As part of the veterinary social services I provide, I work with pet owners who care for pets with behavior problems. While there is a lot of wonderful professional support available for the animals’ needs, the impact on the pet owners often isn’t acknowledged. Dr....

When I tell people that I provide veterinary social work services, I almost always get a confused look, sometimes a disbelieving smirk, and the question “what is veterinary social work?” It’s a fair question, and I’ll do my best to answer it. The term “veterinary...

[Re-posted on Jan 21, 2017] When I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian and a ballerina. I recently found an old photo of my fourth grade bedroom and the walls were covered from floor to ceiling in animal calendar pictures. I had actually forgotten about that time...

I am just finishing my mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) class, and I’m sad it is ending. Once a week for the past two months, I’ve looked forward to the trek downtown on Tuesday evenings (even in the cold Chicago winter, which is saying something!). I knew...