The Quiet Heroes Who Care for Our Furkids

Your pet can look “fine” one minute and be in real danger the next. That whiplash is exactly what we get into with Dr. Jessica Corley, an ER veterinarian and medical director with VEG ER, as we talk about the moments that shape families, the animals who become our heart companions, and the split second decisions that can change an outcome. 

We start with Dr. Corley’s own furkids and the unexpected ways they trained her as much as she trained them, from Nino the dog like cat to Pixel the “ray of sunshine” she holds onto when the work gets heavy. We also talk openly about pet loss and grief, including Mia’s kidney disease and Onyx’s sudden cancer related bleed, plus what pre grieving looks like when you can sense change before it’s obvious. 

Then we go deep on emergency vet reality through our story with Marley and, later, Marshall’s GDV bloat. We break down what GDV is, why time is everything, what helped Marshall make it to surgery, and what pet owners should watch for when their dog is pacing, uncomfortable, or acting “not right.” Dr. Corley also shares the most common emergency surgeries she sees, how the VEG model supports families during crisis, and why compassion fatigue is so common in veterinary medicine when love, limits, and money collide. 

If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a fellow pet parent, and leave a review so more families can find it when they need it most. What’s one pet emergency lesson you wish everyone knew?

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Transcript

Welcome And Why These Stories Heal

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I am I am your host Dan Popovic. And for new listeners to this show, what this podcast is about is it's just bringing families in, talking about the fur kids. You know, every paw print has a story to our heart, an impact to our life. And these stories are really designed to make you laugh. Yes, you may cry because we do talk about loss, grief, that impact, hopefully to inspire you, but really I think at the end of the day, to help you feel supported no matter where you are at in your journey with your fur kid. And I am super excited for today's podcast for this episode. I'm standing up, so I'm probably gonna stand up, sit down. But um before I tee it up, so Dr. Corley, Jessica, let me know what best to um welcome to the the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

Hello, hello everyone. Um it's it's so nice to be invited to the space and to chat about our four babies and what impact they have on us. So I'm happy to dive into it.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

So I'm gonna and I'm gonna give a teaser to the listeners because they're gonna they're gonna want to listen to this whole thing. Um Dr. Corley and and I and Sherry and our family have a to me, a pretty powerful, a significant bond in how she has been instrumental in our family and our lives. There's my teaser. I'm gonna hold that and I'm gonna come back to that and explain what I mean by that. But

Meet Dr. Corley And The Pets

SPEAKER_00 1:30

let's let's jump into more about you. Let's let's talk about uh the fur kids in your life today. How many fur kids do we have?

SPEAKER_02 1:38

We I have five. Um, and it all starts in vet school. Uh so um my first fur baby, his name is Nino, and today he is 15 years old. And I'm pretty frustrated about it. I'm frustrated because every time I look up, he ages another year, and I need him to stay another 20 plus years. Um so Nino is um our cat. So uh he is the head of the household. He handles the big dogs in the house, he handles the other cat, he follows around, let the kids carry him around. But he he is my first cat and he has taught me about kitten disease and cats. He's taught me about feline herpes. And so each one of my fur babies have taught me a different avenue of veterinary medicine and how to take care of it so it reflects back into my patients and what I give. But he has gone through long nights with me at that school, um, getting me through exams. Uh, and he's more dog-like. He will be at the front door uh every time he's home, follow us around, play fetch, uh, chases bubbles. It is a it is a dog and a cat body, and it's oh it's my favorite.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

So Nino, I am and that's a fascinating name. How did that name there? What's the story behind that name?

SPEAKER_02 3:04

So back in the day when Craigless was around, um we got him off Craigless, and his name was Sprite. I do not know how they got Sprite, and I don't know why we chose the Spanish name Little Boy, but I that's just what has fit him the best. Um, and I I don't have a rhyme or reason behind it. But since we started off, we're now doing the alphabet. Um, so all of our pets are in alphabetical order based off of being in the house. So we have a M-N-O-P and a Q.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Okay. So let's

Mia’s Kidney Fight And Goodbye

SPEAKER_00 3:44

jump into that. I guess let's start with the first alphabet name and then who is it?

