Back from Kalifornia

I'm on the Santa Monica Pier with the north side of the bay behind me.

I'm back from my meeting in Santa Monica. The best weather day was actually my free day, which was awesome! I got a mild sunburn... I don't think I've ever had a sunburn in April. The beach was neat, the Santa Monica Pier was okay, and the town was pretty interesting. The food at the hotel was unbelievable. All you can eat sushi, fruit & yogurt parfaits during breaks between lectures, big breakfasts... it was all 100% first class.

Night time on the Promenade.

The meeting was fantastic. I didn't learn a whole bunch of new medical information, but lots was re-enforced, and I really benefitted from talking with the other veterinarians who do what I do with Pfizer. It wasn't exactly what I expected it would be. As it turns out, the 87 DVMs who were part of the original Canine Obesity and Slentrol® education plan (who were at the meeting in Salt Lake City, 2008) where whittled down to 40 for an ELITE (a Pfizer acronym) group of veterinary peer educators. I found out after my arrival that I was part of this new group... in fact, I'm one of only two in Ohio. I must have been nominated or recommended by my Pfizer reps. It shouldn't change my responsibilities too terribly much, but I will probably have to travel further for my meetings with veterinary clinics in order to reach more people. For instance, I'm going to Youngstown for a presentation on Tuesday. I was worried back in January and February that Pfizer would cut the budget on my program, but I learned that now they're as committed as ever to support us (the 40) get the message out to the clinics in our area.

View from my balcony.

I got home really late (or early, however you want to look at it) on Thursday evening/Friday morning, and went to work on Friday morning. Pity the owners who had to hear the, "Your dog is overweight," talk the day after I got back from the Obesity meeting! It's rewarding, though, to be able to remove the guilt from the owner and tell them that there is a real solution that works >95% of the time. To see what Slentrol® can do for dogs and their owners, click here.

It was really nice to get back home. Lincoln looks older than when I left. He learned a new word while I was gone: cat. So as of now, he knows "dog," "all gone," and "cat."

Next on the Gates agenda is Lincoln's First Birthday. Holy cow.