Dear Reader, What you’ve read thus far are samples of The Dragon Doc Tales. As many of you know, the Tales contain many elements of real-life experiences. For instance, I truly developed High Altitude Cerebral Edema while hiking Humphrey’s Peak in Arizona, and I actually saw a dragon. I wish I could say that she … Read more
Settling into Idaho was a mixed experience. We moved in February, shortly after a 65 degree Christmas Day in Arizona, and I remained an icicle for weeks in the frigid Idaho winter. Keeping up with laundry became an unexpected challenge, as I churned through layers and layers and layers of socks and shirts … Read more
For a change of pace, I’d like to introduce my illustrator, Jaedynn, alias “Caesar.” The artist at work Aside from drawing…. Jaedynn also paints…. Creates digital graphics…. And she sculpts, too! When she’s not busy creating art, Jaedynn enjoys piano and horseback riding. She also loves sharks and is passionate about shark conservation. Oh, and … Read more
My eyes were closed, limbs slack. I needed to get out of bed, but not quite yet. Early in the mornings I often contemplated the first time I saw a dragon, just below timberline on a mountain, my head swimming and throbbing due to severe altitude sickness. Had she intended to … Read more
Meeting a dragon can be terrifying. Luckily my first exposure to dragons happened when my brain was impaired due to acute mountain sickness, so I was fascinated rather than frightened. Granted, I was petrified later when the same dragon came along once my brain was back to normal function. But at the least my … Read more
Dragons had the canny ability to determine what days I worked and when I was alone at the veterinary clinic. Or more likely, they hid nearby and watched the clinic, keeping track of who entered and left the building. But if dragons were hiding in the area, to my knowledge none of my colleagues … Read more
Only three days after the fire-sneezing dragon, I left the veterinary clinic relatively early for once, having suffered through a day of difficult cases, cranky staff, aggressive pets, and hostile pet owners. Not wanting to suffer through stacks of records as well, I decided to call it a day. The staff had all left … Read more
The fact that I had not only witnessed, but also treated, two living, breathing dragons, each on two different occasions at that, became a delicious secret that I carried with me constantly. Dragons fluttered on the margins of my thoughts during all interactions at work and home, and they soared and dived and swooped through … Read more
Four months had passed since the dragon from the mountain visited me at the veterinary clinic. I hadn’t said a word to anyone at work about what happened that night. Who would believe me? I could barely accept that it happened myself, although there was plenty of evidence that it had. The blister from struggling … Read more
It had been less than two years since I graduated from veterinary college, and I was in the very bad habit of staying late after work. Finishing records in a timely manner was a skill that still eluded me (and something I’ve never completely mastered). Also, I found complicated internal medicine cases intriguing but often … Read more