 3 (17:49):
When it come to you bought a different bag because
it was on sale.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
I didn't think it would matter.

Speaker 1 (17:53):
To your cat, right, right, exactly.

Speaker 3 (17:56):
It matters significantly to them. Another ways, tell people, I
say it, am, I talk to you, that you have
a preference for the type of.

Speaker 2 (18:05):
Toilet paper you use.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
Yes, cats have a preference for the type of litter
they use as well.

Speaker 1 (18:11):
Ah, that is true, That is true. I know people
have preferences for toilet paper, That is true. Another thing
I was kind of reading is the cat boxes too,
if maybe the box is too small, or they have
you know, the covered ones, and sometimes cats don't like

(18:33):
those covered ones. So absolutely, yeah, So there's so many
things that come into that consideration. If you're having any
kind of litter box issues with your cat, you know,
if you've gotten it figured out it's not medical, then
you need to start looking at all these other things.

Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, all of that comes into play, for sure.

Speaker 1 (18:51):
Yeah. So if there is something going on, what's one
or two easy kinds of changes that you suggests that
might often make a big difference.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
The big difference is the big box.

Speaker 3 (19:07):
If all of a sudden your kitty's not going potty
in the box, offer them something much larger because potentially
they've been having some arthritis and they can't get into
the small box. Anything like that can make them think
that the small standard cat boxes are not adequate. So

(19:28):
if I could pick one thing to see if it
would make a difference, is to get a big box,
bigger than what you have and offer a second box
in a different location, possibly with a different litter choice.
If that doesn't fix it, then again we're back to

(19:49):
let's investigate mecle.

Speaker 1 (19:53):
Yeah, yeah, that would make sense because I mean, if
it's something to do with the one box or the litter,
if they have different one to choose from, then you
might figure it out that they prefer one letter over
the other.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
Yeah. Yeah, you know, it sounds really basic.

Speaker 3 (20:06):
But doing small things like that and also making sure
that the box is in a safe, in inviting place,
it's a quiet area, low traffic area, those are all
things that will make your kiddie feel comfortable.

Speaker 2 (20:17):
To go back into the box.

Speaker 1 (20:21):
So as like you said, you had a couple of
senior cats that went to war with each other over
their boxes. So what would be your best tips for
trying to keep the piece between your kiddies and keeping
your floors clean.

Speaker 2 (20:37):
All right, I'm just.

Speaker 3 (20:38):
Gonna beat beat beat it, beat it, beat it big
boxes and as many as you can give them big
clean boxes and as many as you can give them.
Other than that, multiple cats is going to mean that
unless you live in a mansion, the cats are always
going to feel cramped for space. That's just how cats

(20:59):
are wired. More than two cats in a standard size house,
that cats are gonna feel crowded. So if there's any
way that you can either go up with many options
of climbing cat towers, things mounted on the wall, hive shelves,
that type of thing, or if you can go out

(21:19):
like an outdoor enclosed cato type situation expand the space
available to them, then you're gonna help your cats become
more at ease with one another. Or go buy a
mansion and have as many cats as you want.

Speaker 1 (21:36):
Well, there you go. If you want to not a
lot of cats, you need a mansion. And you know,
and then it's interesting about that because so many you know,
the cat rescues and stuff, they have so many cats
in them. I wonder how they deal with all of that,
having that many cats together in a smaller space, because
maybe between you might have a foster home where you
have some but I know, like you know, we have

(21:58):
some cat rescues here. There's a pretty good one, good
sized one, and they have quite a few cats at
their place. I don't know how big it is, but
as many cats as they have, I wouldn't think it
would be big enough for all of them. That to
be like getting to train crowded.

Speaker 2 (22:12):
You feel crowded, no doubt that.

Speaker 3 (22:14):
They're doing the best they can, and they try to
make their stay as short as possible so they're not
in that situation for a long term.

Speaker 1 (22:23):
Hopefully, Yep, exactly, I know they do. Unfortunately, sometimes it
takes them a while excuse me, to get their kitty
cats adopted. So but they they do do the best
that they can, and that's you know, I mean, I
can't fault them for that. They do what they can
with what they've got, so absolutely, and hopefully maybe more
people start the foster so that the kitties can have

(22:45):
more space. So now we talked a little bit now
about our cat box issues, and hopefully people out there
have gotten a few more tips on what they can
do to try to figure out how to help their cats.
Out if they're having any kind of cat wars going
on in their homes. Let's talk about some of the

(23:06):
variety of animals at East Bay that you see. What
do you think the most unusuable, unusual or memorable case
that you've ever worked on.

Speaker 2 (23:18):
Let's see.

Speaker 3 (23:19):
Well, I mean I do exotic so I see a
wide variety of animals, you know, and I've been doing
that ever since I graduated. I've only ever treated one primate.
It was a baby lemur and she had a head injury,
so that was quite interesting. And then I think my
favorite cutest little patient was a bat that was cold

(23:40):
stunned and he decided to hang out in our doorway
of the vet hospital and we left him alone until
he fell one night, and so we warmed him up
and called the bat rescue people.

Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah, I wouldn't let anybody else touch him. I wore
I wore welder's gloves and you know, within a caution.

Speaker 2 (24:00):
But he was so stinking cute. He was a baby,
little baby bat.

Speaker 1 (24:04):
Oh yeah, yeah. I've had a bat World sanctuary on
will We and we've talked about bats and stuff. So
they I file a WM on Facebook. They always have
these kids they do like booty bat Booty Monday's or
something like that. We'll showed little bat booties. It's so cute. Yeah,
they're they're good people. They do a lot of good

(24:24):
work too for the bats. So I'm glad you were
able to get a bat rescue to come and get
that one and help him out. That's good. I'm I'm
assuming they probably got him warmed up and everything and
were able to release them.

Speaker 2 (24:36):
Whatever they needed to do and then released him. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:39):
Yeah, yeah, I know they work hard on doing that
or that. They're they're in Texas and they've got a
huge bat sanctuary there.