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Um, her name is Mia. Um, Mia is my Beagle. She was a Beagle Lab mix. Uh, she uh was my first dog after um, I think she was year two in vet school. Uh and she came to us through a letter that was on the ER floor, and they just said, hey, this was an accident. We don't know where these babies should go. Um, and we fell in love with her. She has a little white marking in the middle of her face. They had and her original name was Skunk. And her ears, I mean, she just oh ears.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Um how old?

SPEAKER_02 4:28

Um, we just lost Mia two years ago. Two years ago, okay. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Um and it she didn't know. Um through med school, through testing, through we battled kidney disease for her pretty hard. Oh wow. Um and we used to go on adventures. We would go, she would swim and fetch every stick in the lake. And then when there were no more sticks, she'll try and fetch the water, and I'll have to go get her out the water. But I was like, hey, you're gonna fatigue, and I I can't take you back to work today. So we're gonna have to go home.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

So she well that so she loved the water. I'm glad you went there because ours, we struggled to get ours to even love the water. So no fear of the water, it sounds like.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

No, and it was weird. I had to teach her how to swim. I actually had to carry her out into a lake that was near the house, and she did the panic swim for about two seconds. I got in there with her and she was like, actually, I can do this, and actually, this is a heck of a lot of fun. Um, so she was my adventure girl. So between her and Onyx, um, we would go on trail walks two to five miles a couple of days a couple of times out the week. She would lead us in the pack, and then on it would stay by my side, and that's that's just how we were.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

That's interesting. Um, I definitely want to get your expertise, your insights, because I tried that with Marley, picking her up, bringing her into the ocean, and she was kicking and screaming, and then after that, she wanted nothing to do with it. Um so and I started reading, I was like, I I don't it sounded like that was not the right thing to do, but then it worked for you.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

I don't know, she has high confidence, so it depends on the dog. There are some dogs that overthink it, but she's so moot food food motivated that once I got her through the panic and I was like, here's a snack, come to me. And if you need it to jump, you can actually touch the bottom. It actually worked out. Interesting. So yeah. Would I say I would do it again? Probably not. Um probably she's a life jacket and take it a little slower.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

But it worked out for her. So we got okay, we got Mia Nino. Did I say Nino right? Did I say that right?

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Um, and then what's yeah, next one in the alphabet?

Onyx’s Joy And Sudden Loss

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Onyx. Um, Onyx. So the Pokemon name, um, Onyx. And he was a Brindle boxer mix. But his mom was a border collie. You couldn't see a border collie in him, like double-coated, big border collie, but he was a Brindle boxer looking thing. Um he he was me. So we like to have our dogs to always have a partner so that you always grow up with somebody. So this is the original two. So Onyx came in about a year after Mia, and Mia taught him all the ropes and all the other things. Um, he loves balloons, uh, which is such a weird thing to like because he will pick up the knot of the balloon, walk it around the house. And you know how with Airbud you would uh hit the ball and go back and forth. We would do that for hours where he's bopping the ball in the air, we're running around. Um, and he's he had a different outlook in life. He, because of his callie, forgot that we had a cat in the house. So I actually had to train him to find Nino and remind himself there's a cat and it's not a ghost. Because he would just suddenly point and try and go herd and get it. And he's like, no, no, no, he belongs here.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

Too funny. Is Onyx still with us?

SPEAKER_02 8:37

No, we just no. Um, Onyx, we just lost last year. Yeah, so those are the only two that I've passed, but those are my two OGs. Um, we lost him to a hemo abdomen, um, which is an uh acute uh bleed into the abdomen from cancer. Yikes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

What did you what did you lose Mia from?

SPEAKER_02 9:03

I I don't know if you would mention or you meant we lost Mia to kidney disease.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

She was she was born with abnormal kidneys and was my medical anomaly.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Um so wow. Um keep going. Who else do we have in the alphabet?

