I KNOW Nothing!

I know this is not about dentistry nor veterinary education and training.  But, I wanted to share it with you all none-the-less.

So, on April 28th, 2013 I shared this photo on my personal Facebook page:

I wrote the following under the photo:

So, this morning, I was so excited to climb up and see if we had eggs or chicks! Now, it is a good thing you weren't outside of my house as I was taking this picture, because you should have seen the bed head, old PJs and this 53 yr old teetering on a plastic step ladder getting attacked by the brazen, fitful mommy bird. You would have died of fright or laughter. Either way, you'd be dead and you wouldn't get to see this!


The different eggs certainly caught my attention and so I wrote further:

 So...we have squatters? Who belongs to who and what do I do? Do I get rid of the squatters? Do I let Nature run its course? What kind of eggs are they? The bombardier bird was small, brown with bright red mixed in. I am thinking Red House Finch. The one thing I am not going to do is turn on the light at night. We will have 8 cooked eggs!

Then I did some research and posted the following:
So, apparently, a Brown Headed Cowbird has laid eggs in my house sparrow's nest. Cowbirds do not build nests due to their wide migratory nature. So, they parasitise other bird nests. Usually the cowbird removes one of the host eggs and then she lays one or more of her own eggs in the nest. She is capable of laying 30-40 eggs over a 2-3 month period so she parasitises many nests. The eggs then hatch and the chicks are much bigger than the other chicks.  Not only will they starve out the host chicks, as they grow, they can literally crowd the other babies out.

Everybody posted opinions on how to handle it.  Literally, it was the most responded to post I have ever gotten (71 interactions).  They went from removing the larger, cowbird eggs to letting Mother Nature handle it.  I valued everyone's opinions but I really struggled with this.  I even went so far as to try to design a net to hang under the nest to catch anyone that was crowded out with the intention to take them to the area's licensed wildlife sanctuary/rehab.

OK...I wrestled with the decision as to how to handle the cowbird:house finch saga.  I chose to allow Mother Nature and the Universe to do as She does best...I figured it was Her responsibility to handle it and my name was not on this.

For days, I had chosen not to peek.  I was afraid my reaction would be that of disgust and disappointment.  But, yesterday I chose to see what had happened.  The video clearly shows what I found and my heart filled with the miracle of Spring and the joy of new life.

Within the last five years I am frequently reminded that I don't know everything and I don't have to understand all.  I have no idea why cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.  I have no idea why wonderful people get sick.  I don't know why young men bomb innocent children and people.  I don't understand how miracles happen.  But, I have awakened to the beauty and joy available to us in those moments if we chose to see them.

This tiny house finch has chosen to love three big cowbirds as though they were her own.  She doesn't question why they don't look like her, or why they eat so much...she loves them unconditionally. She rises to the challenge and that is a Miracle.  People I love get sick but families and friends rally and gather and find strength and Love in moments they would have otherwise thought they could never survive.  Bombs go off and people run towards the danger to help a stranger instead of listening to the survival part of their brain that clearly says: RUN!

I am coming up on 54 years old and the older I get, the more I surrender to the fact that I KNOW NOTHING!  That statement sounds scary but it has offered me the most beautiful way to experience life.

Namaste', friends.

Vickie

You Might Ask: Why Do I Need to Hire a Trainer?

Why do you need to hire a trainer?  Maybe the truth is; you don't! And if that is the case...I want to take this time to congratulate you.  The ability to practice medicine; whether as a veterinarian or a technician, or to manage a veterinary practice AND to stay abreast of new ideas and best practices while maintaining any semblance of a life is a challenge.  

My experience, even in my clinical practice is that we decide we are going to add a service, how we are going to communicate that service, what we are going to charge for it, and who is responsible for it.  We commence to provide that new service and we adjust everything we originally thought or decided, based on feedback.  Trail and error.  Then once we work it out to the point that we no longer have any problems with it and everyone is comfortable, we will do it every day, the same way and we will never question it again until we are forced to.

I will give you an example. For years, feline patients would come into the practice, be admitted for a procedure and be gently and lovingly placed in a cage with a blanket, a kitty litter pan and a catnip pillow.  A few hours later, it would be time to work with some of these cats and it would seem as though "Lovey" was having an allergic reaction to stainless steel.  Some of these cats would go from a lovely little purr bucket to a whirling dervish of teeth and nails.