Speaker 2 (24:45):
So that's so cool.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
Yeah, they do a lot of work with the bats.
And one of the bridges or something there they had house.
I can't remember how many bats, but it's huge amount
of bats and you can go and stand on the
bridge at dusk and watch them all come flying out
and stuff. It's really kind of cool.

Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (25:03):
In Florida we have them at dusk as well. They
start flying all around and I've never seen one up close.
You know, the fear of God's put in you when
it comes to don't touch a bat. You even get
the rabies and die but so I just was amazed
at how intricate his little nose and his little ears,
his little eyes, and then the webbing of his wings.

(25:23):
It's just an absolutely amazing animal.

Speaker 1 (25:27):
Yes, yes they are, Yes they are. I know I've
had the opportunity to see a couple up close, but
unfortunately they had to go in and get tested for rabies. Yeah,
it is what it is. But so you did mention
that you obviously you work with exotics. So how is
working with exotic pets compared to more traditional ones like

(25:48):
the dogs and the cats.

Speaker 3 (25:51):
I mean it's it's challenging and rewarding in different ways.
With dogs and cats, there's like a level of comfort
and familiarity, not only as a doctor, but I mean
I've personally lived with, cared for many dogs and cats
in my lifetime, so I have a very intimate knowledge
of both dog and cat.

Speaker 2 (26:10):
Species, right.

Speaker 3 (26:13):
But with exotics, I oftentimes just have to be a detective.
Their illnesses are usually very subtle until they're advanced.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
So you know, with dogs and cats, I might see
them very early.

Speaker 3 (26:24):
With exotics, they're going to show up very sick, very advanced,
and so you know, I have to be a detective
with the owners to kind of come up with what
could be going on. And then a lot of the
patients that I see are new species to me. May
never have actually seen that type of lizard or that
type of rodent in the past, and so it often

(26:48):
requires me to phone a friend. And what I mean
by that is I need to reach out to a
trusted colleague who has more experience or specific experience, to
ask for their input. I'm also a member of several
online veterinary forums for exotic veterinarians, and that community is
widely supportive of one another and just phenomenal in offering experience.

(27:13):
Because once one of us knows it, three of us
know it, ten of us know it, then.

Speaker 2 (27:18):
You know, it spreads, So the veterinary community is very
supportive there.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
Other than that, I would say it's the variation in
patient size. That the smallest patient I can remember seeing
was like a two gram chameleon hatching hatchling. But I've
also treated all the way up to a one ton
baby sperm well well bod, So you know patient size,
and you know, just with dogs and cats, I've refined

(27:46):
my standards of care over decades, but with exotics it
almost seems like it's new every single time, but that
variety keeps me learning and humble and growing every day.

Speaker 1 (27:58):
Right, well, I would imagine, I mean, and if it's
something different all the time, you're going to have to
keep learning so that you can keep treating them.

Speaker 2 (28:05):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (28:06):
So what are some of the biggest misconceptions that you
hear from pet owners about preventative care?

Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yeah, good question.

Speaker 3 (28:18):
You know, it might not be a misconception, but rather
a failure to understand the.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
Paramount importance of preventative care.

Speaker 3 (28:26):
I'm gonna quote Benjamin Franklin, an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure. So people often think that
preventative care is optional or only necessary when a pet
seems sick, but in reality, it's what keeps them from
getting sick.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
In the first place, right exactly.

Speaker 3 (28:44):
You know, And and the heartache, headache, pocket book ache
associated with curing those preventable diseases is just often wretched
sometimes when you know preventative measures could have been taken
and the pet never.

Speaker 2 (28:59):
Go first place.

Speaker 1 (29:02):
Well, yeah, exactly, I mean again, sort of like us
as humans, you know, if we can do preventative care
so we don't get sick. I mean, it's all better
for us in the long run, right, and we definitely
don't want to see our pets getting sick, so you
know it. And it's too bad that they have, you know,
or that aren't informed enough to understand that it works

(29:23):
basically the same way as it does with humans. You know.

Speaker 2 (29:26):
Yeah, prevention is really the foundation of lifelong health.

Speaker 1 (29:29):
Right for pets exactly, it is. So yeah, it's too
bad more people don't realize it. And again I think
some of it, I do think also comes back to,
you know, the cost, But if you can afford to
do the preventative care, you might keep yourself from spending
a whole lot more when they're a lot sicker.

Speaker 3 (29:48):
I always call it the pocketbook acheche heartache and the
pocketbook ache.

Speaker 1 (29:52):
Yes, yes, exactly. So you, I mean have done quite
a few dif different things throughout your veterinarian career. I
mean you've also worked with organizations like the Penelas Animal
Foundation and Clearwater Marine Aquarium, who I actually had on
my podcast a few years ago. Yeah, I love talking

(30:14):
with them. Winter was still with them at that point.
A yeah, so I'm so sorry she passed. That was
so sad they did, so she was such an inspiration
to so many people. She was Oh my gosh, it
was just amazing that story, and it was really cool
because you could do the little birthday videos. So I

(30:35):
actually got a birthday video of her for my granddaughter,
So I thought that was kind of cool. That is
now working with those different organizations, How has that kind
of helped us shape your approach to animal welfare.

Speaker 3 (30:50):
I think it's mostly just kind of broadened my perspective on,
if you will, the definition of animal welfare, community and
conservation group. Working with them kind of helped me to
understand that it's not all about what happens inside of
a veterinary hospital when it comes to animal airfare.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
The larger picture is like.

Speaker 3 (31:13):
The ecosystem and education and outreach and stewardship and just
you know, reinforcing that through organizations working together, be that veterinarians, shelters,
marine biologists, pet parents all working for the same goal,
which is happier, healthy pets and more compassionate care for

(31:37):
animals across the board.

