Mid-Peninsula Animal Hospital™ Blog

She's an "exotic" one, our Dr. Zunino. She's even gone international to pursue her exotic passion. 

No, we don't mean "exotic" in the sense of coming from exotic shores. She was born and raised right here on the Peninsula. We mean that her interest in small animals extends beyond dogs and cats to include what veterinary medicine calls "exotics" (i.e. rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, reptiles, etc.). Of course, this is in addition to her passion for dogs and cats.

Veterinary medicine has been a calling since about second grade. Dr. Zunino was always drawn to a career with animals. Since high school, every internship, externship, volunteer gig, summer job and gap-year job has been geared toward veterinary medicine.

If she seems familiar to you, perhaps it's because one of her summer jobs was right here at Mid-Peninsula Animal Hospital; then, she came back the following summer to work as a veterinary assistant. We weren't the only animal hospital she worked with during her college years at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, or during veterinary school at the University of California at Davis. So, you can imagine, we're thrilled and honored that once she earned her DVM, and officially became Dr. Zunino, she chose to come back here to work with us!

What may not be familiar to you is how much, and how far, she's traveled getting her hands-on experience treating animals. She moved to Denver for a time to work with the renowned Dr. Jon Geller, DVM, founder of the Street Dog Coalition. Dr. Geller's organization sets up pop-up clinics staffed with volunteer veterinary professionals to care for the animals of folks at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. Dr. Geller explains, "We’re committed to protecting the human-animal bond and caring for the lives on both ends of the leash."

Dr. Zunino also moved for a time to work down under, in Sydney and near Brisbane, Australia (with a side trip to Melbourne, a fav). The team at Sydney Exotics and Rabbit Vets (SERV) published research into how to make medicine better for exotics, especially rabbits and guinea pigs. Up near Brisbane, the work done at the University of Queensland Gatton campus included more wildlife and involved more Bearded Dragons as pets. It's an Aussie thing.

But there's no place like home. We asked Dr. Zunino why she chose Mid-Peninsula Animal Hospital, she immediately pointed out we are AAHA accredited. We put a lot of work into the AAHA accreditation, and we know clients appreciate it, so it's gratifying to hear that makes a difference to our professionals as well. Another big draw mentioned is our multiple doctor, collaborative environment. 

Dr. Zunino explained, "I could tell Mid-Pen has a collaborative environment, and I think medicine is best when you put multiple heads together." In addition, as an independent hospital, doctors can consider more tailored approaches, including the latest, greatest medical advances.

Her advice to new animal guardians? She says that getting insurance is a good idea. But the most important thing is: once a client is established with her, don't be afraid to ask questions. She advises to reach out if you're ever not sure about something, and she can let you know if it requires an office visit, or is concerning, but the most important thing is to ask those questions.

When she's not all about the small animals and exotics, Dr. Zenino loves to cook. It's in her blood. She learned how to cook from her mother. Plus exploring farmer's markets is one of her absolute joys. This makes her cooking style is "farmer's market to table, with Italian influences." 

Speaking of style, she's a Studio Ghibli fan (and yes, she's been to the Studio Ghibli museum in Japan). Her other creative outlet is clay work, creating ceramics. There's also nothing more relaxing than watching TV on the couch with her rabbits, Freckles and Colonel Dax.

When you get a chance, please welcome—or we should say "please welcome BACK"—Dr. Olivia Zunino.

All of us at Mid-Peninsula Animal Hospital wish you and yours the happiest of New Years!

With tomorrow as "Giving Tuesday," you might be interested in an update about the Ukrainian animal rescue organization that caught our eye. Last year around Thanksgiving, we had just seen the most amazing behavior from dogs in Ukraine lining up patiently for their turn at a food station. It was profound image. 

The food station had been set up by Nate Mook, the former CEO of the non-profit World Central Kitchen started by Chef Andres, and a few early volunteers. Nate firmly believes in diving in and doing the work without delay, and then creating a way for people worldwide to support it. Some in our fantastic community of clients did just that. 

We recently caught up with Nate, who shared that they are now a bona fide foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called Hachiko UA Foundation. Their core volunteers service 120 feeding stations, with an extended network in 236 cities in six regions, and an even broader network of more than a thousand home shelters and recipients. Add to all that thousands of medical treatments.

