Speaker 1: It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. What a great idea on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff and with me is
Speaker 2: director of Emergency and Critical Care at Redbank Veterinary Hospital.
Speaker 2: It is Anna Massey and I have been waiting to
Speaker 2: speak with Anna for months and months and it makes
Speaker 2: sense that she's a vet and a mom and everything
Speaker 2: because she's so very patient patient.
Speaker 3: She's waited for months.
Speaker 2: I've had technical difficulties, I've gotten kicked out of my
Speaker 2: studio and she's always like, Okay, we'll talk again.
Speaker 4: So welcome Anna, Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 4: It was I'm definitely it's worth the weight.
Speaker 3: Oh you're too sweet.
Speaker 2: And you also have the blog, but we'll talk about
Speaker 2: that later. The blended vet dot com and it's working
Speaker 2: mom plus er vet. So tell me when did you
Speaker 2: decide that you wanted to be a vet.
Speaker 4: Yeah. So I was one of those that knew very
Speaker 4: very at a very young year age like eleven twelve,
Speaker 4: and then I just I started working in like the
Speaker 4: kennel in the back of you know, my local vett hospital,
Speaker 4: and then became like a little vet assistant and then
Speaker 4: a like technician and and then I decided I'm going
Speaker 4: to want to go to a college where there's a
Speaker 4: VET school attached I can work there. So I was
Speaker 4: like very focused, Like I was like, I know, that's
Speaker 4: what I want. The school ended up going to they
Speaker 4: had a VET hospital that had a or an er
Speaker 4: that you could basically volunteer. Is the only place in
Speaker 4: the whole hospital or school that you could volunteer. And
Speaker 4: so I just happened to start doing emergency and I
Speaker 4: absolutely fell in love with it. I just and so
Speaker 4: then I've just kind of stayed there ever since. That
Speaker 4: was back in like the mid nineties, and I've been
Speaker 4: doing er stuff ever since.
Speaker 3: Wow, And what is it about the er that like
Speaker 3: that attracts you? Do you think?
Speaker 2: I mean, is it one particular thing or is it
Speaker 2: like a combination of stuff?
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's really I think that it's there's always something new,
Speaker 4: Like you never know what's going to come in, so
Speaker 4: you know, there's there's no way that you're going to
Speaker 4: ever be bored. And I like that sort of you
Speaker 4: don't know what you're going to get, you know. I
Speaker 4: know other people who are kind of like, no, I
Speaker 4: want to know exactly what my days be like sure,
Speaker 4: but I kind of like that, I you know, sort
Speaker 4: of like I'm just gonna have to be on my
Speaker 4: toes and like, you know, as things come, I'm going
Speaker 4: to have to try to figure it out. You know.
Speaker 4: It's very fast paced, be a little chaotic, and you
Speaker 4: learn how to like multitask or at least to the
Speaker 4: best of your ability multitask, right. But yeah, I just
Speaker 4: I kind of like, you know, that's where I started,
Speaker 4: and I just sort of stay there the whole time
Speaker 4: because it's like I'm still not bored and I've been
Speaker 4: doing it for like twenty years now.
Speaker 3: That's amazing. That's amazing, because yeah, I'm sure it must be.
Speaker 2: I'm sure your job would probably make someone who doesn't
Speaker 2: like change or doesn't like like suddenness or like unknown
Speaker 2: suddenness go crazy. But that's I think it's a very
Speaker 2: unique personality trait that for someone to be able to
Speaker 2: do that, because you also have to be you know,
Speaker 2: cool and calm because you're also dealing with panicking parents too.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, I think it's you know,
Speaker 4: having like putting yourself in their shoes, you know, which,
Speaker 4: like I have my own pets, so like I've I've
Speaker 4: had that experience, and I think about, like, oh my god,
Speaker 4: what is it like It's like having you know, like
Speaker 4: a mom bringing her kid to the er and like
Speaker 4: you know, not wanting to be separated from them and
Speaker 4: all of those things that you know, like it's easy
Speaker 4: to just be like, Okay, let's do our thing and
Speaker 4: we'll treat the patient, but you have to also treat
Speaker 4: the owner too. You have to think about that they're
Speaker 4: what they're going through. It's totally It's just such an
Speaker 4: emotional experience, especially when they're really really sick, you know.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but it also sounds like you were born to
Speaker 2: do this, you know what I mean, because sometimes I
Speaker 2: mean we've all met vets and I'm sure you have
Speaker 2: more so than me over you know, your lifetime. Who
Speaker 2: are doing it because it's a job, but you know,
Speaker 2: but you this is like you love you love this,
Speaker 2: This is what you were meant to do.
Speaker 4: Yeah. I do. And I think like a lot of
Speaker 4: people who go into emergency, they do kind of burned
Speaker 4: out and they end up doing something else. So it's
Speaker 4: like not common that you do it for this so long.
Speaker 4: And I do have like a hybrid role now where
Speaker 4: I you know, I do some administrative stuff because it's
Speaker 4: it's hard to you know, do do like the floor
Speaker 4: work one hundred percent of the time as I'm aging
Speaker 4: rapidly and.
