Pooh lost an amazing advocate this week, someone that will leave a hole in our community, Dr. Chris Erion. Uncle Chris has been our family veterinarian for 20 years, since way back when we had easy pets that weren’t terrified of every new situation and he was a brand new vet. When our first dog was a puppy I came home a bit early from work to find that he had been sick, on a scale that was unimaginable out of a mini doxie. That week Dr. Erion became the only vet I ever wanted to go to. Our little brown dog rebounded and lived a happy life until the day, years later, when we knew he was too tired to fight his illness any more. That day Dr. Erion said maybe he should retire because it was so hard to go through the end with his long time patients. I can’t even count how many family and friends I referred to him over the years. When Uncle Chris had surgery I made him a card with pics of our crew and sent it to him.
Pooh’s story wouldn’t be nearly as happy without the vital support role Uncle Chris has played over the years. He taught us how to support her, busted me when he saw errors in my training and was preparing us for the resurgence of crazy that he said was likely (and is beginning?) as she aged. He figured out her meds, even when I almost gave up on them, and knew when it was time to stop them. He even helped me see how a dog like Pooh can get through a needed surgical procedure. He always told us what a great job we did with Pooh and how amazing she has turned out, but we couldn’t have done it without him!
I was annoyed earlier this year when I had trouble getting an appt for the little cat and told him so during the appointment. He told me he had gone part-time and I was instantly worried about his health or his family and began questioning him. After 20 years of frequent appointments talking about family, hobbies, exercise, vacations, new houses and more, our relationship was only loosely based on animals. Finally, he smiled and told me he and Sue won the lottery. I was shocked, of course, but also not happy. Our next visit (4 pets!) was shortly after that and I told him I had recovered, but really needed him to stick around for Pooh’s timeline. Training Pooh to let a new vet touch her seemed unreasonable this late in her life. He assured me he would be part-time for a while and I expressed concern that Sue would immediately find a warm climate that suited her arthritis better. He, of course, had races to run and things planned so it seemed like there would at least be transition time for Pooh. Now, I wish that he was just too busy traveling the world, competing in one race after another or relaxing on a beach to be working part-time. I will certainly miss his expertise, especially as Pooh ages, miss our talks, miss seeing him run down my street and miss his laugh. If your vet is part of your family like ours was, be sure to show it. He will be greatly missed.
Pooh’s story wouldn’t be nearly as happy without the vital support role Uncle Chris has played over the years. He taught us how to support her, busted me when he saw errors in my training and was preparing us for the resurgence of crazy that he said was likely (and is beginning?) as she aged. He figured out her meds, even when I almost gave up on them, and knew when it was time to stop them. He even helped me see how a dog like Pooh can get through a needed surgical procedure. He always told us what a great job we did with Pooh and how amazing she has turned out, but we couldn’t have done it without him!
I was annoyed earlier this year when I had trouble getting an appt for the little cat and told him so during the appointment. He told me he had gone part-time and I was instantly worried about his health or his family and began questioning him. After 20 years of frequent appointments talking about family, hobbies, exercise, vacations, new houses and more, our relationship was only loosely based on animals. Finally, he smiled and told me he and Sue won the lottery. I was shocked, of course, but also not happy. Our next visit (4 pets!) was shortly after that and I told him I had recovered, but really needed him to stick around for Pooh’s timeline. Training Pooh to let a new vet touch her seemed unreasonable this late in her life. He assured me he would be part-time for a while and I expressed concern that Sue would immediately find a warm climate that suited her arthritis better. He, of course, had races to run and things planned so it seemed like there would at least be transition time for Pooh. Now, I wish that he was just too busy traveling the world, competing in one race after another or relaxing on a beach to be working part-time. I will certainly miss his expertise, especially as Pooh ages, miss our talks, miss seeing him run down my street and miss his laugh. If your vet is part of your family like ours was, be sure to show it. He will be greatly missed.