Now that's a lot of work to get done in a year -- coordinating, getting the resources, building teams and networks, etc. -- particularly in the middle of a war. Nate even gave us a sneak peak of the website they're working on, saying, "We haven’t yet fully launched it, but the website is here: https://hachikoua.com/."

From the many photos on the new HachikoUA.com website, a couple really cute ones caught our eye. Apparently the profound image from last year wasn't an absolute one-off; apparently Ukrainian dogs will line up like polite society and wait their turn for dinner:
 

Some cats, on the other hand, are trying to use their smarts and independence. Notice the gray one by the orange stripe at the top, as if to say, "I know they pour it from this corner here." And a couple cats below watch as if they agree that's the spot:
 

We're really proud of our community for the support provided so far. When we spoke to Nate, he asked us to pass along a message, saying, “Please be sure to thank them for me! As you can tell from our feeding stations (functional but not fancy), we’re stretching every dollar. Right now we’re scrambling to create kennels for the winter that are also functional but not fancy. We’re super grateful to anyone who wants to be part of it, and help fund this work.”

At Mid-Peninsula Animal Hospital, we tend toward the most direct, boots-on-the-ground kinds of emergency response that clearly stretches every dollar and squeezes every penny. We're gratified to watch it grow from last year as a powerful idea turned nascent initiative, into an operation true to its roots and still squeezing every penny. If you're looking for a worthy candidate for your "Giving Tuesday," we submit Hachiko UA Foundation for your consideration.

What happens when you combine a world-renowned Veterinary Dentist, our local DVMs, RVTs and Assistants, and follow it up with a family-friendly party on a Sunday afternoon?  

You get world-class continuing education (CE) on veterinary dentistry and you even get a little fun! The incredible event, called "Scrubs 'N Suds CE," features two hours of intensive hands-on training, followed by a tremendously informative lecture on geriatric dental care. It then opened up for family and friends (and a few neighbors) to join a party!

The amazing Scrubs 'N Suds CE featured educator, Dr. Brook Niemiec, who chairs the dental guidelines committee for the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), and literally writes books on the subject. Dr. Niemiec holds board certifications from the American and European Veterinary Dental Colleges, and is a named Fellow of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry. He is one of fewer than 10 veterinarians worldwide to hold all three of these certificates. Clearly, he is one of the world's leading authorities in veterinary dentistry. He is also a very enthusiastic and renowned educator.

Mid-Peninsula Animal Hospital proudly got behind Scrubs 'N Suds CE by sponsoring the event along with industry leaders Boehringer Ingelheim, Idexx, Hill's, Zoetis and Covetrus. Participants, coming from as far as Martinez, enjoyed our facilities for the hands-on labs, and we turned our garage into a festive event space for the lecture and party. 

Ultimately, Scrubs 'N Suds CE made it fun and easy for DVMs and RVTs to fulfill CE requirements, and do so locally without the time and expense for travel. We were delighted with the awe-inspiring instruction and impressed by the extraordinary participants who paid such close attention. Learning can be very exciting.  

Continuing education is important, and required by the California Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) to maintain professional licenses. The Scrubs 'N Suds CE curriculum provided VMB-approved CE instruction for an important aspect of veterinary care.

While veterinary dentistry for horses has been practiced for centuries, it only became a specialty for small animals in the late 1980s. In veterinary schools, veterinary dentistry is routinely taught only as an elective. CE is crucial for learning and staying up to date with advances in veterinary dentistry. The opportunity to learn from a wonderful, world-renowned expert, and to do so in such an intimate setting, was extraordinarily inspiring. 

The model of following CE with a party that includes family proved simply brilliant. Family members got to see more of what goes into veterinary work. Colleagues got to bond, or catch up, in a relaxed environment. Nobody had to go home and make dinner.  

Scrubs 'N Suds CE provided an incredible event that ensured our animal patients get the most up-to-date, modern dental care (win), our professionals gained skills and fulfilled their CE requirement (win), and our clients can rest assured knowing we're staying on top of it (Big Win!). Ultimately Scrubs 'N Suds CE was a "Win, Win, Win" and a Party!