SPEAKER_02 9:22

All right, so then uh let's see, that's Mino. Uh that's Nino Mia Onyx.

Pixel And The “Ray Of Sunshine”

SPEAKER_02 9:28

Pixel. Pixel um is a he's eight now. He's an orange and white cat, and he's my first cat cat. Okay, Nino taught me, okay, there's a lot of dog cats, there's a lot of outgoing cats, and and Pixel is just like, actually, I would like my own personal space. I like to be touched my own uh like when I want it, not when you want it, but please feed me at all times. Um, and so it was just a completely different avenue, and it's still the same species. So I just it just a lot of people lump cats into they all are the same. Like, no, they have such different personalities. Um, pixel was my first surgery in my career. Huh. Interesting. And a vet told me a long time ago is that you need to hold on to a ray of sunshine. Whatever you pick as your sunshine, hold on to it. That's my pixel.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Wow. That's okay. That's we're gonna get there. That's powerful. I love that. That's because I'm getting I'm getting on this tune of empathy, and that that's almost kind of like within there. Um, yep. And then um but is Pixel still, sorry, she's still with you, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:45

Pixel is still with us. So he's partner to Nino. Um, they like each other sometimes, but as they get older, um, they're more friends about it.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

So so currently two cats, any any any other dogs?

SPEAKER_02 10:59

Yeah, so we're okay. So we lost the two, so now we have the two that are with us. Now, these are two interesting

Quinn The Three Legged Doberman

SPEAKER_02 11:06

stories. My first, um, she's a doberman. Her name is Quinn. There you go. There you go. And that's what we bonded over with Marlene. Yep, yep. Um, she uh so she is technically related to the Dobies that are on The Walking Dead.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Um never seen the show, but I know the show.

SPEAKER_02 11:26

Mm-hmm. So those are her aunts and uncles that are on that show. But she came out um a little abnormal. So she came out with a fracture on her arm. And so she came out with a chicken wing. Cutest little thing. Three-legged. She didn't know she was three-legged, but she came out with chicken wing and she'll move it. Um, and at work we call her three-piece. Um, and so the how she got to me is that my nurse that bred the Dilvermans said this needed to go to a special home. So she can't be a working dog, she can't be a show breed, but I need her to make sure she goes to a special home. Uh, and twisted my arm. And I was like, okay, sure. Well, sure. Ratram never had a specialty breed, but wow, Dobie is the first one. Um, whole different outlook in life. Um, I am her person, 100% her person. Everyone else is bonus, and only if she allows them to be in the in the group. But once you're in her in circle, you are there. Um, she is a do first, think later girl. And with her being three-legged, that comes with a lot of crashing in the house. So she sprints and slides and like hits turns. Sometimes she misses half the steps and she just figures it out. I don't know if I could handle her if she had four legs because she's that crazy.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Oh goodness, that's bringing back some serious memories with Marley, which we'll get there, but I know that all too well.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

Yes. Yes. And you're just like, how did we get here? What? And you can watch, you can watch her think, which is so cool about the Dobies. You just watch them process their environment and then they make a decision. You're like, do I agree with this decision or not? We can talk about it because they are that smart. It's so bad.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Awesome. We'll come back to that one. Okay, there's another one.

SPEAKER_02 13:23

All right. Last

Rhea’s Surprise Arrival And Pre Grief

SPEAKER_02 13:24

one on the list is Rhea. Um, Rhea was uh a bonus. I was at Alpharetta, um, in the middle of a scope. So as you know, at Veg we're open concept. Um, and my husband worked at the Alfredo location at uh at the time, and I'm in the middle of the scope. I'm literally in procedure, getting a tennis ball or something out, and another dog climbs next to me. We're talking it up. And my husband comes to my left and says, Hey, me and our new dog. I'm like, what are you talking about? We are both on shift, and I'm like, okay, it's a doodle, it's probably vomiting. Please put it on the ER board. I will get to the patient next once I finish procedure. He's like, No, no, no, no, this is ours. I just came back from an hour drive. I picked this one, this is it. I was like, we didn't, we were in need of anything else. We we were full. Because at this time, we we had just added our first kid to the menagerie. And I was like, I I we just added a kid, we don't need to add anything else. Her name is Rhea. She is a Bernie doodle. Um, yeah, a Bernie poodle mix. I've never thought I'll have a doodle in my life. Um, and she is calming to Quinn, um, which is a perfect partner because Quinn is go, go, go. And Raya's like, I remember the people, remember that we're here to relax and have fun. And they and they both love them to sunbathe, so they just lay outside all day. So I was not happy in that moment, but I do like her.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