Speaker 1 (31:40):
Yeah. Yeah, it would be lovely if more people would
be a little more compassionate when it comes to animals,
and that we didn't have all the bad things that
go on in the world, it would be wonderful. So
when it comes to let's say, pet parents understanding about
veterinary it's or long term healthcare, what's one thing that

(32:02):
you kind of wish that they understood a little bit more.

Speaker 3 (32:13):
I think the take I'll take on this is that
veterinarians for a long time have been dubbed the other
family doctor, and so it's really important to establish it.
We've kind of going back to the preventative care. It's
important to establish your relationship with your vet before your
pet gets sick, you know, And there's a lot of
reasons for that. Top of the list is that when

(32:37):
I or we veterinarians are familiar with your pet, we
can better recognize when something is off or not quite
right about them, and sometimes that's even before you would
notice it. An example would be you bring your fifty
dog weight fifty pound dog in for an annual examine.

Speaker 2 (32:55):
He's lost five pounds.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
We've consistently weighed in the last six years that he's
been there, he's been about fifty pounds and now he's
forty five.

Speaker 2 (33:02):
And you didn't put him on a diet.

Speaker 3 (33:05):
You might not have noticed that five pound weight loss, right,
but we do. Or we take their temperature every single
time they're there, and now it's two degrees higher than
when it has been for the last three years when
he's come in for his annual he's got a fever
and you didn't know it, right, So it helps us

(33:25):
just pick up a little bit better and easier and
quicker when we are familiar with.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
You and we're familiar with your pet.

Speaker 3 (33:33):
That's not uncommon for me to even be able to
pick up on a different demeanor over the course of years.
If a pet again going maccarthritis, comes in and it's
not that bouncy puppy happy, yeah yeah, yeah, kissy, kissy, kissy,
but he's walking a little slower. You are seeing your
pet every day and might not pick up on that.
I see him once a year, and I will notice

(33:53):
the difference.

Speaker 1 (33:56):
That is true. A lot of people don't notice differences now,
temperature changes and stuff like that. I would be to
think a little harder for someone to realize if their
pet's running a fever, just because unless you're taking a temperature,
I'm not quite sure how you know if they're running
a fever. I mean, it's not like a person where
you feel them and you can feel how hot they are,

(34:18):
even sometimes that's not working right, and you know, and
then there's.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
Another layer to that.

Speaker 3 (34:24):
And again we're bringing back in the people, is that
if I, as your other family doctor, know you, and
I know your family, and I know your children, and
I know your children's children and their pet. You know,
I'm in a situation where I'm now three generations in
and so I have a whole family background that surrounds
that pet, and it's easier for me with that level

(34:46):
of familiarity to help you navigate the difficult things that
come about with your pet, exactly as opposed to when
your pet is now ill and you're meeting your veterinarian
for the first time, which happens frequently.

Speaker 1 (35:00):
Yes, yes it does. You know, I've been with my
veterinarian now for quite a few years, and I mean,
you're absolutely right, she knows my dogs. I mean it's
not just I don't just see the one vet in
the practice. I've seen you know, she's had two or three.
But it's the team members too.

Speaker 3 (35:20):
Yes, it's not just me, it's the receptionist, the technician,
you know the kennel of staff. Yes, people that you
see repeatedly that you probably actually see more than you
see your pets.

Speaker 1 (35:30):
Yeah, and you know, and I'm glad you said that because, Yeah,
when we walk into my veterinarian's office, the office staff
knows me, they know my dog. And it's funny because
one of the vet staff at my veterinarian's office used
to work with my son at Pet Smart, so he
really knows. Yeah, he's really known me for a long
time now. So yeah, I mean you're exactly right with that.

(35:53):
When you walk in, they all know us. They they
know her. They they know you know her age and
and things and stuff like that, and and it's nice
to have that established rapport with them. Number one. But
also the one I trust my vet because she doesn't

(36:14):
pull punches either, you know, she's not. She never tries
to really sugarcoat things, you know, for me, which I
really appreciate because I'm one of those people give it
to me straight so I can make my decision and
figure out what I need to do, you know. So's
she's awesome about doing that, and she'll be the first one,
just like my girl Harry when we were in for

(36:36):
her last physical. She now has several bad teeth, and
so we discussed, you know, either dental or pulling the
teeth or whatever. But she's sixteen. We can't put her
under to do that. She's too old. Is she probably?
I don't know if she'd make it, you know, through

(36:56):
an anesthesia. So we're we're doing the best we can.
And she's getting soft food, you know, so she I mean,
she still gets a little bit of the hard stuff,
but I try to keep as much soft as I
can for her because of those teeth. And then the
vet said that you know, they may even fall out
on their own at some point, but you know, it's
kind of one of those things, what do you really

(37:19):
do and you can't you do certain things, you know,
you do the best you can. So I'm very happy
that I have the vet that I have because she's
just been great with my dogs over the years and
me and well her whole team everybody, like you said,
the whole team, the whole staff over there, Yes, exactly,
they've all been great and I love them. So if

(37:40):
any of them are listening, I love you, guys. So
I'm sure most people have good rapporters for the most
part with their vet vets. But unfortunately, like you said,
a lot of people do wait till that last minute
thing and into this emergency and that's the first time
they're walking in. And then of course, now it's your
first time meeting this vet. They haven't taken and.

Speaker 2 (38:00):
You make really hard.

Speaker 1 (38:01):
Decisions exactly, And then of course you're thinking to yourself,
is what they're telling me actually accurate? You know, do
I really need to do this? Should I talk to
you know someone? You know, it's all because you haven't
established that report to know that your vet is giving
you the best advice out there.

Speaker 3 (38:20):
Yeah, you know, a relationship of trust is developed over
several touch points. You know, you innately trust some people
just on a first conversation, but true trust is built
over a period of time. And you know, like you said,
your vet knows how to talk to you and explain
things to you. But she also knows how to do
that for Fluffy's mom, and she knows how to do

(38:42):
that for Cocoa's dad, and she knows how to do
that for Buffy's first time pet owner. But she's known
this young girl since she was four, right, But it's
her first dog as an adult. She knows how to
navigate that situation from a human.