We would mutter a curse word, don a pair of welders gloves, lock the doors, grab the biggest quilt we could find, call the employee that has earned the title "cat wrangler" and add a little more sedative to the injection or a cancel the procedure due to it no longer being a safe or atraumatic experience. 

Result:  More curse words, one escapee cat, four employees running wildly trying to apprehend the patient and eventually, one very injured employee, a trip to the ER, one completed worker's comp form and a cat that doesn't sedate well due to an extreme catacholamine flood.

Then an outsider came in and witnessed said experience.  She had experienced many of the same type problems before and she realized that the same cat was a doll baby in the exam room for her vaccines.  She suggested that we identify and schedule these patients as a "Do First" experience and sedate them, on the baby scale in the room with the owner.  A no-brainer some may think...but it took an outsider to show us the way out of our rut.  And, the clients love it.  They feel we are taking special care of their baby...and we are!

So, what ruts do you find yourself in?  Are dentistries the bane of everyone's existence?  Are your client service representatives getting yelled at because the client doesn't understand the bill?  Is the surgeon frustrated because they have to fit in carnasseal tooth extractions between surgeries?  Is it frustrating to do be expected to clean teeth and perform anesthesia at the same time?    if so, please know you are not alone.  

You might ask then ,what does the typical in-house dentistry training look like?  For larger practices, we divide the staff in half.  One half of the vets and techs work in a 3 hour wet lab concentrating on proper cleaning, charting, and honing their radiographic skills so that they can offer a full mouth series efficiently.  The other half of the professional staff is running appointments so that the day is not a total loss.

During lunch, we do a communication lecture.  There is no sense learning how to do a skill if you can't get the client to understand its importance enough to comply with your recommendations.  

Then the staff switches roles and the half that ran appointments, now gets to experience the wet lab. 

By the time the day is complete, we also have created a wish list.  This is a list of equipment that will help you provide this new or upgraded service efficiently.  Change also can seem overwhelming and the trainers can set expected timelines for change and equipment purchases.

The anesthesia training day looks slightly different.  The first half of the day is the trainer will observe anesthetic cases to see where the staff strengths are.  She will then provide a lecture over lunch and in the afternoon, a wet lab tailored specifically for your practice based on her observations and a PetED pre-visit survey the practice provides returns to her.

In closing, a trainer provides great opportunities for the staff:

• to think and troubleshoot with "outside-of-the-rut" thinking
• to be able to tweak protocols and procedures to fit within your practice
• to work with your own equipment and environment
• for the entire staff to get the same education at the same time instead of relying on one staff member to return and share all of the information to which they were exposed 
• to provide RACE CE credits* to all staff members simultaneously without the travel, lodging and registration fees for each staff member.
• PetED also has a Willow Grove, PA site where wet labs can be scheduled for small groups.  This enables practices to send employees for training without the need to amend appointments or their surgery schedules.

If you think that your practice could benefit from a  PetED Veterinary Education and Training Resource experience, contact us through the website at www.PetEDVeterinaryTraining.com or we can schedule a free Skype consultation (Skype name: Vickie.Byard). 

*RACE CE credits have only been submitted and approved for the dentistry experiences.  Anesthesia is pending approval.

Only Brush the Teeth You Hope to Keep!

Well, I just got a Facebook message from a technician from New York that asked the question, " is there any special way a pup/dog's teeth should be brushed?"  I was looking for the next topic from which to blog and this was the perfect subject.  It is actually one about which I am very passionate.

I believe that it is important to break this training down into baby steps.  

1.  Find out what your pet perceives as a reward.  Some pets like Pet Poultry Toothpaste. if so, I would use this as the reward and at first just put a dab on your finger for the pet to lick off.  You may need to reward with peanut butter, or a small piece of cheese.

2.  I will ask you to choose a place in your house where you will be apt to do it EVERY day. Plaque begins to lay down after 8 hours after a meal but I can not expect pet owners to do it three times a day.  Most people have a hard time providing that care for themselves despite the fact that is recommended.

3.  Pick a time of the day when you are apt to be able to do it EVERY DAY.  No fair doing it before you go to work one day and then before bed another.

4.  When your pet comes when called to that place and at that time...reward the behavior. So, for me, when I called Crayons, my cranky cat, to the bathroom at 7 am and she showed up, I rewarded that behavior alone.  For cats, attention and fuss may not be perceived as a reward...a treat may.  Dogs tend to like attention, so feel free to speak in a high voice and give a treat as well.  I do nothing further.  I repeat this daily until the pet starts to show up on his/her own looking for the reward.  Note the shift in power...they are now asking for it, you are not forcing it.

