Tails of Truth: The Truth about Veterinary Medicine

Tell Us What You Think

This week's episode is an honest, unfiltered vent session from two people who had a rough week in veterinary medicine and decided to record it. Dr. Angie and JoJo — both sick, both on their second or third round of antibiotics — talk about the client who announced to the lobby that Dr. Angie was a terrible veterinarian, the YouTube commenter who said they need empathy training, the one-star review left on a Shopify product that hadn't been opened yet, and the person who called JoJo cold-hearted after JoJo spent over an hour trying to make their cat's care work financially.

This episode is for anyone who's ever wondered what it's actually like to be on the receiving end of that. Veterinarians are people. Veterinary nurses are people. And this week was a heavy one.

This episode is a raw and vulnerable look at what's happening with your veterinary team.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. One negative interaction can undo an entire day of positive ones. 
2. One-star reviews on small businesses have big impacts. They affect search ranking and long-term viability. 
3. Veterinary dark humor is a coping mechanism, not a character flaw.
4. Financial pressure on clients is intensifying right now and that pressure is landing on vet teams.
5. Reaching out before leaving a bad review costs nothing and gives the practice a chance to make it right.
6. Two people run this entire operation. Every review and every comment lands directly on them.
7. Empathy and professional boundaries are not opposites and holding both doesn't make someone greedy.
8. Most veterinarians are not in it for the money.

SOUNDBITES

"I definitely went to my office and cried." — Dr. Angie 

"I have severe empathy problems, like in terms of too much of it." — JoJo 

"I have personally had to euthanize animals because they started growing resistant bacteria that we couldn't fix." — Dr. Angie 

"We care about your animal and we care about you. Facts. Full stop." — JoJo 

"No we only hire incompetent veterinarians here. Like what?" — JoJo 

"I saw one client that was so unkind to me and I probably saw 16 that were extremely kind. And the one we're talking about today was the one that was unkind." — Dr. Angie 

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Tell Us What You Think

Nobody puts "anal glands" on their list of things to learn about when they get a pet. Then your dog scoots across the carpet,licks incessently during the night, or your cat leaves a mystery smell on the couch cushion, and suddenly it's the only thing on your mind.

In this episode, Dr. Angie and JoJo get into all of it: what anal glands actually are, why chronic anal gland problems are often a sign of food or environmental allergies most pet parents never connect, whether those fiber supplements flooding your social feed are worth it, and when a scooting situation turns into a needed vet appointment. Straightforward, a little gross, and genuinely useful.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS 

1. Anal glands are scent-marking sacs positioned at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions just inside the anus. They're meant to express naturally with each bowel movement.
2. Scooting, excessive rear-end licking, and a persistent foul or fishy odor are the three main signs of a problem.
3. Chronic anal gland problems are frequently a sign of food or environmental allergies. If your pet needs regular expression, the allergy is the thing worth investigating, not just the glands themselves.
4. Groomers routinely expressing anal glands at every visit is not standard of care. If there is no problem, it is unnecessary and can cause irritation over time.
5. Fiber supplements marketed for anal glands work by bulking stool to support natural expression during defecation. They will not clear an existing impaction on their own. Expression first, then support.
6. You can express anal glands at home with gloves, water-based lubricant, and a willing assistant. Your veterinarian or veterinary nurse will show you how.
7. An abscessed anal gland requires veterinary treatment. Antibiotics often need to be instilled directly into the sac.
8. Anal gland removal surgery carries a risk of permanent fecal incontinence. In nearly 20 years of practice, Dr. Angie has not had a single patient require it.

SOUNDBITES

"I wouldn't ever touch them if I didn't need to. If there isn't a problem, why get in there and muck around?"  — Dr. Angie 

"The marketing is butt to gut, but the product is actually gut to butt." — JoJo

"If your dog is scooting a lot, has a lot of problems with their anal glands, they probably have a food allergy, or maybe an environmental allergy, but more commonly a food allergy."  — Dr. Angie 

"If anybody has experience with them and you've smelled anal glands, you've never forgotten that." — JoJo

"Even when you give systemic antibiotics, sometimes it's hard to actually make the antibiotic get into that anal sac. And so we like to instill the antibiotics right into the anal sac."  — Dr. Angie 

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Tell Us What You Think

It's been one full year and 57 episodes of Tails of Truth, and Dr. Angie and JoJo are taking a minute to sit in it. In this episode, they look back at their favorite moments, the episodes that hit hardest, and a few things they've genuinely changed their minds about along the way. From pet insurance skepticism to the Lepto vaccine, from raw food hand washing habits to processing grief in this public space, this is what it looks like to learn out loud in front of an audience that keeps showing up.

