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. …

New President’s Statement — March 2023

It is an honor to take on the position of SFVMA President for 2023. After being briefed on what challenges Dr. Lightstone has endured during the era of COVID, I am a bit intimidated by her performance in the position. That said, I will do my best to fill her shoes. For those that do not know me, I have been practicing in San Francisco for 15 years. In my off hours I ride anything on 2 wheels, spend as much time fishing as possible, and work out my stress by playing pinball. There is a Border Terrier and two cats that share their home with me as well.

Along with thanks to outgoing President Lightstone, I would like to recognize the rest of the board that worked together to continue online meetings with CE during the Pandemic. Our CVMA representative
recently informed me that the SFVMA was our only regional VMA to accomplish this. …

Continue reading this article and more in the
Spring 2023 SFVMA Newsletter (PDF)

President’s statement — September 2022

Dear Colleagues,

We are so grateful that so many members were able to attend the June meeting at our new venue, McCormick and Kuleto’s in Ghirardelli Square. It was great to see so many familiar faces and welcome some new ones as well. We are also very grateful to Dr. Gen Luca for stepping up last minute and giving a great talk despite some technical difficulties, and to SAGE for sponsoring.

We hope to see even more of you at our next meeting on Thursday September 15th. I would like to say a huge thank you to Keely Commins, our outgoing treasurer, for all of her work over the last 5 years on the board, and congratulations to her on her new role on the CVMA Diversity and Inclusion Committee. We know she will continue to work hard to support and improve the veterinary community. I also want to say a giant thank you to Tiffany Hahn, our outgoing secretary who helped us out tremendously over the last couple years. …

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

A MESSAGE TO SFVMA MEMBERS

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that everyone was able to enjoy the holidays and ring in the new year. Hopefully 2022, will continue to be an improvement over the last couple of years. We are excited to announce that we are moving towards returning to in-person meetings this year. After a long search, we are working with McCormick and Kuleto’s to return to seeing your wonderful faces for our June meeting. Prior to this, we will have an online meeting March 24th at 7 pm sponsored by Virbac to learn about Stelfonta treatment for mast cell tumors. All attendees who RSVP in advance will be emailed GrubHub gift vouchers for dinner delivery during the meeting.

There are many new veterinarians and new practices springing up in San Francisco, and we look forward to welcoming both new and old faces together. The SFVMA meetings are a wonderful way to meet other veterinarians in the area and network. If you know other area veterinarians who might be interested in joining the SFVMA, please encourage them to do so. We could all use some extra camaraderie and support these days, and a good meal while getting some CE never hurts either. …

Continue reading this article and more in the
Spring 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)

A MESSAGE TO SFVMA MEMBERS

Dear Colleagues,

During my internship a hurricane made landfall in Virginia and knocked out power to the majority of Richmond for nearly 1 week. The emergency and specialty hospital I worked at was the only veterinary clinic that continued to operate in the city thanks to 3 generators on the roof. We saw pretty much every dog and cat that needed veterinary care in the entire city for a week. It may not sound like a long time, but when every cage, run, and stacked donated kennel lining 2 entire floors is full, it felt like an eternity. We had every available staff member come in as much as possible, we napped in the clinic or briefly at home in between working horribly long shifts. We ran out of supplies, improvised and borrowed. This was my introduction to disaster veterinary medicine. …

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

A MESSAGE TO SFVMA MEMBERS

Dear Colleagues,

Please join us for our first online continuing education opportunity of 2021. We are grateful to Boehringer-Ingelheim for sponsoring a 2 hour RACE approved online learning program on Feline Vaccinations by Dr. Alice Wolf on March 18, 2021. Meals will be delivered to your work or home. We hope you will join us!

We anticipate hosting our quarterly meetings online for now. We recently learned that we are one of only a few local VMAs in California who have continued to offer continuing education during the pandemic. We thank our wonderful sponsors for their support as we pivoted to online events. Hopefully we can gather together again soon. …

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

A MESSAGE TO SFVMA MEMBERS

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to announce that we will be continuing to offer online continuing education in place of our quarterly meetings until that fine day we can all come together once again at the fabulous Cliff House. November 19th, Dechra will be sponsoring an online meeting with Dr. Julie Kluxdal speaking about veterinary dermatology. Links will be
added to the website and emailed to members prior to the meeting. We hope you all will join us.

As what feels like the longest year ever heads into holiday season, I hope that everyone is hanging in there. Between COVID-19, fires, elections, and social justice issues, this has been a year unlike any other for most of us. It seems almost everyone is struggling with some degree staffing issues amongst childcare, new babies, moves, and the confusion of veterinary professionals actually calling out sick. As veterinarians, most of us have rarely ever called out sick. …

Continue reading this article and more in the
Winter 2020 SFVMA Newsletter (PDF)