Speaker 3: Oh stop it, you know.
Speaker 4: And I have all these kids at home that are like,
Speaker 4: you know, you know, giving you lots of green hairs,
Speaker 4: but I do, so I would never want to step
Speaker 4: away from it fully, you know, I would never want
Speaker 4: to not be on the floor at all. So right,
Speaker 4: and I also, yeah, it's like one of those things
Speaker 4: that if you you're leading the people that are doing
Speaker 4: this stuff and you're not in it with them in
Speaker 4: the trenches, and it's it's hard, you know for them
Speaker 4: to like, it would be hard to have respect for them.
Speaker 4: I think it's the person in charge as much. So
Speaker 4: I try. I try to be there with them and
Speaker 4: and not just like standing off to the side watching.
Speaker 2: Sure, but I also think it probably makes the people
Speaker 2: who you work with feel better about emergencies because they
Speaker 2: can count on you and you're not just phoning it in.
Speaker 3: Does that make sense?
Speaker 4: Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I mean I hope, I hope that's
Speaker 4: the game.
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, of course it is. But you're not
Speaker 2: going to give yourself credit. I could tell but I
Speaker 2: but I think it's really important to always have someone
Speaker 2: who you can like other people can turn to because
Speaker 2: they're cool headed in emergencies, and in emergencies is every
Speaker 2: day of your job. So yeah, it's easy, not easy
Speaker 2: for you, but it's I think it's natural for you,
Speaker 2: which I think again is very unique.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I think there are people like I mean,
Speaker 4: there's people who go into critical care with you know,
Speaker 4: with that that go in specifically into you know, ICU
Speaker 4: level stuff, and that's that is their passion and they
Speaker 4: make a career out of it. But I would say that, Yeah,
Speaker 4: the compassion fatigue is a real thing, and I'm sure
Speaker 4: the same for you know humans who you know, human medicine,
Speaker 4: like surely are I'm sure it's the same thing. So
Speaker 4: it does. Yeah, I'm sure you know, it's not for everybody,
Speaker 4: but it has been for me and I like it.
Speaker 3: No, that's great.
Speaker 2: And is there any advice you would give, say to
Speaker 2: someone who's listening right now and they're you know, their
Speaker 2: child is thinking of being a vet, any piece of
Speaker 2: advice that somebody told you to pass on or just
Speaker 2: I mean just I don't know.
Speaker 3: Anything.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think you really like have to want it,
Speaker 4: and you really really has to be that. You couldn't
Speaker 4: think of doing anything else but that, because it can
Speaker 4: be a hard road to get there, and it does.
Speaker 4: You know, like people who are in the vet world,
Speaker 4: they tend to be like very empathic people and they
Speaker 4: feel other people's pain a lot, and it can it
Speaker 4: can take a lot of toll on people. And you know,
Speaker 4: I like to see animals, you know, suffering and to
Speaker 4: know that, Okay, I'm going to be doing something to
Speaker 4: help them. That you have to see some degree of
Speaker 4: suffering along the way. You have to you know, be
Speaker 4: okay with that, knowing that it's a means to an end. Sure,
Speaker 4: because I think there's so many people out there who
Speaker 4: would love to be vets. But I think it just
Speaker 4: like it would be hard for a lot of people,
Speaker 4: I think, to go through it and to see that
Speaker 4: kind of stuff.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, definitely, I understand that.
Speaker 2: I Mean I've always I thought about it when I
Speaker 2: was younger, but I'm not really good with like blood
Speaker 2: and guts and stuff, I mean, you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: And I just knew, like, oh, that's not going to
Speaker 2: be a good I mean, like, I don't even like
Speaker 2: when my own blood is taken, I have to look away.
Speaker 2: I'm a woos So I was like, yeah, being a
Speaker 2: vet would not be good for me, even though I
Speaker 2: love animals.
Speaker 4: So yeah, yeah, and in your case, like you've found
Speaker 4: a way to, you know, help them immensely, probably in
Speaker 4: a bigger way than what best are doing because you're
Speaker 4: getting the word.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but you're saving lives. It's different. You're saving lives.
Speaker 3: I'm just like talking about it. So but thank you.
Speaker 4: You are also saving lives.
Speaker 3: You are all right, well, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1: So so let's talk a little bit about your blog,
Speaker 1: because first of all, I have to tell you, and
Speaker 1: I'm not just saying this, I really love your writing
Speaker 1: because I feel like, well, it's just it's very sincere,
Speaker 1: and it's very honest, and it's very.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's just very honest.
Speaker 2: And you I feel like I'm talking to you, even
Speaker 2: though we've never spoken before until now. But I feel
Speaker 2: like when I'm reading your blog, because I was reading
Speaker 2: some of the articles and yeah, I just I really
Speaker 2: really I want to read more of them.
