So how is a vet visit like CSI? Well, putting together the clinical picture when your dog is sick is akin to solving a mystery, and you can provide us with vital clues! Here are a few tips to help us help your dog:

1) "History's Mysteries": If your dog has been seen by a different vet, don't worry, we won't be offended! But please bring the records and any current medications with you.  Even if your dog is currently well, that information is vital to have in his records, especially if anything should go wrong in future. It will also help us to avoid repeating costly diagnostic tests, such as bloodwork. Don't let your dog's history remain a mystery- his life (and your wallet) could hang in the balance. 

2) "Mad Props!": By "props" I mean all important physical evidence, for example the pill bottle, candy bar, or package of chewing gum your dog helped himself to, or that odd-looking thing he may have coughed up when he vomited in the yard. Absolutely anything goes! A client recently brought me a snake in a plastic bag, sans its head, because he thought it may have bitten his dog. Don't forget, vets truly "see it all", and it takes more than the occasional dead reptile to faze us!  

3) "Your Dog Secretly Wants to Be a Movie Star.": It is sometimes quite difficult to interpret my clients' descriptions of their dog's symptoms. Videos of your dog's baffling behavior can help us to determine, for example, if that odd shaking truly was a seizure.. or just an extremely animated coughing fit. Also, dogs who are limping at home will often, for whatever reason, stop limping at the vet's. So, make your dog a movie star and get that video clip!