They also revisit the grief episode that moved so many listeners, and give a nod to Euthabag, a company creating beautiful, meaningful options for pet body care after passing. If you're in an end of life season with your pet, they are worth looking up. On the insurance front, JoJo shares why she finally put her dog Sage on a Lemonade pet insurance policy despite being highly skeptical of the industry, and what she's watching for.

Coming up in year two: a dermatologist, an oncologist, a cat behaviorist, and more episodes that make complicated veterinary medicine feel like a conversation with a friend. 

If you've been here since the beginning, thank you. If you're just finding them, welcome. This is a podcast that tells the truth about veterinary medicine, and they're just getting started.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. It's okay, even good, to change your mind when new information or lived experience shifts your perspective. JoJo opted for the Lepto vaccine and pet insurance. Dr. Angie is finally addressing Fritz's weight. Both took time and that's okay.
2. Veterinary professionals carry shame too. The shame episode resonated deeply because naming it is the first step to doing something about it.
3. No question is ridiculous. If you have a question, it means it hasn't been answered well enough yet.
4. Cat episodes consistently perform because cats are underserved in veterinary content.
5. Community matters. The Bodhi grief episode showed how powerful it is to feel held by a group of people who understand.
6. Lifting the curtain on what it's like to be a veterinary professional is part of the mission and it's rare.
7. Veterinary humor is a coping mechanism and it's real. The giggles stay.

SOUNDBITES

"I like that we're making veterinary medicine accessible and that there's information out there that is valid, truthful, safe, and free."  — JoJo

"Allowing myself to feel ashamed about it and settle into it has actually now given me the space to do something about it." — Dr. Angie 

 "It's okay to change your mind when you learn new information and when you have life experience that shows you something different." — JoJo

"Anytime we're talking about cats, I love it because they are so underserved."       — Dr. Angie 

"The podcast is teaching me, it's kind of shining a light on my own stuff, which is so therapeutic. And it's reminding me that I can be open to change." — JoJo

"We deliver great content, but we're also giving you an inside look that a lot of veterinarians probably aren't focused on." — Dr. Angie 

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Tell Us What You Think

We're not here to shame you for Googling your pet's symptoms, or researching with AI, at 2 a.m. We've done it too.

This week, Dr. Angie and JoJo get real about AI and pet health advice and what it gets right, where it dangerously misses, and why no algorithm can replace 20 years of hands-on clinical practice. They test two popular AI tools live (ChatGPT and Claude) on the show using a real clinical scenario (a 12-year-old cat not eating and losing weight), compare the responses side-by-side, and break down exactly what was missing from both answers.

The conversation also touches on AI hallucinations in veterinary research, the difference between a search engine and a conversational AI tool, and why the 2 a.m. symptom spiral is completely understandable as long as you know what to do next.

Bottom line: use the tools. Understand their limits. Always follow-up with your vet.

Book a consultation with Dr. Angie at boulderholisticvet.com.

Key Takeaways: 

1. AI tools can and do hallucinate including fabricating veterinary research studies with real-sounding citations that don't exist.
2. There is a meaningful difference between using a search engine and using a conversational AI tool. Search returns sources you choose to trust. AI returns a single answer without always disclosing where it came from.
3. When AI was tested live with a real clinical scenario (senior cat, weight loss, not eating), one tool missed inflammatory bowel disease entirely which is one of the most common diagnoses in that presentation.
4. A 3-pound weight loss in a senior cat equals roughly 20 to 30 percent of total body weight. That is not a "wait and see" situation. 
5. Googling pet symptoms at 2 a.m. is not something to be ashamed of. It's what people do. The goal is knowing how to use what you find.
6. No AI tool can replicate 20 years of clinical practice or hands-on physical examination.
7. Use AI as a starting point. Then bring it to your vet and have the conversation.

Sound Bites: 

"AI just can't replace practitioners. It can't replace 20 years of clinical practice."     — Dr. Angie

"You're going to use your AIs and you're going to Google, but they are not the end all, be all." — JoJo

"When we tell people not to Google their pet's symptoms, that's so unrealistic."    — Dr. Angie

"Chat GPT seems very generalized. Claude is a little bit more mature." — JoJo

"This is a great reason for a consultation. If you've Googled or AI'd something that scared you in the middle of the night." — JoJo

"It pulled in some really random disease that we'll often in medicine call zebras — something that's so rare. That's so unlikely." — Dr. Angie 

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Tell Us What You Think

We need to talk about anesthesia-free dentistry because it is marketed everywhere and a lot of loving pet parents are spending real money on something that mostly just makes teeth look pretty.