This took 2 weeks for Crayons to show up in the bathroom at 7 am.  But, I did not "up the anty" until that time.

4.  Now introduce that TOOTH BRUSH"!   If your pet likes the toothpaste, then load the toothbrush with the toothpaste.  When the pet comes to your chosen place at the chosen time, just let them lick it off the toothbrush.  Some pets may be reticent to do so.  Coax them nicely and reward the behavior when they do so.  

For Crayons...the first day of toothbrush introduction was slow.  She approached it slowly as if it were going to bite her.  But, she smelled the toothpaste (her reward and slowly tested it.  Then everyday she became a little more confident.  After about 2 weeks of this step...she would run into the bathroom at 6:50 am and meow for the toothbrush and toothpaste.  Now, time to step it up.

5.  Now, for cat owners, you may prefer the pet be on a higher surface.  So for me I had to add the step of Crayons jumping onto the bathroom vanity counter.  The first day of this step took forever, but eventually she did it.  When she did, I rewarded her with the toothpaste on the toothbrush (just licking it off).  Eventually, Crayons was sitting on the counter, waiting for her treat at 6:50 am.  For dogs this step is not appropriate.

6.  Now we have to get the pet comfortable with us touching the head/mouth.  So, I put my hand above the pet's head, touching it so lightly that I could barely feel the hair touching the palm of my hand.  Then I redirect their attention to the toothbrush and reward.  I NEVER BREAK their trust.  When they eat the toothpaste off the toothbrush, I take my hand away and reward with a little bit more toothpaste.

The next day I put the tiniest bit more of pressure to the top of the head.  Then every day a little more pressure.  My goal after about 2 weeks is to be able to drop my thumb to the cheek and pull the cheek back a little and DAB the couple teeth you may see with the toothbrush and reward the pet for allowing this.  The next day, I dab the right and the left.  The next day I may use a little brushing action and reward.  Then every day I increase it a little bit and reward.

Eventually, your pet will come to trust you handling their mouth and will actively ask to have this done purely because they want the reward.

I have no pattern I want you to do...back and forth, in a circle, while you are standing on your head....I don't care.  Just get in their and get the food off of the teeth.

Some final thoughts:

• If they don't like the toothpaste, use water on the brush and reward with something else.
• Use pet toothpaste not human.  Human toothpaste is not designed to be consumed.  It has whitening agents, abrasives and foaming agents added.  These can cause GI upset in your pet.
• Use some sort of toothbrush with nylon bristles.  It is the gold standard in human medicine...why would it be different with these teeth?  The finger brush with rubber bristles is good for training but you should switch to nylon bristles eventually.
• Take it as slow as you have to.  Golden retrievers may train very fast while a Yorkie or Pug may take much longer.
• Tooth brushing does not negate frequent professional cleanings but it may decrease the frequency required to maintain your pet's oral health.
• Be honest with your veterinary professional.  if you can't manage the training, your pet is particularly nervous, or you can't find the time to do this, let the veterinary staff know.  This will help them know how frequently they need to recommend professional cleanings.  They will want to tailor the recommendations to your pet individually.

I have put a link here to a video of my brushing my cat's teeth.  It is about 34 seconds long.  She has had this done daily since she was a kitten and she is 17 years old now.  She has never had gingivitis, periodontitis nor any resorptive lesions.  I do clean her teeth about every 18 months.  My veterinary dentistry bills are low.

Crayons Tooth Brushing Video

For the vet professionals out their...here is your homework.  If you have not trained your own pets to tolerate and participate with tooth brushing, I recommend you give it a try.  All it will cost you is 34 seconds and a little patience.

I Can't Believe I am Admitting This!!!!!

True Story! I had already shared this on my Facebook page, but I thought it made a good story for a blog and a chance for you all to get to know me better!

Last week, I had the opportunity to lead an all day dentistry CE event for the Northern San Joaquin Veterinary Medical Association at the Modesto Junior College.  Thank you, Tim McDaniel, CVT and Dr Frankie Bonifacio for inviting me and providing such incredible hospitality.  But, travelling always carries its own challenges and this time was no different.

I landed after a nice, long flight to San Francisco. I fetched my luggage and made my way to the airbus that took me to the rental cars. I signed in and I was led to a lovely, young lady with a clip board. She informed me that all of the compact cars were taken but that she would upgrade me at no further charge to a larger car. No biggie! OK. 

