I have dealt with my dog’s health problems for several years. She has had urinary incontinence from a young age (happens to ~10% of spayed females), minor elbow dysplasia, cushing’s disease and diabetes. The diabetes caused diabetic neuropathy and then complete blindness that was recently reversed with successful cataract surgery.

Cushing’s disease and diabetes have a lot of symptoms that overlap, as well as symptoms that mimic old age. As a result, many times these diseases are not properly diagnosed. I was very frustrated with many vets as I could not get a consistent answer on what was happening to my dog. Then, it dawned on me that the vet’s did not have all of the info.

I started to keep a diary of my dog’s health. As the vet visits kept coming because my dog was not getting any better I kept adding to her diary. When I was referred to a specialist I walked in and handed them my dog’s diary. This accomplished several things:

• It gave the vet a clear patient history throughout her life
• It ensured I would not forget to tell them anything
• The record could be added to her new vet file immediately
• It allowed me to relax knowing that I was providing the best possible informatoin

The lack of language and communication for a dog makes it critical that the owner fill in this gap. The dog cannot tell the vet what is wrong, but if the owner keeps a diary of their dog’s health then the language barrier and it’s problems can be overcome. Also, even as owners we sometimes forget important information to tell the vet, and then we have to go back for more tests!

If you do begin to log your dog’s health I strongly recommend using something like Google Docs. Dogs live for a long time. While it may be tempting to save that information into a document on your computer, who knows where that computer or document may be in 10 years. Using Google Docs you’ll always have access to your document as long as you can access the Internet.

Take an active role in your pet’s health and well being. I can think of no better way than to keep your own record of his/her health through the years.

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Posted via email from stuarthall’s posterous

Posted via email from stuarthall’s posterous

Posted via email from stuarthall’s posterous

Red Bull Air Races

Few more pics and video here.

Many of the people I follow on FAVRD have a Tumblr and their Tumblr’s are hysterical. I felt like I was missing out on some jokes and, since I have an overpowering need to be accepted by the cool kids to stem my insecurities have accounts on most social sites, I figured I’d give it a try.

I love Wordpress (which runs this site) but I see the potential of Tumblr for someone who just wants to post random funny stuff as easily as possible.

On a side note, I sent a simple holiday email to our clients and I am surprised by the amount of responses. The showing of appreciation was….much appreciated.

As evidence of the rare moments I get to update this space, this post was made from my iPhone!

Edit: I just realized the virtual chumby is also interactive. You can click on the videos and they will play. Very cool.

I’ve participated in the past two Critical Mass events in San Diego. The rides are generally easy to complete and last a little over 2 hours. Some in the group are very vocal, but overall the entire throng is well behaved. Motorists who become upset at Critical Mass should realize it takes less than 10 minutes for the peloton to pass.

Other related rides include the World Naked Bike Ride and a group of riders in LA called the Criminalz who have taken up the habit of riding bikes on I5 during rush hour.

Videos from the May and June 2008 Critical Mass:

May 2008 part 1:

May 2008 part 2:

June 2008:

Criminalz on I5 in LA: