President’s Statement  —  June 2025

Dear Colleagues,

I’m honored to write to you as the new President of the San Francisco Veterinary Medical Association. Stepping into this role is both humbling and exciting, and I want to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to serve this incredible community.

After 13 years of practicing in San Francisco and currently at San Francisco Animal Medical Center (SFAMC), I remain continually inspired by the compassion, ingenuity, and commitment of the veterinary professionals around me. Whether in general practice, emergency medicine, shelter work, or specialty care, each of you plays a vital role in shaping the health and wellbeing of our city’s animals and the people who love them.

SFVMA is all about connecting local vets and offering great continuing education every quarter. As I start my term, I encourage you to jump in, make the most of these chances to learn and network, and help us build an even stronger, supportive community. …

[ Newsletter also includes an important update and details regarding “LEPTOSPIROSIS VACCINE — NOW CORE”! ]

PRESIDENT’S Statement  —  November 2024

Well here we are, getting ready for our last meeting of 2024. We always say, “I don’t know where the time has gone,” but this time I really feel like the year has flown by. I won’t ramble on about the local coyotes in this letter. I’m sure everybody is aware of how that issue is progressing. There may be some things that Animal Care and Control may need help with from local veterinarians in the months to come. I’ll send out a mass email if needed. I know a number of members have seen animals that have had minor to major trauma from coyote bites. Unfortunately, I think this is the new normal.

As a reminder, Dr. Fong will be representing the California Veterinary Medical Association with an update on current political issues at our next meeting. This is your opportunity to have a conduit to our state representatives. If you have questions about telemedicine, artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine, cannabis laws, or any other things you want to ask about, this is your chance to ask Joe!

I noticed that a few members attended the Animal Care and Control Commission meeting remotely. Thank you for taking interest! I don’t know that I will be on the commission next year as I may be practicing out of the area for some time. But there are quite a few important issues that will be discussed in 2025. We really need our members to contribute to the conversations on local animal issues. The Commission is our best conduit to connect with our local political leaders. Please Consider applying for the position, or getting otherwise involved in the Commission. Any veterinarian that has practiced in San Francisco is eligible. …

PRESIDENT’S Statement  —  June 2024

Summertime is coming and I hope everyone is planning on taking advantage of how nice it is to be in the Bay Area while the rest of the state is usually on fire and the air too hot to breathe. We are lucky to be in a place where laryngeal paralysis labradors overheating and animals accidentally locked in hot cars are not a daily problem. However, we do have our own local issues that are somewhat dynamic nowadays. For my current quarterly letter I want to bring up the issue of San Francisco’s coyote population. Let me explain why this is a topic we should pay attention to. Right now new pups are weaning and venturing out making interactions with people and pets more frequent…

For those that don’t know, we went almost a century without coyotes in San Francisco. Then around 2002 an ambitious pair were the first known to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and take up residence in the Presidio. Fast forward a couple decades and we have over a hundred, and maybe two hundred, if you include the overflowing population that moves to the south of the city. Parents put up with their offspring for a year or two then they are told to grow up and find their own territory. Since SF is landlocked everywhere but to the South, that is where they are going.

I’ll start by stating that we do not have a lot of data on how this particular population of unvaccinated, free-roaming apex predators might impact the domestic and wild animals they share habitats with. But, let us consider a few topics of concern: …

PRESIDENT’S NOTE  —  SEPTEMBER 2023

Happy summertime to all my San Francisco veterinary colleagues,

I hope all is well for everyone during our often cold summer months as we ease into our warmer months here in the City by the Bay. Some find this a good time to escape for summer vacations but I am kind of liking our cooler climate. I recently had to spend a few days in Ohio with 95 degree air and 80% humidity. It felt so good to step out of the airport into a 70 degree climate back at SFO. It is easy to take our weather for granted when humans and animals are literally dying by the hundreds in other parts of the country. I mention this because we are likely to get some really hot days here in the weeks to come. As the Central Valley cools off and air stops rising there, we lose our coastal breeze here (i.e. the city’s natural air conditioning). From my years in the E.R. I know there will be many dogs presenting to hospitals (mostly brachycephalic) with hyperthermia that will lead to their demise. Put up a poster in the lobby and especially for flat faced dogs, mention it during the exam. This season is a good time to warn owners of the risks. You can’t remind owners enough: “Don’t leave Fido in the car, even for a short period on warm days.”

So we have more than just hyperthermia to consider during the summer in our neck of the woods. Thanks to global warming, fertilizer runoff, and wastewater treatment discharge there is now a constant potential for spontaneous toxic algae blooms in the ocean and Bay. We are already seeing this occur in Southern California, resulting in more than a thousand documented marine mammals dying and many suspected cases in humans and dogs. There have been numerous warnings from our local officials that we are seeing small blooms now in the Bay. …

President’s Statement — May 2023

From the Trenches

One evening recently, I visited a new pair of clients for a home euthanasia consultation that was very emotional initially. This couple had a sweet dog who was very broken. We discussed all options but they knew what needed to be done even before I arrived. They were not in denial, they just needed to hear me to validate their feelings.

As we discussed their dog’s long life and worked through planning our best protocol for ending it, the room became almost palpably wet through the tears. Things went as perfectly as possible. They thanked me as we hugged. I wrapped their dog up and left them sobbing on the couch as I walked down the hall to the front door. Holding my bag in one arm and their medium-size dog in the other made it difficult to turn the knob. By focusing on it and using my remaining two fingers, I was able to push it open enough to squeeze through.

My first thought was “Wow, it got really dark outside”. As a motion activated night light came on, I realized I had not exited the home as expected. Instead, I was standing in a sort of makeshift dungeon with faux brick walls. As I scanned the room I realized there were whips, elongated toys, and leather clothes hanging up. My next thought was “Oh, that kind of dungeon.” …

President’s statement — November 2022

Dear Colleagues,

Five years ago, I joined the board of the SFVMA originally as the secretary as a way to give back to our local veterinary community. I had been doing relief work around the city for a couple of years and wanted to help provide a place for everyone to come together to meet, commiserate, and learn with other veterinarians in the area. We’ve certainly had some trials during this time with losing the Cliff House, trying to figure out providing online CE during COVID, finding a new venue during a pandemic willing to take a large group, and trying to encourage local veterinarians to join us once again.

It has been a pleasure to serve this community, and I am very grateful for all the people that I have met and gotten to know during this time. However, after serving as the secretary, the president, or both during the last 5 years, it is time for me to step down from the board. We will be once again holding elections for the president and vice president positions at the November meeting like the old days (the new secretary, treasurer, and HOD representatives were elected earlier this year). Dr. Anna DeVincenzi has served as the vice president for the last 6 years and would also like to step down. Most people have historically served as board members for 2-3 years, though certainly some for less, so we’re both a bit overdue for an exit (thanks COVID). …

Continue reading this article and more in the
Winter 2022 SFVMA Newsletter (PDF)

A MESSAGE TO SFVMA MEMBERS

Dear Colleagues,

I think sometimes we can forget how hard being on the other side of the exam table can be. My own cat, Monkey, a “slightly” overweight orange tabby man had been vomiting a little more for a few months. He still had normal energy and wanted to eat nearly anything put in front of him. Being a veterinarian’s cat, he was of course a nightmare of open mouth panting, vomiting and diarrhea pretty much immediately upon being shoved into a cat carrier, so I delayed taking him in for a bit. I assumed he probably had IBD or intestinal lymphoma, and finally decided it was worth drugging him up on gabapentin and Cerenia to at least start with some blood work.

His senior screen was unremarkable minus an ever so slight elevation in proBNP that I added on after convincing myself that I could hear a tiny murmur. I went ahead and set him up to get an abdominal ultrasound and a quick peak at his heart. The 3 days before his ultrasound, he started eating a little less and did not want to eat wet food. Now he would on occasion decide he needed more variety in wet food flavors, so this was not unheard of, but I started to become a little more concerned. …

Continue reading this article and more in the
Summer 2022 SFVMA Newsletter (PDF)

A MESSAGE TO SFVMA MEMBERS

Dear Colleagues,

I have to admit that over the last year and half, like many others, I have not always been at my best. Between the stress of work, Covid, issues with family, friends, health, pets, it has been challenging for everyone. Something that I have been always grateful for is the camaraderie found in all of the different veterinary clinics that I work at. Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, assistants, CSRs, managers, and kennel techs are some of the kindest, most dedicated and hard-working people that I have had the good fortune to come across. It takes a special kind of person to continue to care for animals, their people, and coworkers during such stressful times with kindness and composure.

No veterinarian could do this job without the support of their hardworking teams. Seriously, to every single person who has continued to engage in animal restraint Twister, pin the needle in the bladder, don’t get bit by the angry chihuahua, dodge the anal gland expression, and other intrahospital games, thank you. To every veterinarian who has taken the time to help review labs, radiographs, cytology, weird cases, and helped with call backs and surgeries, thank you. To every staff member who has continue to help clients and pets despite being yelled at or treated with disrespect, thank you. …

Continue reading this article and more in the
Winter 2021 SFVMA Newsletter (PDF)