Speaker 3: So what made you decide to start doing that?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it was a little bit before the pandemic,
Speaker 4: but I really did start to get into it more then,
Speaker 4: and I just like I wanted some kind of outlet for,
Speaker 4: you know, all the stress that we were all feeling
Speaker 4: at that time, and I wanted to I realized at
Speaker 4: some point that that a lot of what I was,
Speaker 4: you know, had learned over the years working in the
Speaker 4: emergency room and in a vet vet er, that I
Speaker 4: was actually like applying it to my home life. And
Speaker 4: and it was kind of like embracing the chaos that
Speaker 4: you know, life can bring, and you know, just like multitasking,
Speaker 4: staying calm and being as patient as possible, and you know,
Speaker 4: kind of keeping the bigger picture in mind. And you know,
Speaker 4: I think all of those things like overlapped and and so,
Speaker 4: like a lot of my things that I write about there,
Speaker 4: there's a little bit of like being a parent, and
Speaker 4: there's also stuff about being a pet parent and also
Speaker 4: being a VET and trying to educate people, because I
Speaker 4: do love to talk about stuff and make you know,
Speaker 4: if there's something that maybe doesn't make sense, you know
Speaker 4: that your vet said to you, I like to be
Speaker 4: able to explain it. I think that's one of my
Speaker 4: strong points, is like explaining things in like Layman's terms
Speaker 4: so that people really get it, and they're like a
Speaker 4: lot of times I've had thank you so much for
Speaker 4: explaining it because I didn't get it. I think sometimes
Speaker 4: we forget and we start talking a bunch of medical
Speaker 4: speak yes to people who aren't used to it, and
Speaker 4: it just overwhelms them even more than they already are yes.
Speaker 4: So yeah, it's kind of like I and I have
Speaker 4: this blended family. You know, I married Sean, which I
Speaker 4: think you know Sean.
Speaker 2: I know Sean, yes, and he talked about you, and
Speaker 2: that's how I reached out to you, you know. I
Speaker 2: guess yeah, he put it together because he was like, oh,
Speaker 2: you should talk to my wife.
Speaker 3: And I'm like, okay, yeah. So so a shout out
Speaker 3: to Sean.
Speaker 4: Yeah, thank you, thank him very much for doing that.
Speaker 4: He's yeah, he's He and I, you know, got together,
Speaker 4: I guess, like eight years ago, and you know, he
Speaker 4: came with a couple of boys and I came with
Speaker 4: a couple of girls, and so it's kind of like
Speaker 4: a like a like a weird Brady Munch type situation
Speaker 4: and then we end up having a six year old together.
Speaker 4: And so it's also I know, there's so many blended
Speaker 4: families out there that I like, you know, I felt
Speaker 4: like there's a way to connect with others and have
Speaker 4: that shared experience. It's never a perfect road, you know,
Speaker 4: you have, it's more complicated than than most families can be,
Speaker 4: and so like I wanted to have a forum to
Speaker 4: talk about that, but also kind of just overlap it
Speaker 4: with you know, how we have pets and how pets
Speaker 4: are part of our lives, part of our family, bring
Speaker 4: us together and and so it was just kind of
Speaker 4: like there, you know, I'm kind of speaking to people
Speaker 4: who are who have pets, who have families and also
Speaker 4: just want to know more about you know, different you know,
Speaker 4: medical things that could be happening with their pets. So
Speaker 4: it's kind of like there's a there's a couple of
Speaker 4: different audiences I guess I'm reaching, but to me, they
Speaker 4: kind of all blend together.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean I just I read your recent one Leap
Speaker 2: of Faith, which is really about your kids on that trip,
Speaker 2: and it's just really very funny and I love that
Speaker 2: you just dropped f bombs all over the place because
Speaker 2: I feel like, yeah, that's me normally talking, except you know,
Speaker 2: at work.
Speaker 4: But yeah, I mean we're keeping it real and you know.
Speaker 3: It's it's so perfect.
Speaker 4: I feel like I want to I don't want to,
Speaker 4: you know, portray social media these days, it's much it's
Speaker 4: very much like here's this ideal situation.
Speaker 3: It's just ridiculous.
Speaker 4: You just think that. Yeah, and I wanted to be
Speaker 4: pretty raw and exposed, and I think that is relatable
Speaker 4: and hopefully somebody could read that and be like, yeah,
Speaker 4: I feel the same way. Or I also feel like
Speaker 4: guilt or maybe a little bit of shame, or I
Speaker 4: feel like maybe I'm not doing a great job. But
Speaker 4: in the end, I think, you know, we have this
Speaker 4: like perspective together.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2: That's why I love your writing so much, because it
Speaker 2: is it's like we're experiencing it together.
Speaker 4: Yeah, thank you. That's very that's very kind. I mean,
Speaker 4: I don't it started as me just kind of doing
Speaker 4: like an online diary, and but my my biggest thing
Speaker 4: is like I just I want to use it to
Speaker 4: be able to reach people. And I have a lot
Speaker 4: of moms that like reach out to me, like mom friends,
Speaker 4: and they don't feel scared to call me and ask
Speaker 4: me questions about you know, what's going on with their pet,
Speaker 4: and I've often saved them trips to the er, and
Speaker 4: so I feel like like and they're always like, I'm
Speaker 4: so sorry, Like I feel like I should pay you.
