The content here is simply opinion and experience – my own. It is what I offer when asked for advice and I offer it here only as information which you might find useful or informative.

There are people and things that stand out in life. This page will introduce some of those people and things in my life. As such, perhaps it will help identify the characteristics of those special people and things in yours.

The Four Agreements

A number of years ago, a friend recommended a book by Don Miguel Ruiz entitled The Four Agreements. I have found this book and its basic agreements to be life-changing.

While a simple listing of my interpretation of The Four Agreements does not do it justice, it will suffice for example sake.

• Be impeccable with your word. Do what you say you will do.
• Don’t take things personally. It’s really about the thing, not about you.
• Don’t make assumptions. You should not act on information you do not have and do not know.
• Always do your best. If you can go to sleep at night believing that you have done your very best that particular day, whatever that is, you could have done no more.

These four tenants, for me, serve as life rules that have served me well for many years. I strongly recommend taking them seriously.

Splendid Vet

I have friend who coined the term Splendid Vet for those veterinarians of distinction in her life and that of her animals. While we are, again, all human and can make mistakes or miss judgments, the basis of a strong and practical understanding of animals and their lives provided the basis for great practitioners.

As I’ve been around animals all of my life, I’m particularly reliant on talented veterinary practitioners.

I believe that Drs. George and David Ihrke and Dr. Joe DeMoor at Colonial Manor Animal Hospital in Homer Glen, Illinois, are such individuals. I am now dealing with the second generation of Ihrke’s as vets and have found them to be exceptionally skilled and caring.

As an example comparing veterinary approaches, I once stopped by a local vet office on my way out-of-town to purchase a skin cream that is commonly used on dogs. The vet office said they needed to examine the dog before they could give me the cream. In examining my large coursing hound, the vet spent an inordinate amount of time listening to the dog’s heart, saying nothing. After about ten minutes with no conversation and no cream, I asked for an explanation. Essentially, the vet told me that he thought he could keep my dog alive a number of months if I didn’t allow him off on a six-foot lead and exposed him to about $800 in monthly treatments. I panicked.

Certain I would miss my plane, I called my Splendid Vet, who quickly picked up the phone and simply told me to get the dog to him and get to the airport. I drove the additional thirty minutes in a direction away from the airport to get my dog to a safe place while I was away.

My vet assured me he’d reach me if he needed me but, otherwise, would examine my dog and determine a diagnosis and treatment recommendation while I was away.

When I called mid-trip, he assured me my beloved dog was fine and we’d talk about his health when I returned. There was nothing to be done in the meantime.

Immediately upon my flying home, I visited my vet. The dog, a giant breed, had cardiomyopathy, a weakened heart condition common in large dogs. The vet indicated that we would be supporting his health condition with a salt-free diet and some supplements to enhance his heart muscle condition. And one day, we couldn’t know when, but, hopefully when he was mid-stride in a long gallop, his heart might stop. But, unlike the less splendid vet, the dog bred to run would not be confined to a six-foot lead and lack of activity, as well as medial procedures, as he approached the end of his life. He would live a full and happy lie, as complete as his condition allowed, until that ended. No limitations, no restraints, just life as always. He lived ten months.

My Splendid Vet understands that preventing a dog from living the life he was bred to live, wasting treatment and money I didn’t have to only allow him physical existence is wrong. While I grieved the loss, I had ten wonderful months after his diagnosis that I would not have had with the approach of the closer-by vet.