Dr. Kathleen Allison-Black

I am an experienced small animal veterinarian with more than 28 years in the veterinary profession and greater than 20 in practice, both in general practice and in emergency/critical care medicine.

My professional interests include fostering the human-animal bond through helping my clients and patients manage both health and behavioral issues, including initial puppy/kitten stages through end of life care.

Feline/canine fear and anxiety can become a huge roadblock to a happy home and ease of veterinary care. Helping clients find the best way to manage common behavioral problems both at home and at the veterinary office reduces the stress of all involved. This starts with early puppy/kitten visits and continues through all stages of life. While no visit can be completely fear free, as a team we can minimize anxiety. Help in handling the anxiety from the first moment of getting into a vehicle/carrier to the visit itself is paramount in keeping your pet healthy and keeping the care team and your family effective at performing medical care.

During my time working with a double boarded neurologist and behaviorist, I was privileged to work along side of one of the pioneers in the field of veterinary behavior. I have personal experience with the difficulty of managing fear based aggression in my one of my own dogs, barrier reactivity/leash reactivity in my current dog, and house soiling with my own cats. While I certainly believe in better living through chemistry, behavioral modification coupled with selective medication is my preferred method of handling many cases.

For those pet owners with noise reactive/phobic animals, now is the time to prepare for the upcoming spring/summer storm season as well as the inevitable fireworks that will mark several holidays. If your dog has issues with these types of stimuli, practicing desensitization and strategic medication choices should be address now, while we can control the level of stimulation. While certain celebrity animal "trainers" employ flooding, I find that the hard work of desensitization is both healthier and safer for your beloved pets and your family.

Using my experience, I enjoy complex pain management/hospice care to help those in great need of comfort and quality of life. Frank and compassionate end of life discussions became a skill honed during emotionally charged emergency hospital visits. I find that helping clients through these difficult times to be an honor and privilege.

Complex multi-modal pain management and balanced anesthesia are rewarding for the pets, their guardians, and the veterinary team. In day to day practice, we avoid cookbook solutions, employ western medicine coupled with complimentary care such as nutriceuticals, laser therapy, physical therapy, therapeutic ultrasound, and e-stim machines.

While Maryland does not allow veterinarians to legally prescribe medications without a hands on exam, I help create a multimodal plan that includes certain supplements, suggestions of medications your vet can prescribe, lab work or additional diagnostic that may be helpful, plus assist finding a local veterinary hospital that can perform any therapies.

Please contact your local representatives and senators to get this changed in Maryland and hopefully the USA. Access to veterinary care is very important and right now, in person exams are not always possible. If telemedicine visits can be effectively facilitated through caretakers for infants and non verbal people, the same can be done for our pets.

Additionally, I enjoy helping manage complex cases in tandem with your regular vet. The one on one nature of the telehealth appointment allows me to focus completely on your pet's health care concerns, addressing questions you may have about test results and potential next steps in diagnostics and treatments.

**Again, please note that Maryland does not allow prescribing of medications without a hands on exam or site exam of a herd. They recently sent a letter to all vets that practice telehealth medicine threatening board action if this is done, so we could lose our license if we prescribe medications without a physical exam of your pet

Please call, email, and write letters to every state rep, state senator, and the veterinary board to complain about the inability to adequately address veterinary care for your beloved pets. The only way this will change is if the public advocates for access to care. **