Speaker 4: I'm like, oh my god, no, Like, this is what
Speaker 4: I do for a living. And if I can't help
Speaker 4: my friends, you know, with their pets, like what is
Speaker 4: what is the point of like my job and what
Speaker 4: is the point of me? So I wanted a place
Speaker 4: where people can feel free to ask questions and I
Speaker 4: can answer, you know, general questions and help to educate
Speaker 4: because I think, you know, it just makes people better
Speaker 4: pet parents to have more information. And like I said,
Speaker 4: sometimes you go to the ved and like you walk
Speaker 4: away and you're like, I'm not really sure just what
Speaker 4: happened there?
Speaker 3: No exactly. Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2: I think it happens to more people than we think,
Speaker 2: you know, because and I think they because I don't know,
Speaker 2: people to me sometimes even for their own health when
Speaker 2: they go to a doctor for themselves and you know,
Speaker 2: everybody holds doctors up, you know, in this high pedestal,
Speaker 2: and they're afraid to ask questions and they.
Speaker 3: Walk out like, well, what was what the doctor say? Well,
Speaker 3: I don't know. I used these big words, Well why
Speaker 3: didn't you ask?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 3: I felt weird or you know.
Speaker 2: And I think sometimes it might be the same with
Speaker 2: people with their pets because they're afraid to ask. Because
Speaker 2: we're just layman. Maybe we should know those terms, you know.
Speaker 4: So yeah, for sure I think that happens. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 4: So I just I'm I'm I feel like we did this,
Speaker 4: we got into this field because we want to help people.
Speaker 4: And I don't I don't mind. I'm like, I please.
Speaker 4: I was like, like, please, don't feel bad calling me.
Speaker 4: I was doing the other day. I was like making
Speaker 4: dinner and I had like two pots going, and then
Speaker 4: I'm like in the background trying to make sure this
Speaker 4: six year old doesn't actually murder himself. And then I
Speaker 4: have a friend calling me and she's like, my dog
Speaker 4: ate like this much gum and it has Zylos call,
Speaker 4: which is.
Speaker 3: You know, laughing, but oh my god.
Speaker 4: So I'm like calculating the dose, calling her back, saying no,
Speaker 4: it's actually okay, it'll be fine. And you know, so
Speaker 4: I did feel like that one brief moment in time,
Speaker 4: I was like I did like I was actually truly
Speaker 4: multitasking it and I helped her and I made my
Speaker 4: So it was one of those like rare moments where
Speaker 4: I actually felt like I did a good job.
Speaker 2: You did a great job. Your your six year old
Speaker 2: didn't murder itself. That's the funniest line ever. Your friend's
Speaker 2: dog was okay, and you cooked dinner like that doesn't
Speaker 2: that's not the picture of multitasking.
Speaker 3: Yes, oh my god.
Speaker 4: Yeah, every once in a while it happens.
Speaker 3: I'm sure it happens more than that. But that was very,
Speaker 3: very funny.
Speaker 2: So one of them. We should really talk about it.
Speaker 2: And I am comfortable talking to you about it because
Speaker 2: you were so kind and caring to send me when
Speaker 2: you realize that Fredo, my dog, who looked so much
Speaker 2: like you're wellie, when Fredo passed away, and you sent
Speaker 2: me your blog about pet loss, and you know, it's
Speaker 2: something that people don't talk about, or they're ashamed of it,
Speaker 2: or they feel I think it's always people feel well.
Speaker 2: I shouldn't have these strong feelings because it was my pet.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: I had strong feelings then, like say when my dad
Speaker 2: died or something.
Speaker 3: But that's all normal.
Speaker 2: And that article that you have about pet loss, I
Speaker 2: think I told you when you sent it to me.
Speaker 2: I started reading it on the air and I was like, oh,
Speaker 2: I can't you know, And it was like it was
Speaker 2: pretty recent, so it was like a few maybe like
Speaker 2: four months or something after Fredo died, and I was like,
Speaker 2: oh my god, I'm starting to cry.
Speaker 3: I can't do this on the air.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, sorry, I'm sorry I had that effect. But
Speaker 4: it was like, I think you're it's like years past.
Speaker 4: I think they can these feelings can come up any time,
Speaker 4: you know. Sure, yes, you would see a picture of
Speaker 4: him or think of something or something reminds you. And
Speaker 4: it's like with grief, like with anything like with yeah,
Speaker 4: people or pets, I think that happens, and yeah, it's
Speaker 4: I could see how much love you have for him,
Speaker 4: and I know you were giving me some updates on
Speaker 4: what was going on with him, and I could get
Speaker 4: a sense of like you just really wanted to make
Speaker 4: him comfortable and as happy as possible, and that that
Speaker 4: is what a good pet parent does. Well.
Speaker 2: Thanks, I mean, and tell me if you hear this
Speaker 2: from from you know, pet parents that you deal with,
Speaker 2: I you know, the whole thing, And I mean I
Speaker 2: talked about a little bit on the air but probably
Speaker 2: not a lot more on Maria's MutS and stuff that
Speaker 2: you know, he had bone cancer and the option is
Speaker 2: always to me, it's like, oh, bone cancer, that's a
Speaker 2: death sentence, but especially for a thirteen year old dog.
