Monday, January 4, 2010

Tough day surprises

This will be my 16th year in veterinary medicine and I had to double check the math to make sure that was correct. (Didn't I just graduate 5 years ago?? Damn!)

Yet I still have days where curve balls come at me from all directions.

A pet with a weird illness. A medication causes unexpected side effects. An owner doesn't have a lot of money yet has a critically ill patient. These are just some examples which can make my profession very frustrating and make me want to slug lattes at Starbucks.

But even though there were a lot of challenges today, I received two unexpected gifts that made everything okay.

The first was a numbered print sent to me from a friend. The artist is Fabio Napoleoni and his works have a whimsical, somewhat sad charm that is very appealing. The picture below is not a good one but it can give you some idea of the style. I can't wait to put it up on my wall.

The second gift was from a client who had some problems sending his dog from Texas back to California. I had to do a little bit of extra paperwork to make it possible for the pet to fly in cold weather and for that, he and his wife sent me flowers. It was a very generous gift for such a small act on my part. Furthermore, this couple are well known actors yet they have none of that infamous "Hollywood attitude." Gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that some nice people made it to the top.

Small things can really mean a lot.

I am blessed to know some really great, caring people.

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