Yesterday’s patient arrived in the back of one of those monster king cab vehicles. Luckily, we’re talking about the cab itself, not the swimming pool-sized cargo bed. Still, the patient was hard to corner, slippery to get a hold of (all that blood!) and delirious with fear. (I wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t take my finger off, given half a chance.)

Consider two tigers: This past Saturday, one specimen scaled the fourteen-foot fence that lines his Miami enclosure to give chase to an obnoxious gibbon (also on the lam, as it turned out). Another systematically hunted down his would-be poacher in backwoods, southeastern Russia. The common denominator? Exemplary human hubris. 

If you’re among those pet owners that have been unlucky enough to have lived through serious problems with your pets — yet fortunate enough to have the means (financial or otherwise) to deal with them — you’re probably already aware of the rising importance of the CT scan in veterinary medicine.

Last week sucked. Vincent had to have two CTs, a myelogram, and finally, back surgery to remove the pressure on his swollen spinal cord. (More on this, tomorrow.) Then my iPhone got stolen. My car’s AC died in the Miami heat. I misplaced my driver’s license. And finally, lightning literally struck, resulting in one exploding modem (loud!) and a veritable epidemic of household appliance death.

There’s this theory out there ... that kids who have trouble reading learn faster and more effectively when they’re asked to practice their skills on their pets — dogs, in particular. Hence the R.E.A.D. Therapy Dog Program in which "reading education assistance dogs" are employed to enhance literacy skills.