Speaker 2: But the option was to amputate or put him under chemo,
Speaker 2: which I didn't want to do either because of his age.
Speaker 2: Because I also know and have friends who have kept
Speaker 2: and done things to their pets because they wanted them
Speaker 2: to stay alive for them, and I understand that, I'm
Speaker 2: not judging it, but I just didn't think.
Speaker 3: I didn't want to do that.
Speaker 2: But yeah, after he died and I thought, oh, well,
Speaker 2: maybe I should have, And I really had doubts for for,
Speaker 2: you know, on and off for maybe I don't know,
Speaker 2: a few weeks where then I was like, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 2: it's I did the right you know, we did the
Speaker 2: right thing. And then I was like, well, maybe, but
Speaker 2: is that normal? Do you hear that from your patience too?
Speaker 4: Yeah, it is one hundred percent normal, And I hear
Speaker 4: that a lot, and I think that you know, it's
Speaker 4: it's it's it's a reaction you're going to have, because
Speaker 4: I think with when you lose when you lose somebody
Speaker 4: that's important to you, you think of all the what
Speaker 4: if and you think of, like, you know, if something
Speaker 4: had happened differently, and I think that's totally natural. But
Speaker 4: I think the biggest thing to remember is that you
Speaker 4: made a very selfless decision, you know, because, like you said,
Speaker 4: there are people who kind of go they put their
Speaker 4: pets through stuff, and sometimes sometimes, you know, I can understand,
Speaker 4: and I'm kind of measured myself with what I do
Speaker 4: with my own pets, and I think I have no
Speaker 4: judgment for you know, the people that are gonna go
Speaker 4: and do X, y Z, and then others who just say, like,
Speaker 4: I think it's time to stop. And I think it
Speaker 4: has to be your own personal decision. And I think
Speaker 4: you went with your gut, which I think is always
Speaker 4: the right thing to do. And I think at the
Speaker 4: end of the day, I hear more often like I
Speaker 4: wish I had done this, I wish I had decided
Speaker 4: to say good bye sooner, and I wish I hadn't
Speaker 4: done all these things. So I rarely hear the opposite,
Speaker 4: and so it's just one of those things, like I
Speaker 4: you know, people sometimes ask, well, what would you do
Speaker 4: in this situation, and I will volunteer the information they
Speaker 4: asked me, but I also caveat that with this is
Speaker 4: your pet, and you know your pet better than anyone else,
Speaker 4: and it ultimately has to be like you search deep
Speaker 4: inside yourself and you you decide. You know, it's such
Speaker 4: a tough thing though, and yeah, like you know, it
Speaker 4: could have gone like where you know, he had you know,
Speaker 4: surgery and a lot of chemo, and then you would
Speaker 4: and maybe didn't handle things low, and then you would
Speaker 4: be looking back thinking like why did I do all
Speaker 4: of that? You know? Yes, ye, at the end of
Speaker 4: the day, like it sounds like he would very peacefully
Speaker 4: and like you had his comfort in mind, and I
Speaker 4: think that is the most important thing. So you should
Speaker 4: feel like really comforted by that.
Speaker 3: No, well, thank you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And honestly, the fact that he died in my
Speaker 2: apartment with me, you know, nearby, just made me very
Speaker 2: happy because I didn't have to make the decision, even
Speaker 2: though it was coming close to it. But you know, unfortunately,
Speaker 2: and I know you hear it a million times from everybody,
Speaker 2: is like, you know, our pets don't live as long
Speaker 2: as we do. You know, that's that's the worst part
Speaker 2: about you know, getting one and raising one is that
Speaker 2: you know, can't you live as long as me?
Speaker 4: But right, yeah, yeah, I know, And I think we
Speaker 4: just keep doing it over and over again, like well
Speaker 4: that's the thing, and help ourselves because the way they
Speaker 4: bring to our lives is like we know, okay, we
Speaker 4: know that this is probably you know, we're gonna we're
Speaker 4: going to outlive them most likely, you know. So it's
Speaker 4: knowing that it's going to happen, we still choose to
Speaker 4: do that. I don't think it's insane.
Speaker 3: I think it was just you're in my head.
Speaker 2: I was going to say, isn't that the definition of
Speaker 2: insanity when you keep repeating it wanting a different outcome?
Speaker 3: But it's not insane.
Speaker 4: No, I mean it sounds insane, but I do. I
Speaker 4: do think it just means that you you want to
Speaker 4: have that special connection in your life, had so much
Speaker 4: and they're the.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, there's nothing.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm more of a dog person, I always
Speaker 2: admit that than a cat person, but even cats are cute.
Speaker 2: I mean, there's just something about having that living creature
Speaker 2: near you, and there's just that animal human bond to me,
Speaker 2: and even not just cats and dogs, you know, like
Speaker 2: horses and just you know, pigs. I think they're also amazing,
Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they all, they all I think add stuff to
Speaker 4: our lives. And I saw the pictures of Freda. He's
Speaker 4: like you could see like that soul in his face
Speaker 4: and like he was so I'm so sorry, you know,
Speaker 4: like that's I'm sure you're still I would also be
Speaker 4: still in mourning too. Yeah, I think I'm still in
Speaker 4: mourning about Welly. And that happened like a year ago,
Speaker 4: you know, I just.
