"Ask the Vet" Says Farewell to Dr. Pat

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© courtesy P. Bradley
Dr. Pat  Will Be Missed

It has been an emotional week here at All Things Dog Blog--a roller coaster of questions. As Dr. Pat prepares to depart--not by choice, but by necessity--I am certain she had her own emotions, decisions and concerns. I have grown attached to her in our weekly ping pongs as we pass questions back and forth. It has been an endearing relationship, growing without effort, and now ending with an empty feeling. I have managed to remedy that by recalling our first Skype conversation when we bonded so quickly over a chat that you would think we were best friends meeting at Starbucks.


After I learned her departure was near, I choked back a few "Wish I woulda's", as always, wondering if anything I had done differently could have kept her here. I have loved working with her. Her words were sincere and nearly as disappointed as my own sinking feeling.


Dr. Pat has taken our readers on a wonderful ride. With a background in homeopathics, counseling, conventional veterinary medicine, and holistics, she showed us all many ways to care for our dogs more naturally. From massage to natural flea treatments, sun protection to diarrhea, Dr. Pat explained it all with a flair for care that always took me aback with amazement. I especially enjoyed her "South Bark Diet". When asked what makes dog food holistic, she helped us all--myself included--understand the ingredients and the processing that bring a food into the realm of treating mind and body together.


As a result of her time with us, Dr. Pat has helped us all understand and come to accept holistic medicine not as the voodoo we might have once envisioned, but more of a natural way of treating many of our pets' daily woes.


We must now bid Dr. Pat farewell, and wish her health and happiness just as she would have done for us and our pets. She got me through losing Xena with more care and understanding than anyone living 800 miles away should ever have been able to accomplish. Please join me in sending a fond farewell to Dr. Pat as she takes on new challenges, likely with the grace and ease of a yoga master. Best wishes, Pat; we will miss you.


To read Dr. Pat's many articles, you may simply click here: Ask the Vet Archives. In addition, the menu bar button for "Ask the Vet" will continue to carry Dr. Pat's archives.