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D r . A S H L E Y

🩺 Vet turned part-time SAHM
👧👧 NICU mama x2 | 🐶🐶🐱🐱
💬 Show & tell: life these days + vet med
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09/03/2026

Okay, Dalmatian people… I need you. 😂🐾

I’m a veterinarian, and when my husband and I got married, I brought FOUR pets into our marriage. So I finally told him:

“When we’re ready, YOU can pick the next dog.”

He said DALMATIAN.

My reaction: AHHHHHHH. 😂

Not because I don’t love them! They’re gorgeous, athletic, smart and SO much personality… but my vet brain immediately starts listing the things to consider: high energy, training, socialization, protective tendencies… and breed-specific health concerns like deafness and urate urinary stones.

But I don’t want stereotypes. I want real-life Dalmatian people. We recently lost our senior dog, so we are NOT ready for another dog yet, but I am type A so here we are.

👇 Tell me:

• Great family dog or chaos on four legs?
• Other dogs/cats?
• How much exercise do they REALLY need?
• Biggest surprise?
• Would you get one again?

We’ve adopted our last four, and we’d love to adopt again, but we also want our girls to experience raising a puppy, so we’re open to a responsible breeder too if rescues don’t have one (or a mix).

And yes… while we are absolutely not ready, I’m apparently already testing puppy supplies. 😂 These PET N PET sustainable p**p bags are leak proof, tear resistant, and this box has 1,080 bags.

Because nothing says “we’re not getting a puppy yet” like preparing for 1,080 p**ps. 💩😂

So… Dalmatian? Or should I give my husband a multiple-choice list of breeds I’ve already approved?

DALMATIAN OWNERS: MAKE YOUR CASE. 🙌⬇️

09/02/2026

Let’s talk about something that can be controversial in feline medicine: NSAIDs.

This is my almost 17-year-old cat ONE WEEK after starting an NSAID. 🥹

Running. Playing. Exploring. Doing things I haven’t seen her do in YEARS.

Honestly? She seems like a completely different cat.

As a veterinarian, I understand why we’re cautious with NSAIDs in cats. They have real risks, especially for the kidneys, liver, and GI tract.

But here’s the thing: NSAIDs aren’t risk-free… and neither is chronic pain.

For the right patient, with the right medication, dose, and monitoring, they can be life-changing!

My cat has kidney disease, so this was not a decision I made lightly. We’re using the lowest effective dose with the hope of eventually decreasing from daily to every other day if she remains comfortable. She’s also been on Antinol Plus for years and has received Solensia.

For me, the question became: What’s the risk of the medication vs. the risk of leaving her chronically painful?

I’d rather have six months of her feeling good and enjoying life than six months of her sleeping all day because she hurts.

A few keys to success:

- Talk to your vet first.
- Baseline bloodwork + regular monitoring. I generally recommend about every 6 months, or sooner if indicated.
- Use the lowest effective dose and reassess regularly.
- Monitor your cat at home for changes in appetite, drinking, GI signs, energy, mobility, weight, and behavior.
- Keep quality of life at the center.

This is my experience with MY cat, not a recommendation that every cat should receive an NSAID. Patient selection and monitoring matter enormously.

Vet med friends: what has your experience been with NSAIDs in cats? Any clinical pearls or monitoring tips?👇

08/31/2026

🐐🚨Cute baby goats… and a serious rabies warning in North Carolina!!

Several baby goats from the Farm Adventures mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies after likely being exposed to a skunk. Because these goats traveled to events across the state, health officials are now urging anyone who had direct contact with them to take action.

👉 If you touched, held, fed, or otherwise had contact with baby goats from Farm Adventures between July 28 and August 27, please contact your local health department to assess your potential exposure.

Rabies is preventable when addressed promptly. Please share this, especially with friends and family in North Carolina who may have visited a petting zoo or attended an event this summer.

08/31/2026

POV: Your mom is a veterinarian, so naturally you have to coordinate your wardrobe with hers. 🩺💅🐈‍⬛

She may be bald-ish.
She may be furious.
But she is CHIC and WARM. 😂✨

Do we dare put her in the FIGS pet scrub jacket? Obviously yes. 💁‍♀️

Need some fall goodies for yourself? AshleyGFirstFigs for 20% off. 😚

08/28/2026

I’ve helped people say goodbye to their pets more times than I can count.

I’ve explained what happens. I’ve talked families through difficult decisions, and I’ve watched people walk out of the ER carrying the emptiness that comes after.

I thought I understood pet grief. Then, I lost my own dog and wasn’t prepared. I think that’s the part I wish more people talked about…

Sometimes there isn’t a long goodbye.
Or… there isn’t time to prepare.
Sometimes you go from worrying about your dog to wondering how you’re supposed to live in a house without them.

Even when you know euthanasia was the right choice, you can still wish with everything in you that you didn’t have to make it.

I’ve also realized how much grief needs somewhere to go.

For me, that has been wearing his nose-print pendant. Looking at his portrait. Reading about pet loss. Hearing other people say the things I’ve been feeling. Finding books my kids and I can read together.

Small things, but the grief is made up of small things, too.

Like the empty spot where he slept.

The quiet when he didn’t follow me into the next room.