So, we were wandering through the garage and I was in a bit of a hurry. She started naming off the available cars and in my head I think; "Sweetheart...I could care less which car." So, I saw this lovely blue car and blue is my favorite color...done (that's how smart people make decisions). So she took me over to the blue Kia Optima. We inspected the car for damage, I signed and she left me with the perky statement..."The keys should already be in the car".

Well, there were these two "key like" looking things in the console. They had buttons that looked like open lock, lock lock, open trunk and blare horn. But there is no metal key thing sticking out.

I sat there for what seemed like 30 minutes looking at this "key thing" thinking...how do I make the key pop out. Something has to go in the ignition. I looked for other keys. Nothing except a good tour of the car. Do I look like an idiot and ask that sweet 20 some year old blonde girl that has already engaged 3 other customers who have happily crossed over the grated speed bump to their happy California adventures? Are you kidding! No way! Any unexpressed "Y" chromosomes wandering though me, completely forbid my asking this kid that could be a child of mine (except for the rockin' body and blonde hair). 

So, I deduce "Maybe it's Bluetooth".  So, I confidently waved this "key thing" in the vicinity of the dash board....nothing. I pushed all the buttons...doors locked and unlocked, trunk popped open and I scared the bejeezus out of a 90 year old man walking in front of this blue piece of brilliant metal when I pushed the horn button. Still nothing.

Finally, I needed to check out the ignition. Wait..let me find my glasses. There...wait! A button says "ENGINE START STOP". 

It looks like a button. I push it. All of the lights go on but no engine sounds. "Push it again!", the left side of my brain says. Now the car gleefully bids me fair well. I pushed it again...lights went on and it showed me a lovely branch of a blossoming cherry tree and all the gauges move...but no engine sounds. I pushed it again..."Good bye". 

Five cars were inspected and are on their way and now that blonde chick keeps checking me out in the car...to which I smile and act as though I am completely under control, taking a call on my cell before I am on my merry way. Reality...I am embarrassed and warning: Do not come anywhere near me right now or you may be the next thing planted in the San Joaquin Valley.

Finally....through the completely dysfunctional self talk:
Vickie...you make a decision about which car to drive based on the color BLUE!
Vickie...you idiot.
Vickie... if you ask that child for help, she is going to tell all her friends about the 50 some year old moron and it will be on Facebook and that will get 1 million "likes" and someone you know will share it on PetED's wall! You will be found out and everyone will know you are a knucklehead.

Then...by Grace....a piece of random information I hadn't really assimilated when inspecting the car floated from the lovely right side of my brain into a folder in the left side of my brain and in my mind I saw an image from the back of the car saying........
Hybrid. 

I push that ignition button one more time...the car goes through its happy salutations and I hear nothing....nothing. But, I put the car in gear and it moves effortlessly forward. An electric car. OMG! What a simpleton! But, I smile to myself and think...my friends are going to love this. 

You know, dear readers....I shake my head when the "kids" at work don't know who Harvey Korman and Tim Conway are....but at least they would have been on the highway 40 spectacular, sunny minutes before me!

Are We REALLY Educating our Clients?

After decades of client interactions with those that have provided expensive dentistry for their pets, I began to notice a pattern in statements made by these clients.  When they came in for their post extraction rechecks, they were asking the same thing; "How did this happen?  How did Diogee's mouth get so bad that he required 12 extractions?" I would then explain periodontal disease and the care necessary to keep oral health in check, and their eyes often glaze over.  That look says it all; "I can't brush my pet's teeth and it is so expensive."  Frustration ensues!

A light went on for me and I realized they do not know how to train their pets to have their teeth brushed and they do not know what products to purchase.  I have also come to know that our clients do not know how to properly choose a chew toy, how often dentistry is required, the importance of dentistry, what a dental diet is and most have no idea that animals do not overtly demonstrate pain unless it is acute, but that they experience it the same as we do none-the-less.  

That made me ask, what else do they not know?  Do they know that halitosis is NOT normal?  Do they know that often a fractured tooth is painful even if they are wagging their tails or purring?  Do they know what steps the practice takes to safe guard their pet during anesthesia?  Do they know that we will only continue the procedure if the anesthetist feels it is safe?