Speaker 1 (38:59):
Standpoint right exactly exactly. And you know, and it's funny
because my next question I was going to ask you,
which goes along with what we're talking about. Obviously, going
into the vet doing the preventative care with your pets
is a great thing to strengthen that relationship with your

(39:20):
vet team and those visits that you have to make.
Is there anything else that you can think of that
might help to strengthen that partnership so it is a
little less stressful for their pets when they have to
take them in.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (39:35):
I mean there's lots of things with dogs, not so
much cats with dogs. If you're out and about with
your dogs, stop by the vet hospital and let them
get pets and kisses and loves and that's it and
you're out the door. Hm.

Speaker 1 (39:48):
That's a good idea because you would love.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
To see you.

Speaker 3 (39:50):
We love seeing healthy animals, We love seeing smiling faces
getting kisses, and your dog is like, great, nothing that happened.

Speaker 2 (39:58):
That is true. Sure, you know, cats not so much.
You will give cats a break. They just flat out don't.

Speaker 3 (40:06):
Like coming to the fence as a as a general rule,
but it's the same thing as we were just talking about.
That level of familiarity helps you when you're less stressed
out coming to the vet because you know us, your
pet's gonna.

Speaker 2 (40:21):
Pick up on that, recognize it.

Speaker 3 (40:25):
Being able to have honest and open conversations with your
vet about things that might you might be concerned about.

Speaker 2 (40:33):
If you know, for a fact, your dog last year.

Speaker 3 (40:35):
Did not like being up on the exam room table,
suggested that that, hey, can we do the.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
Exam on the floor.

Speaker 3 (40:42):
If you know last year you came in and your
cat was there, and you're in a lobby and there's
barking dogs and it freaked them out. Tell your vet team, Hey,
last year it was quite noisy when I was there.
Could we make an accommodation that we bring kitty in
on a day that's a little bit that's busy this year,
you know, be aware of the things that are making

(41:05):
the visit stressful for your pet, Communicate that to your
vet team, and then work together for a solution.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
Right right now. When I did animal control, we would
do rabies clinics with one of our local vets over
the where the shelter was at, and that was one
nice thing when we'd have you know, you'd have all
these people lined up obviously to come in and get
the low cost vaccinations for the rabies clinic. And sometimes

(41:34):
you'd have dogs that didn't like other dogs real well,
yeah it is, it's crazy, and you got to try
to keep them separated and no fights going on and
under control. And and so my my vet was really
good about that because when she knew there was someone
like that, then she'd have them come through like the
back door which was yeh, which is right next to

(41:57):
the office where she was given the examine the shots,
so they didn't have to come through that hole melee.
Same with the cats if the cat was really worked up,
you know. And obviously I don't know how many people
most cats don't really like to travel all that roll
in a car anyway, Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, I
don't know many cats that do like to travel. There
are a few, but there's not a lot that do

(42:18):
like to ride in a car. And I don't know
if it's the actual coming into the vet that stresses
my tickets more of the car right in the days,
everything exactly exactly, So I can't really say it's just
that they don't like coming to see the vet. It's
it's a it's a number of things that those four
cats have to go. Yeah, because dogs, it is not

(42:40):
quite so bad, unless, of course, your dog doesn't like
to ride in the car either, and then it might
get I did have one that for a time he
didn't like to ride in the car. And you know,
most dogs, if they don't like car rides, they tend
to get sick and throw up.

Speaker 3 (42:52):
No, man, Yeah, there's a point. If you know your
dog gets car sick, then communicate that to your vet
team and they will assuredly give you car sickness medicine
to administer the night before so they don't get upset tummy.

Speaker 1 (43:09):
Yes, and my old girl, she even though you know
she hasn't had any real bad experiences or anything like
that with the vet, she's we go to the vet
and she just stands there and she shakes, and so,
you know, we we have some traz a doone to
help with the anxiety for going to see the vet
or for thunderstorms, because she doesn't like the bangs either. Yeah,

(43:31):
but at this point she's about half deaf, so she
doesn't hear it quite as much anymore. Yeah, yeah, unless
that's really really loud, and then of course she hears
it and she's up here on the couch with me,
shaking and I'm trying to calm her down, and you know,
give them in. But yeah, so, I mean there are
different things out there that they can do to help
with those things. If you let them know ahead of time,
they can give you the car sickness stuff.

Speaker 3 (43:51):
Unfortunately, I think even more and more frequently, anti anxiety
medicine is becoming kind of the standard in veterinary medicine.
If we see a patient that's really having a difficult
time navigating the veterinary experience, we suggest either let's send
home some medicines and come another.

Speaker 2 (44:13):
Day or at the very least next year. I'm marking
on your file that we are going.

Speaker 3 (44:19):
To preemptively give some anxiety medicine the night before morning of,
so that your pet's not having a legitimate panic attack
by being here.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
Yeah, yep, exactly, And that's yeah, that's what we do
with her. Is she when we know we've got to go,
she gets to the little ahead of time, so she
doesn't have quite as much anxiety going. But yeah, it's
amazing some of the things. But the one dog that
I had that didn't like to ride in the car
for he got over it. He got much better, but

(44:48):
he didn't get sick. He pooped in the car.

Speaker 2 (44:51):
Oh no, yeah, it's no fun.

Speaker 1 (44:54):
Yeah no, that was not any food at all. Trying
to clean it off no fun for you, No, no,
And I couldn't believe it was just amazed that he
pooped and did that. I was like, wow, I've never
had a dog to that one before, but you know,
he was that stressed out about being in the car
that it just and I that was, like, I think

(45:14):
one of the first first times I had ever had
him in a car, I think. So I didn't know
ahead of time that he was going to do that,
you know I did. I did kind of think, well,
you know, if he doesn't like, he could get car sick.
But I sure wasn't expecting him to poop. So that
was an experience. So just be aware of people. If
your dog doesn't like to ride in the car, it
may not just be a result getting sick. He might

(45:37):
do something else.

Speaker 5 (45:39):
Gosh, yeah, it wasn't fun at all that clean. Let
me tell you to me a long but that's okay.
You know it is what it is, and you live
and learn. And then after that, if I had to
take me, I put a plank or something down. But
like I said, he did finally get over his his
fear of riding in the car and he started doing
much better on his rides.

Speaker 1 (45:58):
So so let's see here all right now, we did
talk a little bit to you know, like you were saying,
you know, if you're with this family for a time,
especially if like say, it's a family and they've had children,
and the children have grown and gotten new pets as
they've become adults. So this kind of leads into that.

(46:18):
I guess if someone out there and that's listening right now,
is thinking about bringing a new pet into their life,
what would be your best piece of advice for getting
off to a healthy start with them.

Speaker 3 (46:32):
Oh I love it when people think they've got room
in their heart for another family member, right, I.

Speaker 2 (46:36):
Mean, that's awesome.

Speaker 3 (46:39):
But I would say as a as a just a
general overarching rule is to not make a long term
commitment to a new pet in a spontaneous manner. I mean,
so like, if a pet needs immediate assistance, most certainly
step in as a good Samaritan help when, where and
if you can.

Speaker 2 (47:01):
But what I'm getting at is what's important is.

Speaker 3 (47:03):
To take the time to really contemplate what the addition
of that new pet will mean to your.

Speaker 1 (47:08):
Household as a whole, exactly.

Speaker 4 (47:12):
Evaluate all the factors involved, get everybody's opinion of all
the people involved that will be affected by your decision,
and then consider what effect it will have on your other.

Speaker 2 (47:25):
Pets as well.

Speaker 3 (47:28):
And I'm not saying you can't get an animal if
it's going to stress another pet out, but you need
to take the measures necessary to abate that and make
it as minimal as possible. And then you have to
take into consideration your financial and time resources that are
available for this new pet as well. A puppy takes
a lot of time.

Speaker 1 (47:50):
Yes, yes, they do take a lot of time.

Speaker 2 (47:53):
Your financials are already stretched.

Speaker 3 (47:55):
You probably shouldn't be agreeing to the additional burden of
you know, food, medical, whatever, of another pet, no matter
how much you love.

Speaker 1 (48:06):
Pets, exactly, And I'm glad you included in there. You know,
to get opinions from all of the family members, you know,
not not just making a decision on your own, but
you know your spouse, your children. Although I know if
you may have small children, and of course smaller children
are going to be all about getting a new puppy
or a new kitten. But you know, and I hate

(48:27):
the fact that so many people get their young children.
And I think it's awesome that you guys want to
teach your kids about taking care of pets. But the
reality of the situation is, as you go out you
get a pet, you think your child's going to take
care of this pet, and it's not what usually ends
up happening. Now you end up with the pet, You

(48:48):
end up taking care of the pet. So if you
decide to get that new pet, don't just base it
on your kids wanting when you have to remember the
fact that you're going to be just as responsible for
that pet, and that your kids more likely aren't going
to be as responsible as you think they're gonna be, right,
and then if you have to force them into taken
care of that pet, they're gonna, you know, you.

Speaker 2 (49:12):
Right, resent the pet, et cetera.

Speaker 1 (49:14):
Exactly.

Speaker 3 (49:15):
Can I share a personal example, And it doesn't go
for young kids only, it goes for college kids.

Speaker 1 (49:21):
Oh, yes, yes it does, it does.

Speaker 2 (49:23):
Yes, I know, so A personal example is on a whim.

Speaker 3 (49:27):
I brought home two cockatials that were surrendered to a
vet clinic that I was working at over a summer
as a college kid.

Speaker 2 (49:35):
It truly was a whim. They were surrendered.

Speaker 3 (49:36):
I brought them home. I did not ask permission or
input from my parents.

Speaker 2 (49:42):
I just brought them home chaos and food.

Speaker 3 (49:47):
Firstly, I mean my parents were not pleased, but they
were pet lovers, but they were not pleased. Secondly, our
family dogs and cats were so distraught and agitated by
the addition of these two birds. They never seen birds before,
and thus forward, they were banned from my bedroom because
that's where the birds lived. Also, that's were not allowed

(50:11):
in the dorm that I was living in. So when
I went back to college, my family had to care
for those birds for several years until I finished college.
And I did not take into account that some apartment
complexes also don't allow birds.

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Oh wow.

Speaker 3 (50:28):
So when I was seeking to rent after graduation veterinarian
after graduation, I was limited in the number of choices
that were available to me, and it resulted in me
having to pay a higher pet fees because my parents
were not going to let these birds stay at their
house any longer than absolutely necessary.

Speaker 2 (50:47):
You know.

Speaker 3 (50:47):
And granted I was young in this scenario, but I
could have been considered an adult. I was in professional
veterinary school. I should have been making wyse decisions, right
but you know, nevertheless, I made a long term commitment
without forethought, and it was not a wise decision.

Speaker 1 (51:11):
Did you keep the birds until they passed?

Speaker 2 (51:12):
Yeah? Yeah, they were well into their teens. Most cocka
tiles lived well into their teens. They were happy and
healthy till the end. But my decision to make a
long term commitment to two pets in this situation affected
my entire family dynamic. It affected my pocketbook.

Speaker 3 (51:30):
Yeah, and it is quite possible that there was, if
I'm being honest, a better fit for those.

Speaker 1 (51:38):
Cockatiles, right right, you know, I've kind of been there,
done that. With me, it was white rats, although I
did talk to my mom before I did bring it home.
I was in high school, and.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
I it was before I.