Speaker 2: And well He was so much like they both looked
Speaker 2: so much alike they could be siblings, I know.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I know, I know. Yeah. Black labs are some
Speaker 4: of my favorite and he was a he was like
Speaker 4: a mix, but he had a little white patch on
Speaker 4: his chop, but he looked like mostly lab and labs
Speaker 4: are like kind of my go to. I would never
Speaker 4: you know, I don't think i'd ever like purchased a
Speaker 4: lab because I feel like you could you can find
Speaker 4: a perfectly good dog, you know.
Speaker 3: Absolutely and shelter anyway, exactly. Yeah, that's funny, but I do.
Speaker 4: I do have a love for them, It's true.
Speaker 2: And there's of course the whole black dog syndrome and
Speaker 2: that's what kind of led me to Fredo. And he
Speaker 2: was a mix too, so yeah, yeah, you know, and
Speaker 2: I think he came from like Mississippi or something, so yeah,
Speaker 2: I know. But you also but then you you recently
Speaker 2: you have another dog. I mean, I know you have
Speaker 2: more than one dog, right, you have a bunch of right,
Speaker 2: but didn't you get another dog adopt another dog after?
Speaker 3: Welly is that right?
Speaker 4: I did? I did. I got her from from guiding Eyes.
Speaker 3: Oh that's right, that's right. Yeah, so like a failed
Speaker 3: seeing eye. Yeah, yeah, I know. I love that.
Speaker 2: It's like when you find out what failed them and
Speaker 2: it's something that we just take for granted, but of
Speaker 2: course you know something. Yeah, so yeah, oh so let's
Speaker 2: talk about her.
Speaker 4: So I know, she's amazing. She's a really sweet girl.
Speaker 4: And I I didn't expect because I was on a
Speaker 4: list for a long time to get another lab drawer
Speaker 4: that was like a medical release, and it took me
Speaker 4: a long time to get him. But I think because
Speaker 4: her her what she had going on was like pretty severe,
Speaker 4: and so I think like they were like I don't
Speaker 4: know if anyone else is going to want her, so
Speaker 4: like I actually I didn't expect, like, because I sent
Speaker 4: an email to them probably like I don't know, a
Speaker 4: week or two after WELLI passed because I just thought, okay,
Speaker 4: I got to get this process started right. And then
Speaker 4: they immediately wrotay back and I said, we have this
Speaker 4: dog and she has a you know, a liver problem
Speaker 4: she was born with, and you know there you know
Speaker 4: we we don't we obviously can't use her as a
Speaker 4: guide dog. We're trying to adopt her out to a
Speaker 4: veterinary professional. So I ended up, you know, kind of
Speaker 4: convincing Sean, though I think it was you know, he
Speaker 4: he pretends like he doesn't want to go along with
Speaker 4: these things, and he's kind of like just throws his
Speaker 4: hands up, and I think he kind of he secretly
Speaker 4: likes it, you know. Of course, of course, yeah, but
Speaker 4: it was hard because she had all these all this
Speaker 4: medical issue and she needed medications that I had to
Speaker 4: make food for her every day, which I I've told
Speaker 4: my clients do but I was like, I would never
Speaker 4: do that, you know, And then here I am, I'm
Speaker 4: doing it for her, of course, yeah, but she did.
Speaker 4: She had her procedure a couple of months ago, and
Speaker 4: knock on what she's been doing really well, and we're
Speaker 4: hoping to like fatten her up a little bit, but
Speaker 4: not so much that she's like that people I work
Speaker 4: with make fun of me, but not that she has
Speaker 4: some chunk on her, you know, right, No, I.
Speaker 2: Get some chunk, but not like they say it, like
Speaker 2: she becomes a fatty lab because that's the thing, right right, exactly?
Speaker 4: Oh my goodness, but she was she was great like
Speaker 4: she Actually, I think healed us a lot. And I
Speaker 4: think it's always I think it's different for everybody as
Speaker 4: far as like when are you going to get another
Speaker 4: Some people were like, I will never do this again,
Speaker 4: and they wait a really long time, or maybe they
Speaker 4: don't because it's just that hard, and that's that's okay,
Speaker 4: but correct. And some people go out immediately and I think,
Speaker 4: you know, I just threw it out there like hey,
Speaker 4: and then it came back to me immediately, so I'm like, Okay,
Speaker 4: I guess it's meant to be, right.
Speaker 2: No, that's how I would look at it too. It's true,
Speaker 2: I mean, and you're right, I mean that's how I
Speaker 2: feel it. You can't really there's no judgment because everybody's different,
Speaker 2: you know. Some people wait a really really long time.
Speaker 2: My brother and my sister in law, and they're older,
Speaker 2: they when their docs and died on don't even know.
Speaker 2: It was before COVID, and my brother was like, I
Speaker 2: will never do it again because he was so devastated
Speaker 2: when the dog passed away. And now they're older and
Speaker 2: their kids are out of the and I'm like, dude,
Speaker 2: get a dog, you know.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it's really funny.
