Marcus Dela Cruz

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Pismo Beach, CA
Marcus Dela Cruz

I'm a small animal veterinarian based in California. I am a resource for pet owners, providing helpfu

08/05/2021

This is my wife Allyson with her childhood dog Sam 🤍 This picture was taken on Sam’s last camping trip. Camping and snuggling with her humans were Sam’s favorite things.

Losing a pet is heartbreaking. And preparing for that loss when you know the end is in sight is gut wrenching. Pet loss isn’t a fun topic to discuss, but unfortunately it’s an inevitable part of being a fur parent.

Today at 4pm PST, and I will be on IG Live talking about pet loss and grief. How to make the most of your pet’s last few months or weeks? When do you know it’s the right time for euthanasia? How to work through the grieving process?

Bring your questions and maybe a box of tissues.

04/03/2021

“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit...now give the ball to Kareem this time!” ― John Wooden (probably)

In our house, we only cheer for college basketball teams where John Wooden either played or coached.🏀 Cheering on UCLA in the final four tonight!

03/31/2021

PLEASE READ❗️Veterinarians are committing su***de at a terrifying rate. This is something that has been weighing heavily on my mind and to be honest I haven’t been sure how to address it. My account is meant to be a fun way to get reliable information to pet owners and the topic of vet su***de is anything but fun. But what occurred to me is that this isn’t just an issue that impacts veterinarians. Pet owners play a role, so I feel it’s important to bring awareness to this issue.

Here are the facts:
• 1 in 6 veterinarians contemplate su***de during their career
• Female veterinarians are 3.5 times more likely to die from su***de when compared to the general population.
• Male veterinarians are 2.1 times more likely to die from su***de than the general population.

WHY? There are several reasons why su***de has become such a problem in this profession: high student debt, access to lethal drugs, the mental strain from dealing with euthanasia, compassion fatigue, poor interactions with clients either through cyber bullying or in-person confrontation...the list goes on.

The movement is meant to peel back the curtain on the veterinary profession so that our clients can better understand the unique stressors that veterinarians deal with. On my stories today, I’m going to share some difficult experiences I’ve had in this profession that have negatively impacted my mental health.

The goal of this post is not to get sympathy. The goal is to remind owners that veterinarians are human and we chose this profession because we love animals. Pet healthcare will always be a team effort, owners and veterinary staff working together for the benefit of the pet. Sometimes we will achieve miracles, sometimes the story will end in heartbreak. But please remember that we are all fighting for the same thing. 🐶🐈‍⬛

📞National Su***de Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

***de ***deprevention

03/30/2021

Giving you the key info you need to know about spaying/neutering your pet🐶🐈‍⬛

I covered this topic in greater detail on my blog (link in bio) and I also filmed an IGTV video answering FAQs about spays/neuters.

What else do you want to know about spays/neuters?

03/28/2021

I’m working all weekend, but mentally I’m at the beach 🌊 Thought it would be fun to play a little game so you can get to know me better! Two truths and a lie...

1. I fell off the side of a mountain in Switzerland.

2. In high school, I was voted most likely to be late to my own wedding.

3. My first dog as a child was a Labrador Retriever named Grizzly.

Which one do you think is a lie? Write 1, 2, or 3 in the comments!

03/23/2021

🐶It’s National Puppy Day!🐶 Let’s talk about 3 important steps you want to take when you get a puppy!

1️⃣ Schedule a wellness exam with a veterinarian (see more info below)🥼

2️⃣ Start your puppy on an AAFCO approved diet (see my blog post on pet food) 🦴

3️⃣ Have your puppy microchipped

During your first puppy wellness exam, your veterinarian will typically...

• Check for congenital abnormalities such as an umbilical hernia, heart murmur, etc.

• Schedule out vaccines (I wrote a vaccination guide on my blog) 💉

• Give a dewormer to treat against intestinal parasites

• And develop a plan for what to expect in your puppy’s first year 📝

Getting a puppy is a ton of fun, but also a lot of work. Make sure you save up a puppy fund 💵 before your bring your fur baby home. And I highly recommend pet insurance too!