In this episode, Dr. Angie and JoJo break down what anesthetic-free (or "awake scaling") actually does, what it misses, and why the gap between those two things matters so much for your pet's health. Dr. Angie shares what she sees in practice: pets who have regular anesthetic-free cleanings and show up needing multiple extractions because the disease had been quietly building under the gum line the whole time.

We also talk about approaches to home dental care with teeth brushing, periocare, and what to look for when you peek in your pet's mouth once a week.

If you want to take a deep dive into understanding oral health, you'll enjoy our Tooth Truths: The Dental Episode or if you feel fearful of anesthesia for your pet check out our episode Is My Pet Safe Under Anesthesia? What to Ask & What to Expect

Key Takeaways

1. Anesthetic-free dental cleaning only addresses tartar visible above the gum line while the majority of dental disease in dogs and cats lives below it.
2. The procedure is cosmetic. It makes teeth look better but does not treat, diagnose, or prevent disease where disease actually lives.
3. Pre-anesthetic blood work, monitoring, and modern gas anesthesia have made veterinary dental procedures significantly safer than most pet parents realize.
4. Dr. Angie saw a consistent pattern: pets receiving regular anesthetic-free cleanings often showed up needing the most extractions because disease had progressed undetected for years.
5. "Board certified veterinarian" in marketing copy is not the same as a board-certified veterinary dental specialist.
6. Checking your pet's mouth once a week at home is genuinely valuable. You know your pet's normal better than anyone.
7. Periоcare applied along the gum line a few times a week is a solid B+ for pets who won't tolerate regular brushing.
8. If anesthesia fear is what's keeping you from scheduling a dental, go listen to the anesthesia episode first as it addresses that fear directly.

Sound Bites: 

"I wish they would say this is just cosmetic — that says we're gonna miss over half of the dental disease in your dog's mouth."  — Dr. Angie 

"I'm not judging you as a listener or as a pet parent. I'm judging the marketing. That's what I'm judging."  — JoJo

"$295, y'all, is not that cheap when you can go get one for $500 or $600, which you might end up having to do anyhow."  — JoJo

 "They are not cleaning under the gum and they're not assessing the tooth structure under the gum, which is where a lot of disease is." — Dr. Angie 

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Tell Us What You Think

Fear of anesthesia is one of the most common concerns I hear from pet parents  and it makes complete sense. In this episode, JoJo and I have an honest, reassuring conversation about what modern anesthesia actually looks like, what your veterinary team does to keep your pet safe, and why vet medicine has genuinely gotten so much better over the years, making anesthesia safer for your pet. 

We talk through pre-anesthesia bloodwork, dedicated monitoring, heart murmurs, when to ask for a specialist, and why anesthetic time matters more than most people realize. I also share a story about a cat with a barely audible murmur that turned out to have serious heart disease caught only because we screened before the procedure. That's exactly what good preparation looks like.

You can feel confident going into your pet's next procedure. This episode will help you get there.

Want to talk through whether your pet is a good candidate for an upcoming procedure? Book a consultation at boulderholisticvet.com. 

Key Takeaways

• Anesthetic deaths are very rare and continue to decrease as protocols, monitoring, and pre-screening protocols improve.
• Age is not technically an anesthetic risk factor but experienced veterinarians do factor it into their recommendations, especially for very senior animals.
• Pre-anesthesia bloodwork checks kidney and liver function, blood counts, and helps surface underlying disease before it becomes a crisis during the procedure.
• A dedicated monitor should not be the same person performing your pet's procedure and should be watching your pet's vitals continuously throughout.
• Heart murmurs require more than a stethoscope. A small murmur can hide major disease. No murmur at all can also hide major disease. Echocardiograms matter for high-risk breeds and any patient with a cardiac concern.
• Anesthetic time matters, especially for senior patients. It is worth asking whether a specialist could complete a procedure more efficiently.
• Reversible injectable sedation exists for shorter procedures but is not appropriate for every patient or situation.
• It is always appropriate to ask your veterinary team about their monitoring protocols, equipment, and experience before any anesthetic event.