I I love it to sunbathe in, but that's what Marshall's doing right now. Um, which I know you know him too well, which we'll get to. Um gosh, and I just lost my train of thought. Oh, the you mentioned, so where did your husband pick he picked him up like an hour away from what was yeah, where did what was that story?

SPEAKER_02 15:18

So I think it comes from there's an aspect of pre-grieving. Mia was on, Mia was showing signs of her kidney disease starting to kick up. Um, and Onyx was starting to slow down, and we had Quinn. And you could tell that with Quinn being a baby and we having 10-year-old dogs, they were just like, I do not want this toddler jumping on me. And so Quinn needed a partner. So this was to find Quinn's partner.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Interesting, very cool. Um now, Mia. Um I'm curious what you know, what inspired you to get into your profession?

Why ER Vet Work Feels Meaningful

SPEAKER_02 16:04

So my mom told me that I came out saying I wanted to be a doctor, and I just had to choose which one. Um, so I was the classic kid, like all into Animal Planet when it was truly about animals. Um, and and everything that was outside, I had gerbils, I picked up worms, I had a cricket um habitat. Why, why not? Uh, and so I love the idea that animals couldn't talk because they don't have a voice and they need someone to advocate for them. And so using the owner's history, the owner's relationship, that bond, and then physical exam, and then the subtle signs of hey, this hurts. Um, I've been vomiting for a couple of times. What is the problem? It is the ultimate puzzle, and it's gosh, when we have it in a hospitalized pet and then get to the home. You you can't replace that joy.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Um, uh we'll come back to that one too. Wow. Yeah, you're yeah. Um, we're gonna get to that story. Man, that's that's amazing. Um now, me, I know I mentioned that a minute ago, um, as you were talking about all the the fur kids in your life, and the it felt it to me, I got the sense that there was a a unique or more of a special bond there with with not that there's not a special bond with all of them, but um so you always you find your solo dog and you don't know when it happens to you.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

That was my girl.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Gotcha. Makes sense. I I get that. So I'm gonna all right, since you kind of teased a few things in there too. I'm

Marley’s Loss Then Marshall’s Emergency

SPEAKER_00 17:53

gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna go into that why I was excited with this and and again, you know, so amazing to to see you and you know hate that you're a little further away from us for the listeners. Um, Dr. Coi. So you're medical director of the GR. Yes, and there's quite a few locations, mainly in the southeast.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

Actually, we are international now. So we have about 110 in the US, and then we hit Canada this year. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Okay, that's phenomenal. Um so sharing with the listeners, so the uh excitement and and connecting with you, and you know, again, being it'd be fun to have uh have done this in person to give you a hug. Um, the the you know, the importance you played in our lives. I mean, you know, we had two wild swings, right? Obviously, you know, you we we brought Marley down there, you know, one day she's okay, the next day not. And uh, you know, that was not, I mean, that wasn't the outcome. We didn't get the right outcome, unfortunately, on that one. You know, we lost her, but the experience we had with with you and the team, you know, was um like nothing else, right? Just this the supportive, as you can ask for, especially she was my first to your point. So you talk about heart dog, you know. I finally decided to grow up, she's my first, and um, you know, nine years, and I know Doberman's you're lucky to get him 10 years, is what I hear. Um, yeah, yeah. And to your point, what you're talking about with Quinn, yeah. Mar, we could take Marley on a run when we lived in the city. We would run on Freedom Path where the belt line. She's not paying attention, and she's running into things because she's having so much fun. And it's like, what the hell is pay attention? Um, yes, yes. So that that loss definitely turned my world upside down, led to the book. Um, but have you had a chance to read the book?

