I'm going to try adding a feature called "Ask Dr. Amanda" to the blog.  The purpose (other than giving folks sound information) is two-fold.  First to give folks a reason to check back here.  Second is to generate some business for Dr. Amanda's practice.  If you are in southern Maine, please consider www.temmveterinaryhospital.com.  She's agreed in principal to answer one general veterinary question per week.  There are some rules and guidelines to this:

Rules:

1. This is not for the diagnosis, treatment or care for any specific problem.
2. This is not an emergency pipeline to a vet.  If you have an emergency, see your vet immediately.  If your question is "My dog has [symptoms].  Should I see a vet?"  I can answer that now. YES.
3. We may edit, combine, or alter your question for any reason.
4. Answering your question does not establish a Doctor/Patient/Veterinarian/Client relationship.
5. Dr. Amanda is free to offer opinions and advise.
6. We are not under any obligation to answer anything, or even stick to our schedule.
7. I, Todd, may assist Dr. Amanda with her answers by finding helpful web-links and the like to further illustrate her advice.  (For instance, link to a web-site that shows an x-ray of a hip if she's discussing CHD.)
8. All questions and answers are property of Marshfield Kennel, copyrighted when posted.  Don't even think about plagiarizing!
9. By submitting a question, you agree that neither one of us, or both, or Marshfield Kennel, or Dr. Amanda's employer can be held liable for anything.

Guidelines:

1. Your question will be more likely selected if it is a topic of wide interest to hunting dog owners.  Very rare diseases, problems with toy breeds, etc., aren't all that interesting to the readers of this site.
2. There are stupid questions.  Stupid questions will not be answered.  For instance, you don't need a veterinarian to tell you if GSP's make good pets.
3. Timely topics are more likely to be answered quickly.  A frost-bite question in July, for instance, is likely to wait until winter.
4. We don't want to hear specific complaints about a particular veterinarian or anything along those lines.  (See stupid questions above.)
5. There are plenty of places for controversial topics that are raging on the Internet.  We don't need to start an argument about vaccination schedules or try to sway Dr. Amanda's opinions.

OK, to get started send your question to tchrisman@marshfieldkennel.com.  I'll pick the good ones and send them to her.

Dr. Amanda is an Equine and Small Animal Veterinarian working at the Temm Veterinary Hospital in Old Orchard Beach and Arundel Equine Center in Arundel, Maine (small animal at both locations).  www.temmveterinaryhospital.com  She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University (top five vet school).  She participates in Dressage Shows with her Swedish Warmblood, Nicki and resides in York County Maine with her Corgi, Poppy and two cats.  Nobody is quite sure why she's sweet on me.