I then understood why the clients are all saying the same thing.  They have not been educated and they feel like it is all out of their control.  It is sort of how I feel when I pick my car up from the service station.  I write a big check.  I don't really understand what was done and I thought by changing my oil and getting my transmission checked, I had done what I was supposed to do to make sure my transportation is reliable. Frustration ensues!  And, does that experience make me apt to swing by for wiper blades or will I stop by Walmart for them?  Walmart!  And, if a friend shared that they got service elsewhere cheaper, am I apt to switch?  Unfortunately, YES! And, aren't these experiences similar?

What are you doing in practice to make sure all of these questions are addressed? Are you using brochures? Do you actually hand them out?  Have you developed your website enough?  And, if you have, have you tracked the success or does it just cost money and make you feel better?  Do you brush your own pet's teeth everyday and if not, how can you teach a client how to do so?

Very commonly, practices today use the word wellness on their websites, but are we providing wellness if we are not educating our clients?  Is it even possible to provide all of that information within the confines of a 20 minute appointment?  I have found that it is not, especially since most clients do not bring their pets in specifically for oral assessments.  Dentistry needs are most commonly discovered during the examination for some unrelated problem that needs to be addressed first!

So, a challenge for you all out there:  If you believe your clients deserve oral health education, maybe it is time for you or one of your staff members step up and create an educational experience for your clients.  This is something that I have done at the practice at which I work clinically.  Once a month, I stay to provide a FREE dentistry seminar for our client base.  The clients are invited by staff members for a variety of reasons; new puppy or kitten owners, owners that are reticent to provide recommended care, or owners that presented to the practice for an unrelated issue but dentistry needs were identified.

Has this been successful?  Absolutely.  For me, this experience takes about an hour and a half.  I schedule the event at 7 pm on varying weeknights.  My initial expectation was as I am sure yours is; they would be antsy and eager to get out the door.  But, that is not my experience.  With questions, the clients keep me an additional hour.  They are thirsty for this knowledge and any animal knowledge. It is no coincidence that the Animal Planet is one of the most popular cable stations available.

I have found it helps your attendance to provide a 10% off discount for attending. The discount is the initial motivator!  And, make no mistake, I do understand that there is NOT a wide profit margin on dental services.  But, what the practice gets in return is an educated owner.  That owner understands the wisdom of providing home care and the financial and medical benefit of frequent professional care and shorter, safer anesthetic experiences.  That discount is recouped many times over by the increased care that the owner now provides.  

There are so many benefits to this program:

• owners get the "tools" to maintain health and comfort for their pets
• owners provide more frequent care
• actual prophys are added to the dentistry schedule more frequently
• the increased numbers of prophys means less stressful dental/anesthetic experiences for the staff
• it gives the client a "behind the scenes" understanding of the support provided by the dentistry/anesthetic staff
• it bonds the client to the practice in a huge way

Finally, for me personally, I know that the practice has provided a system of education and ultimately we supported wellness when it comes to dentistry.

Is this tried and true?  I have provided this seminar once a month for over 5 years.  I also have been subcontracted to provide this seminar for another practice monthly for about 3 years now.  I have had attendance numbers ranking anywhere from 12-40 clients per month.

For me this program is a win-win.  The practice wins in many ways; a booked dentistry schedule, less stressful cases, better practice health and ultimately we rest knowing we are providing wellness services for our patients.

The client wins by understanding their pet's needs, their dentistry bills are more manageable and the pet wins by having better overall health and comfort.   Isn't that what we all went into this profession anyway, to help  pets because they can not help themselves.  This is an awesome opportunity to fulfill that mission!

If you would like to create an experience like this for your practice, feel free to email me (Gr8vettek@aol.com) for an outline of topics you can use.  All you have to add is your own energy, passion and love.

To the Heart of the Matter

To me this is the saddest of cases!

A very nice man brought his 8 year old, female spayed, King Charles Spaniel to our practice. The history was that he previously lost a King Charles to cardiac issues, a problem that commonly effects this breed.  That experienced devastated him and he vowed to do everything in his power to avoid cardiac issues in this next dog if at all possible.

We had been providing care for this dog for a number of years and early on the veterinarian heard an innocent systolic click when listening to the heart.  It was mentioned and this client  sought a cardiac consult and an echocardiogram immediately and spend upwards of $400 on that evaluation annually by a cardiologist.  All was well.  He wanted the best for his baby and he went to any lengths to provide that.

We recommended dentistry for his dog and this brought up a whole host of fears about anesthesia. He was afraid he may lose his dog.  We tried to assure him that with frequent professional care, we could provide the shortest and ultimately safest anesthetic experiences for his sweet baby.  We showed him how we have state-of-the-art monitors and that we have a dedicated anesthetist for the procedure.