SPEAKER_02 19:59

I've been able to get some excerpts in between work. I love it so much.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Yes, thank you. Um, and then fast, and then obviously led to this podcast. I'm actually working on my second book because we have two new editions to the family that you haven't met.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Um, so I've got Carly down here, another female Doberman. Um, she's and she's not like Marley. She's um a lot more high anxiety, a lot more intense um man. And tiny. She's only about 50, 54 pounds. How how big is Quinn?

SPEAKER_02 20:37

Quinn is a 45 pounder. She's slow. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:41

And I mean, lose the leg or probably hit her around 50, but yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

Wow. Okay, so she's tiny as well. So then obviously, fast forward, gosh, a year and I think it's probably a year and a half later after we lost Marley. Um, Sherry comes running up the stairs, right? I'm in my, I'm at home working on a on a phone call. She's like, something's wrong with Marshall, something's wrong with Marshall. And I'm like, I kind of poo-pooted off, and luckily the meeting ended ended quickly. Come downstairs, and yeah, he was visibly walking back and forth and pacing. And she, I don't know how she would have guessed or have thought it. She was fearfully flipped, flipped his stomach. So then yeah, the the holy scare of whatever now ensued on us because we're 35, 40 minutes north of your location in Alpharetta. And I know she called y'all, and um, you know, this is where the the magical bond just kind of came with you and rushed him down there. And just really, again, the care and support that your team gave. And it was like all hands on deck when he got down there. He's like he commanded all y'all's attention, and um, I can't remember, I think it was like a two hour, three hour surgery. And you are the reason we have our boy with us. And so I want to thank you for that. Um yeah, see here. I was hoping not to do that either. But um we'll bump to it the whole time, if you can so, and that's where I was excited to share this with the listeners too. But um, you know, just talk about that and importance that you played in our life. And man, it it and I don't think with Marley, I don't know that I knew you had a Doberman with Marshall. It's like I remember you mentioning that, and then it's like, you know what? I had this sense or feeling that everything was gonna be okay, that that he's gonna come home and and you know be with us. Um year later, yeah, he's slowing down, he's spicy as ever. But um we're just you know, so thankful for you know what what you did. And you know, I know we came, we had to, you may or may not remember, I think we had to actually come back a couple days later. Um, because naturally we're experiencing things we don't know. I mean, I've you know this, you see this, and he's bleeding, bleeding profusely. And you know, your your team meets us out at the car, and I guess uh I don't it was like just some sort of seepage. I guess it was kind of a common theme from the the stitching up.

SPEAKER_02 23:25

Yep, yep, yep. He he developed a saroma right at the incidious site. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Yeah. Um but just I know how the team, you know, they had the struggles, then not the struggles, but a little extra care with him because he, you know, his he had mobility issues, right? So I know every time the girls were getting him up, he would fall down. And it's like, uh, you know, it I you know, that's more now pronounced. Now I've got to carry him down the stairs, I've got to walk him up the stairs. Um, you know, just a lot of that. But uh, you know, old age, he's had the two ACL, he's been through a lot, right? Two ACL surgeries, the stomach flip, which um I mean, that's not something most pets usually come back from, right?

GDV Bloat And Why Timing Wins

SPEAKER_02 24:11

No, and like let's just hone in on that. It is a timing thing. Had you gone to bed, had your meeting been longer, would have changed your whole narrative.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:23

And sometimes it gives us chills because what if you were at work and your dog's in a crate at home? What if you're on vacation in their boarding facility and that one to two hours is the difference of them making it or not?