Speaker 2: They go back and forth, but yeah, but he's definitely
Speaker 2: one of those never again because hiss, like his heart
Speaker 2: was torn out like the rest of us, you know,
Speaker 2: but we're all my gluttons and go like, no, no, it's.
Speaker 4: Okay, yeah, the ones of us, right, No, it's true.
Speaker 3: No, it's really true. Because I'm gonna have to be honest.
Speaker 3: I've been like, that's it.
Speaker 2: I'm never getting another dog, which doesn't make any sense
Speaker 2: because I've you know, I love dogs so much. But
Speaker 2: and then I'm like, well, and and then over the
Speaker 2: weekend when I did the thing with North Shore Animal
Speaker 2: League and they had their van and they had dogs
Speaker 2: in it and cats, and of course I went in
Speaker 2: and cats always play with my hair, so there was
Speaker 2: a cat like through the cage that was playing with
Speaker 2: my hair and I'm like.
Speaker 3: Oh, that's cute.
Speaker 2: And then there was a dog and I just she
Speaker 2: there was just something and she was like they took
Speaker 2: her out and she was leaning on me and I
Speaker 2: was like, no, no, I can't, it's too soon.
Speaker 3: Oh my goodness. Maybe no. No. I mean I stood there.
Speaker 2: Back and forth, and I thought, Okay, well, this is
Speaker 2: a good. That means I'm healing and it's going to happen,
Speaker 2: but not yet, like I knew I wasn't ready, but
Speaker 2: but yeah, because and then I was thinking about her
Speaker 2: during the day and I'm like, well stop, and it's.
Speaker 4: Like, yeah, it was torturous happening.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so yeah, so I think it's good.
Speaker 2: It means you know when I said never again with Frado,
Speaker 2: just because it was so sudden and so awful. But
Speaker 2: I'm like, well, and she kind of looked like him,
Speaker 2: but she had bite on her chest.
Speaker 3: She was like a lab hit mix, but she her
Speaker 3: legs were shorter.
Speaker 2: Like yeah, like, okay, you think I'm like in love
Speaker 2: with this dog, but okay, but there'll be others.
Speaker 3: There'll be others. I know I'm not ready, but.
Speaker 4: Yet, I mean, and you too, so many of these
Speaker 4: things that I'm you're going to be around some some
Speaker 4: pet that needs a home, and you're gonna just at
Speaker 4: that point, it's going to be the time, you know,
Speaker 4: and that's what you're getting there, and that's that's good.
Speaker 3: Yes, it's good eventually. Yes.
Speaker 2: So we just gave good advice without even realizing it
Speaker 2: right to people who are wondering what to do.
Speaker 3: I know, yeah, so.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, can some people just got to be eased
Speaker 4: into it. And you again, just like I think it's
Speaker 4: with anything, you just kind of trust your instinct, trust
Speaker 4: your gut, your you know, your heart when it comes
Speaker 4: to these things, and I think usually it's okay, it'll
Speaker 4: be okay. I think it's just it's hard, and like
Speaker 4: when you've got kids and stuff also in the mix,
Speaker 4: and it's like, you know, do you want to I
Speaker 4: felt very guilty about bringing a puppy into the house
Speaker 4: that had a release of your medical problem because I'm like,
Speaker 4: they're like, oh, I can't believe she's ours, and they
Speaker 4: like immediately fell in love with her, and I'm like,
Speaker 4: oh my god, what have I done? You know, like
Speaker 4: what if something really I knew something that could happen?
Speaker 4: And she might not be able to have the procedure
Speaker 4: or it might not work, and and so you know,
Speaker 4: thankfully it all went okay. But at the end of
Speaker 4: the day, like there's so much love, you know, there's
Speaker 4: love for her and she's like loving on them and
Speaker 4: like to have that experience, even if it ends up
Speaker 4: being somewhat fleeting, like to give her like a good
Speaker 4: life for whatever that time period is, I think is
Speaker 4: more important.
Speaker 3: I think so too. I was thinking the same thing.
Speaker 2: And also for your kids to have that experience too,
Speaker 2: even if things had not gone well, but at least
Speaker 2: they had the experience and they had that love for her,
Speaker 2: which I you know, but thankfully nothing that didn't happen,
Speaker 2: so you don't have to worry about that.
Speaker 4: Yes, oh off at least, So yeah, that's good.
Speaker 3: Yes.
Speaker 2: So what's a piece of advice or what would be
Speaker 2: And maybe there's not one thing at all I would
Speaker 2: say for someone who's listening right now and they're thinking,
Speaker 2: you know, maybe I should get a dog or a
Speaker 2: cat or I never had one before, but they're talking
Speaker 2: about this love. Is there one thing we can think
Speaker 2: of you can think of to tell someone who's wants
Speaker 2: to put like their toe in the water, never had
Speaker 2: a dog or cat, and is there anything like one thing?
Speaker 4: I mean, I think that if you've never had one before,
Speaker 4: it is you know, it can be just a completely
Speaker 4: life changing experience. And I think that having just going
Speaker 4: into it knowing like this is going to be like
Speaker 4: a member of your family and they're going to need
Speaker 4: to have preventive care, you know, to avoid you know,
Speaker 4: users that could be avoided and there they could end
Speaker 4: up needing a surgery or something like that in the future.
