Michelle Gerhard Jasny

When I was a child, I don’t remember there being anti-vaxers. I do remember the early equivalent of robo-calls, when the John Birch Society barraged our town with their anti-fluoridation campaign. Although I am sure there were people back then who were suspicious of vaccinations, the predominant mood was fear of diseases like polio. Everyone …

It feels like all the stories I have to tell right now are sad stories. It’s the “holiday season” — a time when veterinarians traditionally face many hard situations. Families who want to keep the old dog going just until the kids get home from college to say goodbye. People who need to travel to …

Early on in my career, I had two wonderful employees, Beth and Midge, who had wicked senses of humor. Despite the stress of veterinary practice, we laughed a lot at work. Of course, dressing up for Halloween was part of the fun, so one year I did a fairly elaborate creepy costume, complete with face …

The wind blows. I roll over and go back to sleep.Our dog, Quinna, does not. She goes downstairs and crawls under my husband’s heavy oak desk. That was her favorite cozy place when she was a puppy. Now she has to squeeze her grown-up figure to fit into the space under the drawers that is …

I dragged the hose across the yard in a halfhearted attempt to start cleaning out our long-neglected shed. Critters have chewed holes in the roof and floor, and made nests in the open bags of grass seed and potting soil. I looked down at my flip-flopped feet as I trekked through the brush. I should …

I’m running late. April 7 was the start of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, a project sponsored by a coalition of the American Veterinary Medical Association, State Farm Insurance, the Insurance Information Institute, and Positively Victoria Stilwell (a celebrity dog trainer), with a goal to educate folks about dog bites and give tips on prevention. …

A few years ago at her annual appointment, I mentioned to Augusta’s owner that the cat was a little chubby. OK, maybe I said fat. Having battled my own weight all my life, I am naturally sympathetic to my fluffier patients. I also used to tell owners of such pets that if I had someone …

It’s January. I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, but if I had to pick one for 2024, it’s simply this: Happy New Year. Happy. I come from a family and a culture that tends to focus on the sad and the negative. Yiddish music, mostly in minor keys, is full of lamenting. …

Every time my friend Gail brings her pup for a veterinary visit, she also brings me a little bag. Usually when clients do this, it’s a bag of poop. Not Gail. Her bag contains lovely homegrown garlic. I used to grow garlic myself, but I’m just too busy to garden. Besides, I don’t exactly have …

I’ve been watching with both empathy and amusement the trials and tribulations of Facebook friends with their various cats and kittens. I wish all of them could have joined me and my staff at a continuing education conference we attended recently with Dr. Carlos Siracusa, associate professor of clinical animal behavior and welfare at the …

Sunflower is a typical rescue dog, transported here from Texas as a 10-week-old puppy by a pet adoption group. She arrived with six littermates, and all the paperwork showing puppy shots, fecal tests, health certificates, and doses of heartworm preventative. At 14 weeks old, she was adopted, and her new mother brought her in for …

On Thursday evening, August 25, I got a call from Richard, my mother’s partner for 28 years. Both in their 90s, the two have been living independently in the house where I grew up in Connecticut. Richard still drives, and most days he and my mother would go to Calf Pasture Beach and walk along …