How to Foster a Pet
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Maria Estefania
1y ago
Fostering a pet is a great choice if you want a furry friend in your family. It prepares you to become a pet owner and helps shelter pets prepare for adoption. If this is your first time fostering a pet, here are some tips to become a successful foster parent. Make sure you have the time and are ready to commit for however long it may take for your pet to get adopted. Clean and organize a small space or room in your home to keep your foster pet. Consider having a crate filled with blankets and toys as well. Be ready to commit at least 1-2 hours of play with your foster pet per day. It’s the ..read more
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Maintaining Your Pet’s Healthy Weight
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Andrew
1y ago
The internet loves overweight dogs. Who doesn’t like watching a chubby, wrinkly pug roll around the floor? If you’re the Instagram account administrator of the aforementioned pug, you probably get plenty of likes and a nice paycheck from Instagram too. It all seems well – you’re happy, your dog seems happy, and everyone gets a good laugh. But it must be said, these adorable internet famous pets are slowly dying inside. To all pet owners, and even to myself who has an overweight dog, we must ask ourselves some important questions: is letting your dog gain weight bad? Is it inhumane? I unfortun ..read more
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What Your Pet Thinks About Cancer
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Andrew
1y ago
Getting to the final diagnosis is easy. Bloodwork, chest radiographs, abdominal ultrasounds, needle sampling, and other more specific tests are typically performed to determine the type of cancer and degree of spread throughout the body. This workup provides a clearer understanding of the chemoradiotherapy needed and ultimately how much time is left. It can be handled with variable degrees of success, but it is the owner’s emotion throughout the initial suspicion, diagnostic workup, definitive diagnosis, follow-up therapy and palliative care that’s difficult to handle. Accepting the diagnosis ..read more
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Why You Should Microchip Your Pet
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Maria Estefania
1y ago
Microchipping is safe, simple, and affordable. A microchip is a tiny chip injected with a needle under the skin and between the shoulder blades. All microchips have unique numbers and they are easy to scan. I believe all responsible owners should consider microchipping their pets. According to the AVMA, microchipped dogs are more than twice likely to be returned, and cats are more than 20 times more likely to be returned to their owners. Some of the benefits of microchipping are: It will permanently be implanted in your pet and not fall off like collars or tags. It will help find your pet, e ..read more
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How to Prepare for Your First Year of Veterinary School
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Maria Estefania
1y ago
Becoming a first-year veterinary student is both exciting and challenging. The first months of veterinary school tend to be the most difficult, and it’s all about adjusting to a new environment.  Although the transition from pre-veterinary school to veterinary school comes with challenges, it also presents unique learning opportunities. Here are my tips to prepare for your first year of veterinary school: #1: Make sure to enjoy the summer by spending time with family and friends, doing whatever makes you happy, and trying not to stress too much. You’ll have plenty of time for stress in v ..read more
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Summer Health Risks for Our Pets
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Maria Estefania
1y ago
Summer has officially begun and the heat is back! As a veterinarian, I see a lot of heat-related signs in pets, especially dogs and cats. Not many new pet owners know that animals can experience a heat stroke, which can be life-threatening. I have noticed that short-nosed, long-haired, and young pets are at increased risk. Pets with heat stroke present the following symptoms: – increased heart rate – increased body temperatures – weakness – heavy breathing – vomiting and diarrhea I always advise keeping pets in a well-ventilated area, in the shade with cool drinking water, or in a place where ..read more
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How to Talk to Clients as a Veterinarian
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Maria Estefania
1y ago
Good client communication is essential in practicing veterinary medicine. The ability to communicate effectively leads to trust and confidence in pet care, making your clients more likely to follow advice and agree with your diagnostic/treatment plan. Here are some tips on talking to clients: DO: Always discuss the possible causes of the symptoms/signs and be specific on why you want to run diagnostics. Let owners know which diagnostic tests and treatments you need to prioritize today. Use simple and easy-to-understand terminology instead of complex medical terminology. Clients prefer veteri ..read more
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The Story of Honey: A Heartworm-Positive Dog
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Maria Estefania
1y ago
This story has been shared with owner’s permission. Heartworm disease is a preventable disease caused by the larva Dirofilaria immitis, but it could be fatal if not treated. In the past months in practice, I have seen a few pets with heart disease, but I have not yet treated a positive heartworm case. I recently met a heartworm survivor—a dog named Honey. She is the cutest pitbull mixed breed. Honey was a shelter dog at Lifeline Animal Project when she was diagnosed with heartworm disease. They estimated her to be around three to four years old. Honey was treated with the adulticidal heartwo ..read more
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One Health For All Species
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Andrew
1y ago
There’s a Buddhist proverb that clearly defines how everything is connected. “This is because that is. This is not, because that is not. This ceases to be because that ceases to be.” Everything, animate and inanimate, is connected and part of a greater whole. It is as part of this greater whole that we, as humans, can understand the this/that conditionality that permeates through our careers, relationships, emotions, and lives every minute of every day. If this happens, that occurs. If this doesn’t happen, that doesn’t occur. We see this idea in Buddhism as the principle of dependent origin ..read more
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The Power of One Health
Merck Manuals Student Stories Blog
by Maria Estefania
1y ago
One Health is a concept that recognizes the connection between the health of animals, people, and the environment. I first became familiar with One Health after attending a talk at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. This talk familiarized me with One Health and its practical use for veterinary and human health professionals. The importance of One Health lies in recognizing that the health of people, animals, and the environment is interconnected. Veterinarians and physicians have collaborated to prevent or eradicate zoonotic diseases through this concept. The goal of One Health is to ..read more
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