My toddler (2.5) asking where Sawyer went. Again.

Seeing his photo and suddenly remembering that he’s really gone.

Our pets leave such enormous spaces behind, and we need to stop minimizing that.

There is no “just a dog.” They are a family member with years of memories wrapped up in one little face.

So if you’re grieving a pet right now, I hope you know this:

You aren’t being dramatic.
You aren’t grieving too much.
You don’t need to “move on.”

You loved them.

Of course it hurts.

And if you’re lucky enough to still have your pets beside you today, maybe give them an extra squeeze.

I know I wish I could give him one more. 🤍

08/26/2026

She went in as a very matted senior girl… and came out a LION. 🦁🤍

She’s almost 17, and at first her mats were manageable. As they continued to form, she started refusing to let me brush or clip them. That was my clue that something had changed, and I realized it was likely because grooming had become painful for her.

So we took her in for a full senior-girl checkup: pain medication, sedation, a much-needed lion cut, and full bloodwork. She did beautifully. 🥹

Then, my friend who is her vet heard something new: a heart murmur.

I had listened to her heart just a month ago and didn’t hear one.

That’s why senior pets really benefit from regular exams…ideally every 6 months. Things can change quickly, and catching those changes early gives us a chance to be proactive and, most importantly, keep them comfortable.

Here’s your reminder that even a veterinarian’s cat can get matted. 😅 We’re not immune to life happening!

Veterinary care isn’t just about treating illness. Sometimes it’s about recognizing that something is hurting, getting them comfortable again, and figuring out what changed.

Now excuse me while this almost-17-year-old lioness enjoys her fresh haircut. 🦁👑

08/26/2026

This is the part of being a veterinarian that hits differently when the patient is your own cat. 🤍

My girl is almost 17. She has very few teeth left (so I know it’s not dental disease), and over the past year I’ve noticed that she’s slowly stopped grooming herself as well as she used to.

At first, I could brush out the little mats and clip them when necessary.

Then the mats started getting worse.

And she’s also been intermittently limping, especially when it seems like her Solensia is wearing off.

That made me stop and think about something I tell my clients all the time: Cats can be in pain without acting like they’re in pain.

Sometimes it looks like limping.
Sometimes it looks like jumping less.
Sometimes it looks like sleeping more.
And sometimes… it looks like a cat who simply stops grooming herself.

She’s been on Antinol and Solensia for about two years, but she’s changing, and her needs are changing with her.

So today, I’m doing what I would recommend for any senior cat in this situation: reassessing the whole picture.

I want full bloodwork to make sure her kidney and liver values and other parameters look appropriate before considering adding an anti-inflammatory pain medication and to establish a baseline that we can monitor going forward.

I also want to make sure her hyperthyroidism remains well controlled.

Being a veterinarian doesn’t mean I get to skip the workup when it’s my own cat.

If anything, it reminds me how important it is!

Senior pets don’t need us to make them young again.

They need us to notice when their definition of “normal” starts to change.

And maybe the biggest lesson I’ve learned from this girl: Don’t automatically blame every new change on age.

Sometimes “she’s just getting old” is the beginning of the conversation…not the end of it. 🤍

Follow my friends Senior Dogs | Dr. Monica Tarantino 🐶😻 Veterinarian and Dr. Petra Černá PhD DACVIM Feline Medicine Specialist for more info on senior pets!!

08/23/2026

There’s no prize for doing motherhood the “hardest.” 🤍
Full-time working mom.

Part-time.

SAHM.

We’re ALL carrying something, making sacrifices, and doing the best we can with the support and circumstances we have.

Social media is a highlight reel...not the whole picture.

So let’s stop comparing and start cheering each other on.

You’re doing amazing. I see you. 🫶

08/20/2026

Maybe the Leo lesson is realizing you’re allowed to be a little obsessed with your own life. ♌️

Not in a “look at me” way.

More like…look at this life.
Look at this woman.
Look at these girls.
Look at this love.
Look at the little life we built.
Look how far she came.

There’s something really beautiful about getting older and realizing you’re living inside so many things you once wished for.

So today, I’m not picking apart the past year or wondering if I’m “where I’m supposed to be.”

I’m just looking around and thinking… damn. I really love my life!

And maybe that’s the birthday reflection.

To romanticize it.
To celebrate it.
To be a little proud of the woman you became.

And obviously, I’m going to make a reel about it. I’m a Leo. 😂🦁✨

08/19/2026

When you know how quickly the years go, you take the picture. 🤍🥺

Maybe it’s my veterinary brain or maybe it’s because I have three seniors of my own, but I find myself taking pictures of the most ordinary moments: a sleepy face, a walk around the block, a favorite spot on the couch, those little gray muzzles just doing their thing.

Because one day, those ordinary moments will be the ones you wish you could have back.

So yes, my camera roll is mostly senior pets, my kids, and an unreasonable number of pictures that are basically identical. 😂 But I’ll never regret having too many memories!

Love your old pets a little extra today. Take the picture.

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Charlotte, NC
28201-28237, 28240-28247, 28250, 28253-28256, 28258, 28260-28262, 28265-28266, 2

Website

http://www.veterinariansontherise.com/

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