Speaker 1 (51:57):
Actually took the class. But for psychology trained the rats,
you know, with the food to the bell and so
the class that was ahead of mine, the group, I
don't know, there were several groups that had the rats,
And anyway, the one group. They couldn't. None of them
could take the rat because you kept the rats. You know,

(52:17):
they didn't. I don't know where the teacher wherever got
them from, but anyway, uh, no one in that group
was able to keep the rat. And I was friends
with one of them. So I talked with my mom
and she did let me keep the rat, and so
I did bring the rat home. And it was an
experience and my mom doesn't like rodents, and I'll just

(52:40):
say we had quite an experience. That was the first.
I actually had the second one because then I took
psychology and I kept the second the rat from box. Yeah,
I cut that rat well by well, by then I
had we had lost the first. You know, I did
not know that unfortunately white rats well and not only
that they're very prone to cancer her and so that

(53:02):
is what happened. Unfortunately, the first one he ended up
with cancer and we lost him. And then I got
the second one, and it was it was kind of fun.
My mom's husband even got involved. She he made this
big like cage for my rat, made out of plexiglass.
It was pretty good size and it had a lid
on a peg board lid, so it had the holes

(53:24):
and everything in a little latch. And I swear to god,
that rat was so smart. He kept getting out of
that cage. I don't know how he did it, but
he kept getting out of that cage. And this is
how I found it. My mom doesn't really care for rats. Well,
he was in her room one time, under the bed
when she was doing the laundry, and she had her
laundry on the floor and she went to pick up
the pile of laundry to go do it, and the

(53:45):
rat comes shooting out from under the bed and oh yeah, I.

Speaker 5 (53:48):
Heard that scream all the way upstairs and her yelling
at me, and I was like, oh my god.

Speaker 1 (53:53):
So you know, I caught my rat, but he got
on another time. He literally made it all the way
upstairs to my bedroom he found. I'm like, wow, you're
pretty Yeah. Oh he was smart as a whip. But again,
unfortunately he also developed cancer. So yeah, I did have
him probably a good year year and a half each
one of them, and so they were getting older. But yeah,

(54:15):
so it was quite an experience. So, like you, I
brought home rats and no experience with them and keeping them,
and it was a whole family thing. And but you know,
my mom and them actually did pretty well with it,
I gotta tell you. And then as an adult, I
actually had a ferret. Me and my kids had a ferret,

(54:36):
and that probably wasn't the best idea either because we
had dogs, and so the ferret had to be kept
in my son's bedroom and if we wanted to bring
the ferret out into the outer rooms, then we had
to lock the dogs outside, so you know, and then
I had to watch it because you know, ferrets find
every little hole, so yeah, they do, so you really

(54:59):
got to watch it. If you have any holes, they
will disappear. So anyway, but it finally, after having the
ferret for a while, it was one of those things
of you know, it's not fair. The ferret doesn't have
a playmate. It can't get out and do the things
that a ferret should do. And so I did the
right thing and I found a new home for the
ferret and it had a playmate. So they were already

(55:23):
versed in ferrets, and like I said, they already had one,
and so when they took that one on, now they
could have playmates.

Speaker 3 (55:28):
So yeah, so yeah, it is well, I guess that
would be the other part of our thing is if
you do find yourself making a long term commitment and
it turns out to not be the right fit, it
is your responsibility to do your ever best to fix that.

Speaker 1 (55:43):
Yes, yes, And I know so many people get upset,
and you know, with dogs being rehomed all the time.
I can handle a lot of reasons. I don't care
for the one where the person says, you know, I
just don't have time for the dog, especially after you've
had it for you know, two or three years. But
it's like, you know, putting the dog in the shelter

(56:04):
really isn't the best option if you don't have time
for it. Because I hate to say this, I know
everybody thinks their dogs are going to get adopted or
the cats or whatever, but that's not be there. Sometime
it could be there. Sometime they might not come out
of there. That's just, you know, unfortunately the way it works.
So and I hate to say this, but your dog

(56:28):
and I hate you know, when you're gone working. I
don't know if people realize a lot of times their
dogs are sleeping during the day while they're gone. I mean,
it's not like your dog's running around the house while
you're gone at work eight hours a day, going hey,
where's my owner? I need to play now? No, they're
probably sleeping. And if you can't take you know, even
fifteen or twenty minutes out of your day when you

(56:49):
come home from work to pay a little attention to
your dog or go out and take them for a walk,
you know, stuff like that, then I guess maybe you
should have at before you even got the pet. But
you know, it's not a good time, especially right now,
to say, you know, I don't have time for my animal,
and you know, and if you don't, then try to
rehome it on your own instead of sticking it in

(57:10):
the Yeah, you're ever best. I know, sometimes it doesn't
work out and you have to make that Situations change.

Speaker 3 (57:15):
And they do, and they do, situations, family dynamics, all
of that. Again, that comes back to the whole compassion
thing and trying to be understanding from being whether that's
an animal care worker, a shelter worker, you know, a
veterinarian is trying.

Speaker 2 (57:31):
To work with the people within the parameters you have
available to you and making the best decision.

Speaker 1 (57:38):
For the pat Yeah, and I'll tell people used to
laugh because I used to say you know, if something
ever happened, especially when I had six dogs and I
had a couple that did not get along like the
one I still have now. She was very dog picky.
She only got along with like two of my three
of the dogs that I had here. The other ones
she didn't care for at all. So they always had

(58:00):
to be switched around between rooms so that they would
have equal time out you know, in the outer house
other than being in the bedroom. But I you know,
made the best of it. I learned how to switch
my dogs and keep them separated, and it was funny.
I told people, if anything ever happened and I lost
my house, I would be under a bridge, living somewhere
with a shopping cart and dogs tied you know, around

(58:23):
and away from each other. But that's what I would
have done to keep my pets and not you know,
give them up and put them in that situation. But
you know, it does happen, and you know it does.
Understand it. But the thing I really want to stress
is if you do decide to take your dog to
the shelter and turn them in because you think that's

(58:45):
the best decision, please don't just go take them and
drop them off. In a like a drop off box
tied to the fence or whatever. Take your dog in
and give the workers there the most information in history
that you can because, by God, that helps so much
in finding your dog at home, or your cat either

(59:07):
or a cat, dog, bird whatever. Don't lie, don't.