Soundbites:

"You can have a small murmur and big disease. You can have a big murmur and small disease. You can have no murmur and big disease."  ~ Dr. Angie 

"The quality of the anesthetic protocol and the education of the team and the experience of the team that's where it's at." ~ Dr. Angie

"The most common reason for an anesthetic death is there was underlying disease there that we didn't know about."  ~ Dr. Angie 

"I've only had one {pet that's passed}, and I've done a lot of surgeries." ~ JoJo

"Do you want to resuscitate? I mean, as soon as that question is asked, that's terrifying. Like, what am I doing? What am I saying yes to?" ~ JoJo 

"If they're recommending a procedure, it's probably important." ~ JoJo

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Tell Us What You Think

Real cases. Real talk. This week Dr. Angie pulls back the curtain on what actually came through her exam room door and what it's like to be an integrative veterinarian who cares deeply for her patients.

A heartworm positive dog arrives from Texas. A cat parent introduces Dr. Angie to microchips that read body temperature at home. Giardia shows up in what feels like every stool sample of the week. An ER clinic runs an Addison's disease test on a dog that came in with diarrhea. And one mystery patient: a dog with a history of allergies, off balance, scratching without making contact is keeping Dr. Angie up at night with a suspected inner ear infection.

This is what veterinary medicine actually looks like from the inside.

🎓 Want help building an integrative care plan for your dog or cat? Book a consult at boulderholisticvet.com

Key Takeaways

• Heartworm is rare in Colorado but not impossible, especially in dogs adopted from Southern states. Prevention is far easier than treatment.
• The slow kill heartworm method is not recommended by the American Heartworm Society for young, healthy dogs. The fast kill protocol is the standard of care.
• Microchip technology now exists that can read your pet's temperature without a rectal thermometer. It's ISO compliant and it's up and coming.
• Giardia found in stool doesn't always mean Giardia is causing the diarrhea. That context matters a lot when deciding whether and how to treat.
• When a dog with chronic ear infections suddenly acts neurologically off with balance issues, scratching without making contact, leaning into walls an inner ear infection is a serious consideration. 
• ER clinics should stabilize and return. When an ER jumps to rare, expensive diagnostics like an Addison's workup for a dog with a straightforward diarrhea history, that's worth questioning.
• A good integrative vet advocates for you and your pet without throwing other vets under the bus.

Sound Bites:

"I'm starting to get really prickly with these ER clinics that are spending way too much of my client's money." — Dr. Angie

"That is a hill you will die on." — JoJo

"Preventing heartworm disease is so much better than treating it." — Dr. Angie

"It's not a good look to throw another veterinarian under the bus." — JoJo

"Those are the thoughts that keep me up. And so she has my cell phone number." — Dr. Angie

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Tell Us What You Think

We're recording this one still getting over being sick because this feels important. A rabies vaccine recall affecting dogs, cats, and ferrets has left pet parents across the country with an unexpected problem: a vaccine their pet already received may no longer be legally valid. In this episode, Dr. Angie and JoJo break down exactly what happened with the Boehringer Ingelheim IMRAB 3TF recall, what it means for your pet's rabies certificate, and the emotional reality for holistic pet parents who already navigate vaccine decisions carefully. Dr. Angie shares one patient story from this recall that still breaks her heart.

If your pet was vaccinated between September 29, 2025 and January 8, 2026, check your rabies certificate for Serial Number 18665. If it's there, this episode is for you.

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Key Takeaways: 

1. The recalled product is IMRAB 3TF, Serial 18665, expiration March 12, 2027, distributed to vets between September 29, 2025 and January 8, 2026.
2. Only a small sample of vials were found to contain only sterile water but that triggered a recall of the entire lot.
3. Any pet vaccinated from this lot is considered legally unvaccinated regardless of whether their specific vial was affected.
4. Dogs, cats, and ferrets are all included in the recall and revaccination recommendation.
5. Rabies titers are not a recognized substitute in this situation as most jurisdictions do not accept titers in place of a valid rabies certificate.
6. Revaccination is considered safe. A second rabies vaccine does not pose a significant health risk for most pets.
7. The recall placed a disproportionate emotional burden on holistic-minded guardians who made the vaccine decision carefully to begin with.
8. The hidden cost of the recall fell largely on veterinary clinics with phone calls, lost appointment slots, follow-ups, and re-entering rabies certificates.

Sound Bites:

"It's its own class of vaccine because it's protecting against a disease that kills people uniformly." ~ Dr. Angie 

"It is the vaccine that every pet should have." ~ JoJo

"And, I have one case in particular that I used this recalled vaccine for that just breaks my heart."~ Dr. Angie 

"Because it is rabies and it kills people too most places don't support titers and we don't know how long they last and there's not enough evidence." ~ Dr. Angie 

"It's not just dogs. In case you're listening and you have ferrets, they get this vaccine as well. And so can cats." ~ JoJo

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Tell Us What You Think

Rehoming a pet is one of the most judged decisions a pet parent can make, and this week Dr. Angie and JoJo are naming that out loud. Both have rehomed animals they loved. Both have watched clients stay in unsafe, unsustainable situations because the shame of asking for help felt worse than the situation itself.