Speaker 4: And I this sounds like really boring, but I recommend
Speaker 4: to anybody to get pet insurance because nope, you know,
Speaker 4: the cost of that care is very high now. And
Speaker 4: I really hate more than anything when I hear like
Speaker 4: somebody's like trying to make a medical decision about their
Speaker 4: pet and they have to worry about the financial part
Speaker 4: of it, and that is heartbreaking. And as a vet,
Speaker 4: any of us, like we did not get into this
Speaker 4: field to you know, like worry about the money part
Speaker 4: of things. And so that it sounds like kind of
Speaker 4: like a boring thing to say, but I think, just
Speaker 4: try to get pet insurance because it's totally worth it,
Speaker 4: and it takes a whole layer of concern out, you know,
Speaker 4: kind of throws that out the window when you're faced
Speaker 4: with like having to make like maybe a major medical decision,
Speaker 4: and you can make it with like you know your
Speaker 4: your heart more and you don't have to worry so much,
Speaker 4: you know, for people who you know, have never had
Speaker 4: a dog before, Like, you know, I put stuff on
Speaker 4: my blog before about just like how a puppy proof
Speaker 4: your home, and the people if you never had a
Speaker 4: dog before, you don't know all the stuff as they
Speaker 4: couldn't get into or of things that could be toxic
Speaker 4: that aren't toxic to humans but are are to pets.
Speaker 4: Are you know, So I think doing a little bit
Speaker 4: of research, you know, the internet can be dangerous. But
Speaker 4: as long as I think you're getting advice from a vet,
Speaker 4: I think you're you're good. So I think I think
Speaker 4: it's just like remembering that they're they're going to be
Speaker 4: a member of your family, and it's not like a
Speaker 4: piece of furniture. It's like there's a there're a living,
Speaker 4: breathing thing that's gonna you know, need love and attention,
Speaker 4: and you know, if you feel like you're going to
Speaker 4: be out of your home too often, to interact with them,
Speaker 4: and you're not going to be able to have somebody
Speaker 4: help out with that. Then I think those are all
Speaker 4: considerations because there are some people make those kind of
Speaker 4: impulse of decisions and get pets and then it turns
Speaker 4: out their life really isn't built to have a pet in.
Speaker 2: It exactly, especially with the holidays fast approaching. You know, yeah,
Speaker 2: it's not a good holiday gift.
Speaker 4: You know, it's not. No, I said, all the buddies
Speaker 4: and during Easter and the chicks and Easter like it's
Speaker 4: crazy town.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, it is great.
Speaker 4: And then you end up having more more pets that
Speaker 4: are in the shelters that you end up getting, you know,
Speaker 4: encountering when you're doing these these things to help out,
Speaker 4: and a lot of them are most likely, you know,
Speaker 4: from situation. Oh yeah, some of them are from situations
Speaker 4: like that where people just like didn't know what they
Speaker 4: were getting into.
Speaker 3: That's true. No, that's true.
Speaker 2: No, that's great, great advice, that's perfect advice. So doctor
Speaker 2: Anna Massey, director of Emergency and Critical Care at Red
Speaker 2: Bank Veterinary Hospital, also the Blended Vet, the blended vet
Speaker 2: dot com, and she also has if you have questions,
Speaker 2: help at the Blended vet dot com.
Speaker 3: So I think you keep doing all that you do.
Speaker 2: Like I said, I love reading your articles and I
Speaker 2: feel like it keeps me in touch with you and
Speaker 2: your family and you know, and thanks for all your
Speaker 2: advice and for sharing all of your knowledge and your empathy.
Speaker 3: Because too many people don't have empathy these days.
Speaker 2: And I just appreciate your time because you are very
Speaker 2: You're a multitasker and even on your days off, you
Speaker 2: made time to talk with me for Maria's Mutz's stuff.
Speaker 3: So thank you.
Speaker 4: Well, I appreciate you. I mean, you could just be
Speaker 4: like in the awesome DJ you are and just have
Speaker 4: it be leave it at that, but you like go
Speaker 4: the extra step and you're you know your music like
Speaker 4: that's you know, bringing music into people's lives. That's like
Speaker 4: to me, that's such a huge thing and it's and
Speaker 4: it adds so much. But you're also like advocating for
Speaker 4: these creatures that can't don't really have a voice of
Speaker 4: their own, and I think that is incredibly powerful and
Speaker 4: special that you're using your powers for such good. You know,
Speaker 4: I so well, thank you go to you. I'm glad
Speaker 4: there's people like you out there. So music plus pets
Speaker 4: like you have, like your life is awesome.
Speaker 3: Well you're very sweet. Well thank you.
Speaker 2: I do.
Speaker 3: I appreciate it. I really do. Thank you, thank you, thank.
Speaker 4: You all right, thanks thanks for spending time and for
Speaker 4: making carving our little time for me and I so
Speaker 4: enjoy talking to you.
Speaker 3: There has never been a greater operator in the stop
Speaker 3: see you Rader vmigator