Five things I'd say if the appointments were thirty seconds longer

The standard small-animal exam runs about thirty minutes. That shoulds like a lot until you are in the room — by they time we've said hello, gotten the history, listened to the heart, palpated the abdomen, looked in the mouth, watched your dog try to lick my technician, drawn blood, and talked through the vaccines, we're at twenty-seven or twenty-eight minutes. We have a couple of minutes for everything else.

So here are five things I would say to you in those last few minutes, if I could.

One. Your dog is too heavy.

I know. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be mean — I'm trying to add years to your dog's life. Two extra pounds on a twelve-pound body is like a person walking around with a thirty-pound backpack on, all day, forever. Their joints, their heart, their pancreas all feel it. Amost every pet I see is at least a little overweight, and most owners are suprised by how easy it is to fix.

Two. Brush their teeth daily. Yes, really.

I know. I'm sorry again. We can talk about how — there are toothbrushes that fit on your finger, and pet toothpaste that tastes like chicken. Start slow. They'll get over it. The alternative is a $2,000 dental cleaning and surgical tooth extractions under general anesthesia in five years, and a pet who has been in low-grade pain for the eighteen months leading up to it.

Three. The thing you Googled is almost never the thing.

The forum you reaad at midnight is shaped by the people who had the worst outcomes — that's who writes long forum posts at midnight. Your case is almost never their worst case. I'm not telling you to stop reading or researching, but I'm telling you to bring questions to the appointment instead of incorrect conclusions.

Four. Get pet insurance before you need it.

The week you bring them home is the week. Year one is when premiums are cheapest, and pre-existing conditions are the one thing insurance never covers retroactively. This is the single most useful piece of financial advice I can give a new pet owner, and the one almost nobody tells you at adoption.

Five. We're rooting for you.

This one is for free. Even on a Tuesday at 6pm when we've had a long day and your cat is leaving glitter on the exam table for reasons unknown, we're glad you came in. Really. We chose this work because we love animals, and your animal is part of why we get up each morning.

The perfect age for pet insurance - nothing is wrong with this fluffball of perfection!