This episode is an honest conversation about when rehoming is the most loving choice, how the stigma around it can actually make outcomes worse for pets, and why matching the right pet to the right person matters from the very beginning.

They also take on the adopt don't shop debate with some nuance: why responsible breeding has a place, what makes a good breeder versus a puppy mill, and why a backyard should not be a requirement to dog adoptions (rescue organizations, they're looking at you).

If you've ever felt shame around a hard pet decision, or wondered whether getting a purebred dog or cat is really wrong, this one's for you.

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Free course available.  Discount code in episode. 

Key Takeaways

1. Rehoming is sometimes the most loving decision a pet parent can make, and the shame around it can make outcomes worse for everyone.
2. Fear of judgment can prevent people from reaching out for help, pushing them toward worse options like abandonment or unsafe living situations.
3. Responsible breeders are not the same as puppy mills. Breed selection, when done thoughtfully, can reduce mismatches and surrenders.
4. Rescue organizations sometimes make adoption harder than it needs to be, and their screening criteria don't always reflect what actually makes a good home.
5. According to the AVMA, purebred dogs are not less healthy than mixed breeds.
6. The goal is matching the right pet to the right person. That benefits everyone, including shelter populations.

Sound Bites

"We are pro-responsible breeding. We're pro-rehoming without shame. And we are still pro-rescue." — Dr. Angie

"This is a hill that I will die on: it's okay to get your dog from a breeder." — Dr. Angie

"We would have less rehomed animals if people are selecting breeds that are fit for their family." — JoJo

"I'm a huge fan of rehoming. I've rehomed animals of my own when I realized it wasn't gonna be a fit. And while it was sad, in the end, it was always better for everybody involved." — Dr. Angie

"There is so much shame and so much judgment. And then we find people and pets in really, really dire situations." — JoJo

"Doodles are for sure not healthier. And it's too bad, because standard poodles and poodles are some of the healthiest, best dogs." — Dr. Angie 

"You have to be a little selfless. In most situations, most people that are rehoming are not being flippant about their decision." — JoJo 

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Tell Us What You Think

 In this episode of Tails of Truth, Dr. Angie gets honest — really honest — about the things that have been weighing on her lately. Missed callbacks, overflowing inboxes, cases that didn't go the way she hoped, and the quiet emotional toll of caring for animals and people through hard days. This is a rare behind-the-scenes look at what a veterinarian actually carries. 

If you've ever felt frustrated waiting to hear back from your vet, this episode may help to soften some of your very valid frustration. And if you've ever wondered whether your vet thinks about your pet after you leave the exam room...spoiler alert: they do.

Tune in for one of our more vulnerable and human episodes this year.  

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Key Takeaways: 

• Veterinarians are managing far more than simple appointments. They also manage euthanasias, specialist reports, prescription approvals, and emergency updates and so much more. 
• If you haven't heard back, following up again is not only okay Dr. Angie explicitly encourages it. Things genuinely get lost in a busy practice.
• Email can be even slower than a callback. The volume of clinical communication coming in to email can be astronomical.
• Getting into a specialist in many areas can take weeks, and general practitioners are often the ones getting creative and scrappy to fill that gap for their patients.
• The frustration clients feel when they're waiting is valid and so is the pressure a vet is under. Both things are true at the same time.
• Veterinary support staff are also managing multiple demands simultaneously. The system has real gaps, and no one is dropping the ball on purpose.
• Your pet matters to your veterinary team. 

Sound Bites:

"I love my job. I love what I do. I want to be there for people and I want to do the things, but I feel bad sometimes." ~ Dr. Angie 

"We wake up in the night thinking about your pet. We wake up in the morning thinking about your pet. Like it's just, it's consuming." ~ JoJo

"If you only knew how many animals I euthanized, if you only knew how many terminal diagnoses I made... if you only knew the pressure cooker that is the life of a veterinarian on any given day of practice." ~ Dr. Angie 

"Feeling like you're disappointing people...the emotional weight of that is taxing." ~ JoJo

"I have such golden retriever energy most of the time. And so when someone's like, I was really disappointed not to hear from you. Oh no. Oh my God." ~ Dr. Angie 

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Please subscribe and review! xoxo Dr. Angie & JoJo