He said he would consider this carefully.  

What he did, in an attempt to safe guard his beloved was to seek a second opinion.  He went to another practice.  They witnessed his concern and they offered to provide anesthesia-free dentistry and told him that that would be ultimately safest.  He provided this level of care for his dog twice.  The second time, they told him that they got most of the work done but that Nala was not allowing all of it.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago.  This client came in for his annual exam.  He related to our veterinarian that his baby was dropping food and was eating very carefully.  This very compliant, gentle dog allowed us to show him that there were multiple mobile teeth and that his baby needed to have a deep cleaning and full mouth radiographs.  

Once we anesthetized this patient and obtained a full set of diagnostic X-rays, we identified 27 teeth that we needed to be extracted because of either greater than 50% bone loss or tooth root abscessation.  This man was horrified.  The work was provided and the pet is doing wonderfully.

What breaks my heart is that this man wanted the best for his dog.  He was not stingy with his money in relation to this dog.  He was misled that providing anesthesia-free dentistry would provide the same care for the dog as we would provide with the aid and expense of anesthesia.  In the long run, this King Charles Spaniel experienced long term periodontal infection and we know that that can negatively affect the heart...the organ he was so worried about in the first place.

Good morning!  I woke up this morning and there was a notification on my PetED Facebook page.  The notification was informing me that someone that I have not met, "liked" the page.  Such a nice feeling. So, I was having my cup of "wake-the-heck up" and found myself staring at PetED's logo and day dreaming.

While in Las Vegas at the Western States Veterinary Conference, I gave a technician one of my cards after we chatted for a bit about dentistry and X-rays at the Technician Fair.  She politely took the card and innocently asked; "If you teach dentistry, why didn't you design a logo around that and why the briefcase?"  So, I thought I would share how I responded about the PetED logo.

First of all, the name of the company; PetED.  It is true that at this point, most of the business is centered around veterinary dentistry.  I am the president and that is my clinical specialty and main focus.  However, I envision a company that has a much larger scope. Having been invited into almost 50 practices to teach dentistry, I am aware that some practices have areas other than dentistry that they would appreciate help expanding or further developing.  One of the common issues that comes up whenever I teach dentistry is anesthesia.  Once practices start doing full mouth radiographs and finding additional pathology, the patients are under general anesthesia longer.  That often necessitates a good look at the practices' anesthetic protocols and practices.  

That led me to know that I wanted the company to be the resource for any of their educational and training needs.  I can't be an expert in all disciplines. Fully embracing that fact, PetED has technicians that I have had the honor and pleasure of getting to know, that are considered experts in other disciplines that can be scheduled to consult for the company.

Why the briefcase?  Well, that is to show that PetED trainers come with materials for you to keep as references when we leave your practice.  If I train technicians how to perform regional nerve blocks, I leave you with pre-calculated dosage charts.  If I teach intraoral radiographs, I leave the practice with a CD of images that show the proper position for each image.  

The briefcase also shows that we are mobile.  We pack up and come to you (although we do have a wet lab site).  The practice could be in our geographic area or we frequently travel to other states as needed.  PetED is not limited to any geographic area. As a matter of fact, I am scheduled to speak to a group in Modesto, California in a few weeks.

The paw prints are pretty self-explanatory.  This is a small animal veterinary resource (although PetED does have access to one of the leading equine technicians in the country).  

The colors?  I wanted to be memorable and that yellow jumps out at you, hopefully catching your attention.  I want you to think of PetED and our trainers when you see that yellow and blue.

And why cartoon-type imaging?  I intentionally chose images and a font that invokes a feeling of fun!  Practice life can get intense but the educational experience does not have to be.  PetED is serious about the materials and the information shared but the trainers PetED has chosen are intentionally ones that are respected but share the information in comfortable and relaxed way.  When a PetED experience is schedule, I want the staff to want to be present that day.  Education should be something to look forward to instead of something to avoid.

Well, as I look out the window and see the very early March buds on some of the trees, I marvel at the miracle of Spring.  This is a time of hope and rebirth.  The seed of PetED was planted in the fall and through the darkness of winter there was a lot of underground work done in preparation for its birth.  My hope is that the PetED trainers will be able to plant the seeds of understanding and inspiration to revitalize how you experience this profession you so passionately sought.

Have a spectacular day!

Vickie