Rejected by the Humane Society, and introducing the Medical Fact of the Day

I am a big fan of dogs.  They are wonderful companions, ask for very little, and even help their owners live longer.  Trust me, it's science.  During my first year in med school, I asked my advisor if she thought that I could handle a dog through school, residency, and beyond.  She said it would be possible during the pre-clinical years, but it would be tough after that.  So, I decided it would be a good idea not get a dog if I couldn't be sure I could properly spoil it.

Fast forward to third year, when I still seem to have control of my schedule and wish I had a dog.  Once in awhile, I dognap my dad's little dog and take him to school.  He's definitely more popular than me.
 

My dad's dog Harley and our very life-like statue of Charles E. Schmidt

 I like all dogs though.  Here are some pictures of dogs.  Only one is actually mine.

Finn, my dogfriend in Boston

LA friend Jac's dog Juno

Amber, making a repeat appearance on the blog

I obviously like dogs and even walked dogs for a year before med school.  As in, I was an employed dogwalker with a flyer and all, which I was unable to find in my gmail archives.  And I'll have you know that there was only one incident of dog aggression, which resulted in exactly zero lawsuits.  I think that's a success.  So I was just a bit surprised when I sent this lovely email:

I'm old.  I didn't want them thinking I was a kid who thought it would be a good idea to let the dogs run free to discover their inner hippy.

...and received no response!  It has obviously been a sufficient amount of time since sending this email, so I should just accept my rejection.  I haven't decided about my next course of action, but it might involve walking Harley right in front of the Humane Society.  Then they'll see my skills and BEG me to volunteer.  Or I'll just stick to, you know, trying to learn stuff actually related to my chosen field.

On the topic of learning and since I don't read nearly enough for school (shout-out to rotation husband John), I'm going to try to write down something interesting from each day.  And I will use the innovative term "Medical Fact of the Day."  Maybe I'll start using the acronym MFOD because doctors love acronyms and I'm trying to fit into the club.

MFOD - If a rash kinda looks like shingles, but doesn't follow a dermatome, think pityriasis rosea (PR).  This is the rash without a known cause, has a herald patch, and with a "Christmas-tree" pattern.  It may be have a flu-like viral prodrome.

My patient's PR looked kinda like this (source)

My patient's rash was "burning," positive history of chicken pox, and a sick contact with shingles.  It was blistered, but was midline along the upper back crossing from about T1 to T5.  So, instead of one of the -cyclovirs, the patient was told to use hydrocortisone for the itching and wait out this "flu of the skin."  It should be gone in 2 months.