SPEAKER_00 24:36

I remember you meant yeah, yeah, I remember you mentioning or making a comment like that. I think one of the things that still sticks with me that you had mentioned when I got him there was the fact that he was able to walk himself in there versus if he hadn't been able to, it might have been harder to I guess save him. Um and I guess, and and correct me if I'm wrong, I guess the other good thing, if that's even the right word to say, or the other positive thing about it was I it sounded like it was a clean flip that it didn't intertwine with anything else to complicate.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

Yes. Uh, because anytime you flip, you can have the spleen involved, you can have the intestines flip, so there can always be other issues. Um and none, every GDV is unique. It's because what else is involved, what other secondary effects are involved, how does the dog recover? Is we literally literally last night, I um I was in hospital until about 2 a.m. last night because we had a GDV. Um come in at midnight. Uh and literally the same situation, baby comes in and we're like, okay, guys, we stopped what we're doing. It's time to go to surgery. This this one wants to make it and it's recovering today.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

Oh, that's awesome. That's that's amazing. Yeah, that that experience gave me insights too, because I I know I'll make you laugh, I think. Um as I was in there, I I don't think it was, yeah, it wasn't you. You're in there doing doing what you got to do. And I think somebody was like, because I know you had that one room in the back and had the window, and then somebody had mentioned somebody had mentioned to me uh, you know, he's back there. If you want to go check in and see, go ahead. I'm like, I think I wanna now. Oddly enough, I did walk back there and I don't know, I don't know if it's a thing of size too that maybe saved him, but um it was interesting to see you guys had him stretched out, and because of you know, 100 pounds and his his his legs are like the length of my he looked like a little kid, right?

SPEAKER_02 26:44

It looked like a person on the table. Well, even the blue drape on it, it's like this looks like a person.

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Yes, yeah, it was unbelievable. But but I know I gosh, I was probably there. Well, actually, let me the the fan the one that you had mentioned with the family. Um, so it's awesome that he's recovering now.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

Did they stay overnight with them, go home, are they back, or they so when I left around 2 a.m., they had stayed from work up to surgery, and the dad actually pulled up a chair and sat at the surgery door so he can talk to the doctor. Um, and then there's a mom and daughter that's there.

SPEAKER_00 27:23

Um that's awesome. Yeah, because you guys had in the Alpharetta location, you had once you were done and he's um recovering. I mean, I know those first what 24, 48 hours are critical. Um, you had this little setup where he was, but obviously a family member, it was big enough that I could sleep in there and stay with him. Um, and I remember I did for a little bit. I think I was probably there. Luckily, it was during the time of the day, you guys weren't quite slammed. But I know as the day got picked up, man, there were a lot more. I remember there was one guy that brought his dog in, it was hit by a truck. And it so for me, it was like, man, just experiencing experiencing that and what you guys do, and just the suddenness and the reaction. But then um, there might be a question here, I don't know, or definitely expand on it for me. But right, that just I I can't imagine the amount of of incidences you see, but that's not the right thing I'm looking for.

Caring For Families In Crisis

SPEAKER_00 28:29

But the emotions of the family members coming in there, and it's like, yeah, yeah, you you've got a pet, you've got to take care of, but wait a minute, this pet is is family. So how is that family reacting? How do I how do I talk to them?

SPEAKER_02 28:44

Um it's it's meeting every family where they are, right? We met you at your car to come inside. It's all hands on deck to make sure that your family member has the best care. And then seeing that process happen over and over again for every sick baby that comes in the door and making sure that everyone gets the same level of attention. You don't get that experience at every year.

unknown 29:16

Right.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

You come in sometimes and you sit and you're like, it's time for paperwork, and but I'm really stressed out. That's why I love the veg model of we can alleviate that stress immediately. Let's solve the problem. We'll talk about other stuff later, but we got a problem in front of us. Let's make sure this baby's okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

Yeah. No, I love you said that because yeah, I've I've experienced, and that's what I was excited about. This and just the special bond I feel like we have with you. Cause um, yeah, I mean, yes, we lost Marley, and that was different, you know, but we got Marshall back. And I mean, I hope we get a couple more years out of him. Yeah, he's slowing down, but yeah, you guys were just amazing. And just I think, like I said, I think I was probably in there three, four hours, if not longer. And then I was witnessing other things and just, you know, you guys and seeing, like you said, the the emotions of the families coming in. Cause yeah, that that guy with the the truck, I think it was like a broken leg. I mean, I hope he made it, I don't know, but I know he was he was in there so visibly upset too. So um I can imagine how challenging, if that's even the right word, um, you know, with you guys taking care of the fur kids, but then you've also got the family member kind of right there on top of y'all while you guys are doing what you're doing and trying to explain something that's so darn complex that they may not understand how you're what the heck is going on, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:44

Right.