Speaker 3 (59:12):
Say it's history is super important and finding them the
best next home it is.

Speaker 1 (59:17):
And you know, and unfortunately, and I know I'm saying that,
but unfortunately, there are shelters that I know of the Phoenix.
The shelters in Phoenix don't take owner turn ins. They
only take strays. I understand that Phoenix has a huge
population and they get a lot of animals in. Yeah,
but what are you doing not taking in someone's animal

(59:40):
that they have now made the decision to bring in
because they don't want to keep it, because if you're
not taking it, they are turning it loose in the street. Interesting, Yeah,
I didn't under I don't understand that philosophy at all.
But I have a friend that works up there in
animal control, and if they have to, like they have

(01:00:00):
a dog where it's an owner turn in situation, they
can't well, I don't think animal I should rephrase that
Animal control I don't think can take the dogs in
as an owner turn in. I think the owner does
because I think the shelters make them pay to turn
the dog in. So that might be actually how that's working.
But animal can control cannot. If an owner, you know,
cause animal control and wants to turn in their dog,

(01:00:22):
animal control can't take.

Speaker 2 (01:00:24):
The dog in.

Speaker 3 (01:00:26):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (01:00:27):
Yeah, So it's very it's very weird how that shelter
works that. I just don't get it, but you know,
it is what it is. And it's funny because I
used to argue with people all the time because I
was a public shelter and they say, well, you can't.
You have to take them, you're a public shelter. And
I'd like, well, okay, here's the marker. Go back there
and tell me what full kennel back there? You want

(01:00:47):
me to put that animal down? Yeah? Because where am
I going to put it? So I said, yes, I
can say no if I don't have room. I you know,
I I'll work with you. If you can give me
a day or two or a week, I might be
able to get something out of here into a rescue
or adopt it and then oh, take that animal if
it's not imperative. It has to come here today.

Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:01:07):
I was always willing to work with people, but you know,
it is what it is. And one last thing and
getting a pet to please research the animals you're gonna
get the pet you're gonna get. If it's a dog breed,
research that dog breed. Just don't get a dog breed
because you just like how it looks for something. Research
what that animal's breed is like if you want.

Speaker 6 (01:01:30):
To mavolved in the exactly you know there are psychological needs,
they're grooming needs, they're feeding needs, all of.

Speaker 1 (01:01:42):
The above exactly. It doesn't have to be a dog
or a cat, could be bird, could be horse, any
of that stuff. Research before you get on because so
many people get these breeds they know nothing about. You
get a healer, and you wonder why it's chasing your
kids around. You get a malan wan, you wonder why
it's such high energy you can't keep.

Speaker 5 (01:02:01):
Up with it.

Speaker 1 (01:02:02):
You know, it's just amazing to me. I've always researched well,
and I shouldn't say always, but as I got a
little wiser, I started researching before I would bring a
dog in. So that's the best thing you can do
so anyway. Absolutely, Well, we're getting kind of close here.
We've kind of gone through everything I wanted to talk

(01:02:23):
with you about, and we're getting to the end of
our podcast. I don't know if you would like to
throw out any contact information for yourself or the East
Bay Clinic there if people wanted to be interested in
your program that you have for the students and stuff
like that or anything like that.

Speaker 3 (01:02:45):
Yeah, I mean absolutely if you're local to me, which
is in Penelas County, Florida, we absolutely take volunteers through
the school system. They have to have a situation where
they're shadowing.

Speaker 2 (01:02:59):
Career shadows type of thing.

Speaker 3 (01:03:02):
Our phone number direct phone number to the clinic is
seven two seven five three six two seven four three.
For the student part of that, you would want to
talk to my office manager, Terry Hepburn.

Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
She can help you with that.

Speaker 3 (01:03:16):
And then just general information about my hospital and what
I do and where I've been and all of that
is east It's all one where Eastbayanimalhospital dot com. Www
dot Eastpanamahospital dot com.

Speaker 2 (01:03:31):
And then shortly the I will be launching my new
website www dot all.

Speaker 3 (01:03:37):
One Words pets, p E T S, The letter N
and my last name. More m O O r E
Pets andmore dot com. That's where I'm going to have
my links for my cat box Wars and I'm going
to be starting some practical information blogs and a variety
of different informational type things for inquisitive pet owners.

Speaker 1 (01:04:01):
Oh, that's really cool. I was just going to ask
you if you're planning on doing any more blogs or
anything like that. That's really cool.

Speaker 2 (01:04:07):
Yep. I'll be launching it with all the cat box
Wars stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:04:10):
There will be the video I'm hoping to put this
podcast link on there, and then I'm going to have
a guide for figuring out pet cat box litter issues
with your pet, and variety of different free resources. That'll
be the premise of the beginning of the website, but
there'll be much more to come behind that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:33):
Well, that's really cool. I'm glad you're going to do that.
And I'll send you the direct link to this podcast
after okay, afterwards, so that you have.

Speaker 2 (01:04:40):
That would be fantastic.

Speaker 1 (01:04:41):
Yeah, no problem. I do you want to ask, so
you said the largest was the baby sperm Where did
you get to work on a baby sperma? Was it
there at the veterinary clinic or was it when you
were with the Uarium Aquarium.

Speaker 2 (01:04:57):
Yeah, Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Speaker 1 (01:04:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:05:00):
He was a stranded baby sperm whale. His name was George.

Speaker 1 (01:05:03):
George.

Speaker 2 (01:05:04):
Yeah. He had a tail injury and.

