Tonight, we were back at our vet, Dr. Suzanne Fariello of the Cambridge Valley Veterinary Service. It was the right place to be, for sure.

Many of the people reading this are dog lovers and understand the value of having a great veterinarian.

I give thanks for Suzanne every time a dog of mine gets sick. She kept Red moving and in comfort for several years after he began to falter. And he did not suffer much for a single day during that time.

She always made him comfortable, and without expensive and invasive surgery or expensive medications. When it was time to let him go, she supported me every step of the way and never doubted my intentions or love of him.

The same thing happened with Gus, his sickness was a new kind of ordeal for me and for Maria. Suzanne got us through it. She is competent and sensitive. She and I know one another well. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we argue, sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry.

It sounds like friendship to me.

In my work and writing, I try hard to be an advocate for veterinarians, there is so much bad and fearful information sailing around social media, I am mindful that vets train for six years, struggle with the cost and complexity and emotional turmoil of veterinary care in 2019.

I have never understood why people who love their dogs will turn to strangers online for health guidance. I trust my vet and consider her a friend and partner in my life with dogs. I can hardly imagine doing it without her.

She knows more about dog health and illness than I will ever know, and what she doesn’t’ know, she figures out.

Suzanne – we are on a first-name basis, we’ve been through a lot together, met up again this evening to talk about Zinnia’s four days of on and off diarrhea. We both joked that we’ve been through many diarrhea discussions. We both know the script.

We both expect the cause of Zinnia’s diarrhea was her eating chicken droppings she scarfed up while going outside. Our chickens are free-range, they drop their stuff all over the farm, the dogs consider their fecal matter treats.

Every dog I’ve ever had on either of my farms needed to get treated for a worm or parasite spread by chicken leavings.

Zinnia is only 10 weeks old, and she will adjust, as all of my dogs have, to the life of the farm. Every dog had diarrhea, was treated and has had no further problems.

By rural standards, Zinnia is high end, not used to our rough and tumble ways. She’ll get there. Washington County, N.Y., is not Avon, Connecticut.

It is not possible to keep a Lab from eating things he or she should not eat, it is possible to protect them against the parasites and worms that are the inevitable greeting party to new puppies on farms and in the country.

Suzanne has a good playbook. She sees the dog, tests the dog, treats the dog.  She doesn’t make assumptions, jump the gun, or take orders from armchair vets online.

Best to get it over with now for Zinnia, this has to happen here. Suzanne is thorough. We sent fecal matter off for testing and medication for tonight and tomorrow or Wednesday we will get a clear picture of the cause.

The Army Of Alarm is already on me about the seriousness of diarrhea for puppies. Yes, puppies can die from diarrhea, very few do. When diarrhea is life-threatening, there are visible symptoms – vomiting, blood in the stools, lethargy, and listlessness.

Zinnia is showing none of those symptoms, she’s eating like a horse and chasing Bud all over creation. Her training continues, I hope for a video tomorrow of her learning to stay. We’ve danced this dance before.

We can hold off on the worry and sympathy.

As always I am fortunate to have a good vet just down the road. As much as anyone, Suzanne makes my life with dogs practical, safe and healthy. It is a gift to trust your vet and have one who listens and talks so honestly.