SPEAKER_02 30:44

But yes, so yes, I'll say it's challenging, it is emotionally challenging. Um, we struggle with compassion fatigue because we want to make sure every baby that comes in gets to go out, and that's not how life works.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:59

Um, but when, and especially on my doctor's side, when I'm able to show you the x-rays and you're pointing with me, like, oh yeah, I see the foreign body, it's right here. Oh, I see the fluid, and you are more in you are just as invested in your baby's care as I am. That's that connection. Yeah. Um, and that's why we actually love teaching. This is what we're seeing, and these are the next steps. Let's go through this journey journey together.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

What's what's some of the um common surgeries that you guys see pretty often? I mean, I'm assuming like the the stomach flipping is is that pretty common?

SPEAKER_02 31:42

It is common. Uh, so we probably see those probably two to three times a month. Um more common would be the foreign body. I ate something and it stuck. I have to go get it. Um, you also have I have a hemoabdomen, I am acutely bleeding, I need emergency surgery to stop the bleed. Then you we also have I have an infection in my uterus, and my uterus has to be removed so that I can get to the next day. Those are, and then of course, our C-sections. Let's bring some more babies in the world.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

Well, yeah, something Carly got. We yeah, we know that one. Marley got that too. But that that helps with uh the stomach flipping too, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, thank you. Wow, see, I'm all over the place. Um I I knew that.

SPEAKER_02 32:30

Um, but you're correct. If if you're going a lot of dogs that are Dobies that same size, we prophylactically attack their stomach if we're going in for any other reason to prevent exactly what you went through.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

Yeah, yeah. Uh yeah, which yeah, we didn't we did that with Marley. We didn't do that with Marshall, but I think we did it with the reason we did it with Marley, she was a fast eater and just would inhale it. And that was but whereas Marshall was just methodical. He took, he's like an old man when he eats.

SPEAKER_02 32:59

Yeah, yeah. And like that's less risk, but also you have a boy versus a girl. You're already in the abdomen for a girl. We might as well do the stomach while we take her years.

SPEAKER_00 33:09

You you mentioned something a minute ago. Um,

Compassion Fatigue And Money Decisions

SPEAKER_00 33:12

you said I think caregiver fatigue.

SPEAKER_02 33:14

Was that that I yes, compassion fatigue or caregiver fatigue? Yep.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Compassion fatigue. No, that's um, so is that's pretty common in the industry? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 33:26

Uh, because when you think about there's this merge of this is a life in front of me, this is a family member. I want to do everything possible. And then I can't control whether or not the owner say yes. Do they want to do that care? And I can't control their financial situation. The beauty about VEG is that for pets to have a good prognosis, we don't want money to be the reason why you have to stop. So have I called six different rescues, uh government funding, um, said we'll figure it out tomorrow. Let me just fix the problem.

SPEAKER_03 34:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:07

Because I still have to sleep at night. I want to make sure that I gave your baby the best chance. And so Dedge has a lot of resources to help us get through that.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

That's amazing. That's awesome. Um, there's probably a good message there too, as the younger generation gets into veterinary and practice to get into this um profession, that that awareness and that that support there. I mean, mental health at the end of the day, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

Right. Exactly. You still have to take care of yourself and you still have to sleep the decisions you make every day. Um, and that's what we support the doctors. If you this is the case you need to take care of, go take care of that baby.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Now, do you still have your, I don't remember names, uh, you know, of the the girls that were there with you, with Marshall, you guys all stared still together, or is it like they've moved on to other practices?