Speaker 3 (01:05:07):
I can't remember exactly how long he lived. It was
several months, and we grew him up and we had
hopes of transferring him over to Sea World so that
ultimately he could be big enough to be released. But
he's succumbed to the infection from the tail wounded. No good.

Speaker 2 (01:05:23):
Yeah, he was well one ton, so the size of
an elephant.

Speaker 1 (01:05:28):
Oh my goodness. That's amazing. It's amazing that you guys
get to work with animals like that. That's so cool.
I just keep dreaming I might get to go on
and Alaska and cruise just to go see the whales.
I'd love to do that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:41):
It's on my bucket list too.

Speaker 1 (01:05:43):
Yeah, yeah, it's on mine. Hopefully in the next couple
of years I'll be able to do it. I'd love to.
So all right, well, worry, I have pretty much come
to the end of the podcast. I appreciate you being
on with us tonight and talking about all this really
great stuff that we talked about. It was some really
good information and listeners out there. If you guys get
a chance, go check out the blog talk with the

(01:06:06):
Litterbox Wars. It was really interesting to hear your stories
and what you did to deal with your cats and
their litter box problems, because I swear to God, so
many people would have gave up by the time after
what you went through. So well, I look forward to
that new website that you're putting out there and that

(01:06:27):
everybody will be able to find all that stuff there.
So that's cool, wonderful.

Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
Well, thank you for having me. It was such a
fun time.

Speaker 1 (01:06:34):
I enjoyed talking with you too.

Speaker 2 (01:06:37):
It was great.

Speaker 1 (01:06:38):
And I'm just gonna announce my next couple podcasts and
I know it's late where you're at, and I kind
of heard you on and over there, so if you
want to jump off, you're more than welcome to get off.
So and I'll just go ahead and announce those. But
I really appreciate you being on tonight, and thank you
so much for joining me.

Speaker 2 (01:06:53):
You're welcome, have a fantastic evening.

Speaker 1 (01:06:55):
Bye, Laurie, you too, Bye bye. All right, everyd So
that was doctor Moore. She just jumped off. I'm so
glad that she was able to be on the podcast
tonight and talk about all the really interesting stuff we
talked about and learned a little bit more about those
kiddy cats and those litter box wars. Really, guys, though,

(01:07:17):
if you get a chance, go check out her blog talks,
her blog pause talk. She gets a little bit more
in depth with what was going on in her household
and all the different things that she had to deal
with when it came to her two cats that were
having their issues with each other in the litter boxes.
And she had a lot of great ideas and stuff
on there that she passed along. So check it out

(01:07:41):
if you guys can. And like she said, she's starting
that website and you'll be able to find all that
stuff in this podcast and stuff there too, So pretty cool.
And I'm going to put a link to East Bay
on my Facebook page like I always do for everybody.
So all right, everybody. With that being said, so the
next podcast is and I'm going to have Lori Hood

(01:08:03):
on from Alaqua Animal Refuge and we are going to
talk about the refuge and how Lori got it started
and all of the really cool things that Alaqua does
there as an animal refuge both pretty sure she does
both domestic and some wildlife as well, So looking forward

(01:08:28):
to speaking with her and finding out a bit more
about Alaqua or Aliqua. I'm sorry, I think i'm pronouncing it.
You know, it's an Indian name, and you would think
me being part Indian, and I would remember how to
pronounce that, But it's Aliqua, not Alaqua Aliqua. So we'll
be talking with Lori about Aliqua, and then after that,

(01:08:50):
the next podcast would have actually been on the twenty seventh,
but as y'all know, that's Thanksgiving Day, so we are
not going to have a podcast on the twenty seventh
due to Thanksgiving. I hope you all will have a
good Thanksgiving, but I'm not going to be on because
I'm going to be stuffed like that turkey I could,

(01:09:12):
So yeah, not going to be on the talk.

Speaker 2 (01:09:15):
So then after that I will.

Speaker 1 (01:09:16):
Be back on December fourth. And on December fourth, I'm
going to have Jennifer cat Per on with me and
we're going to be talking about kitty cats again. We're
going to be talking about happy feline homes and how
you guys can help to make your home a happier
home for your kitty cats. Jennifer was also on the

(01:09:39):
blog Pause Hawks and did a talk about having happy
cat homes, and so I thought it'd be cool to
have her come on the podcast as well and give
her wisdom and tips and inspiration about happy cat homes
on the podcast. So that'll be December fourth, and then again,

(01:09:59):
like I said, the one before that will be on
November thirteenth with Aliquah and Lori Hood. So hopefully you
guys will come back in a couple of weeks and
listen to that one and then come back on December
fourth to hear Jennifer talk about happy feline homes. And
I hope you all have a great night and a
great weekend. I appreciate you all staying on with me

(01:10:22):
a little bit over and stay safe out there and
try to do the best that you can to make
the world a better place. I know right now there's
a lot of craziness going on between all of the
government shutdowns that are happening right now, which unfortunately I

(01:10:43):
actually happen to be a victim of because I do
work for a government contractor. So there's a lot of
craziness going on, and there's a lot of bad in
the world unfortunately. So if you can do anything to
make the world a little bit better, please do so.
Have some passion for your fellow human beings, try to

(01:11:05):
be a little more understanding and not so judgmental. And
let's keep one thing in mind, it takes two to tangle.
It's not just one side that's a fault or the
other side that's that fault. If there's any fault, it's
between the two both sides. You shouldn't fault one and
not the other, because on either side's making good decisions

(01:11:27):
and good judgments right now. If they were, things would
be a lot better than they are, and we'd be
in a much happier place and a much happier world.
But with that being said, just keep your heads up,
keep smiling, try to do the best you can, and
try to get through every day the best you can,
and let's try to make the world a little better.

(01:11:48):
With that being said, have a good night, have a
great weekend, and hopefully you guys be back to listen
in a couple of weeks.

Speaker 2 (01:11:56):
Bye.

Speaker 3 (01:11:56):
Now,