03/19/2021

What do you want to know about spaying or neutering your pet? 🐶🐈 I’ve had several people reach out about this topic, so in my latest blog post I tried to answer the most common questions such as...

❔Why should you spay or neuter your pet?
❔What is the optimal age to spay or neuter?
❔What is the recovery period like?

👨🏽‍💻 Click the link in my bio or visit thefriendlyvetblog.com to read more!

03/17/2021

🍀Happy St. Patty’s Day!🍀 Feeling very lucky that Charlie’s mass was benign. His leg is healing from surgery last week and he’ll be back to running on the beach soon enough. 💚

Friendly reminder to check your dogs regularly for unusual bumps or lumps. If you find a lump on your pet, let your veterinarian🥼 know so she/he can perform diagnostics and give you the best advice moving forward.

I’m very thankful to for finding the lump on Charlie! Had it been malignant, she is the reason we would have caught it early and that timing can make a big difference. 🙌🏼
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03/16/2021

Giving human food to our pets is a common way we show love. 🥓 But, we often don’t think about how that food impacts their diet and health. Over half of all dogs in the U.S. are obese or overweight. One reason for this is because we give our dogs treats without considering how many calories are in them.

This graphic shows a calorie comparison between different sizes of dogs and the average America man (170 lbs with a daily intake of 2,300 calories).

For example, feeding a 10 lb dog a 🌭 is the equivalent of an average man eating 6.5 🌭 (without the bun). Or feeding a 30 lb dog a Puppuccino is the same as an average man drinking 2 tall Frappuccinos.

My intention is NOT to discourage treats. I will continue to give Charlie a Puppuccino for his birthday or as a special treat on occasion. 💙

Rather, I hope this posts shows you that regularly giving small bites of human food, especially to small dogs, can lead to excessive caloric intake and ultimately weight gain.

Treats should make up less than 10% of your dog’s daily calories. Here are some treat alternatives to consider: carrots🥕, broccoli 🥦, or sweet potato🍠

03/10/2021

Hey weekend, is that you I see in the distance? 🧐 For anyone who needs a little push to get over the hump, let me introduce you to this cutie pie! 🤗 She is the energizer bunny 🐰 in a corgi body and one of my favorite patients. She is just finishing up her vaccines and is getting ready to take on the world! 🌏

👋🏼Say hi yall!

03/07/2021

Today I celebrate 12 years of being in a relationship with .joye 🤗

For reference, when we started dating the main social media platform was Myspace and Allyson had a blackberry. Other popular things at the time: iPods, Jersey Shore, and renting movies at RedBox.

Allyson, for the last 12 years you have made me laugh more than anybody else! Thank you for sharing this journey with me. Here are my favorite pictures of us from the last 12 years ❤️

03/05/2021

Is your dog a p**p connoisseur? 💩 You’re not the only one. Lots of dogs like to eat p**p. In fact, a study from UC Davis showed 1/5 dogs eat p**p (1/3 in multi-dog households).

There are a lot of ideas out there for how to prevent coprophagy (medical speak for p**p eating). But let me tell you the craziest idea I’ve heard. I had a client who scheduled an appointment solely to discuss her dog’s desire to eat 💩. She did her own research and saw that some people recommend covering the p**p in something that deters the 🐶 from the p**p. Her choice of deterrent: Tabasco.

My immediate thoughts were...

1. 🤯 Putting Tabasco on all your dog’s p**ps is a lot of effort!
2. Why are you wasting perfectly good Tabasco? 🧐
3. Now your dog probably just likes the taste of spicy p**ps because tabasco is delicious. 😂

To be honest, I don’t know if there is some magic fix out there to keep your dog from eating p**p. The best solution I know of is picking it up before they get a chance to eat it.

Does anyone else have a solution for this common problem?

Address

Pismo Beach, CA

Website

http://thefriendlyvetblog.com/

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