SPEAKER_02 35:00

So I think for that night, at least I think the surgery tech is still at Alpha Retta, and at least two of the girls that were taken care of for um inpatient are still there. Um, it was probably Christina. Um Lynn was there. She used to go into surgery a ton with me. Um, and who is the third person? I have to pull the record, see it's a third person. But yeah, but we're talking years ago, yeah, and it's not common for um us to sit still. That just means that the staff is taken care of so that we can actually do good medicine.

SPEAKER_00 35:37

And then yeah, you've opened up a new location and lose. Um again, we'll try to figure out uh, you know, would still love to see you in person. And then I feel like your husband's been so is he doing something? Because he used to be Veggie or now is he blue pearl?

SPEAKER_02 35:52

Yes, he has transitioned over to Blue Pearl, um, had a promotion opportunity, and so is growing in that lens. Um, uh, but it's nice because we freight patience all the time. Now that I have access to an ER specialty, I was like, perfect, I'm sending you a case, you send me back a case and keep going.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

Um, did did he have uh a similar kind of inspiration to get him into the field?

SPEAKER_02 36:17

Well, here's the heart. He went through that. So we started dating, we're high school sweethearts. And so he went through my whole veterinary career together. When I was out practicing in South Carolina um before we had kids, uh he would comedy just come hang out. And then hanging out was like, hey, I have a five set of puppies that need to help recover. Let me teach you how to do this, recover these puppies. Perfect. Let's go do a spay eater day at this shelter. I'll teach you how to do the anesthesia. And so he kept doing veterinary care for free. He said, actually, I really enjoy this. I was like, perfect. Why don't you get paid? Join.

SPEAKER_00 36:53

Too funny. Love it. Okay, that's very cool. Um high school sweethearts, that's awesome. Um and then any, I know we're getting close to time actually. This we could probably keep going, going on forever. Um I'm trying to think about like any uh any like guidance or advice that you could share to like family members in situations of these these high stress situations.

What To Do When You’re Worried

SPEAKER_02 37:24

Yeah, I think exactly what you did for both of your babies. Call us because we can hear what's going on on the phone and guide you of yeah, you need to get here. This is this time is of the essence. We need to act, or no, you can wait. So through VEG, you get to talk directly to a doctor if you have concern. So if you're concerned, call us and then we'll guide you through what to do.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

No, that's awesome. Um, what's next? What's next for you?

SPEAKER_02 37:53

Uh so the Snellville location, we've been open for about a year and a half. Um, I have a kid that's about to hit into elementary, so we're gonna hold tight here for a minute.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Uh as we hit We're gonna hold tight on the fur kids as well. No more, you know, no more additions, or maybe there's another surprise addition at some point.

SPEAKER_02 38:14

You never know. You think it's the vet that actually collects all the animals? No, it's who I married, and then I just get to take care of them. He wants chickens and a goat. So if we find some land, maybe that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 38:29

Um, but no, I yeah, like I said, I I appreciate you coming on and just what it's meant to have you in in our family, still in our family. We we still think about you, you know. Marley is, you know, still still top of mind with us. You know, Marshall is still there. So I think you know, every day we get with Marshall, we still think about the important role that you played in our life. So I just I just want to thank you for that.

SPEAKER_02 38:57

I appreciate it. I mean, just as an ER doctor, we do not get follow-up. So these stories are part of holding my sunshine. So thank you.

SPEAKER_00 39:09

Well, you're welcome. I'm glad I can add to that sunshine because you've had you've created a lot of sunshine over here, and we have more with each each and every day we get with him. So thank you. Um, and then yeah, with with that, so don't go anywhere just yet. So um, for the listeners of the show, you know, definitely subscribe, um, add some comments, let us know what you think. This was a you know powerful episode for me. If you've got similar stories like this, would love to get you on there. Um, definitely um check out Ved GR if you've got one in your location. If if uh you know, I guess there's that that seriousness element, or I guess just in any kind of question of that they might have, right? Exactly. If you're worried, call us, we'll get you through it. Yeah. No. Thank you. So don't go anywhere just yet, but um thank you. And for that, that wraps up this episode of Every Paw Print, every story.