It's a wrap!

All images courtesy of Jenna Buley, DVM.If art is good for the soul, perhaps it's good for healing too. In the daily drag of practice, it's easy to be overwhelmed by sick and injured animals and the strain of difficult clients and pet owners who can't afford to pay for their pets' care. But Jenna Buley, DVM, found a way to make bandages more than, well, bandages. These mini pieces of art bring a lightness to the workday and put smiles on pet owners' faces too.

"I started doing striped bandages, then graduated to small designs like paw prints and stars,' Dr. Buley says. "Then one day a Yorkie came in with severe bite wounds over his thorax from an encounter with a German Shepherd. The Yorkie had jumped over his smaller brother to protect him. He needed a pretty large bandage, and I decided to give him a superhero look. The response I got was so positive. This owner, who came in distraught and panicked, left with a grin on her face."

Since then, Dr. Buley has continued to express herself through the designs. "Clients laugh, share the designs with other clients in the lobby, thank me, and I believe that they get a sense that I care a lot about their animal," she says.

Her favorite design so far? "It has to be David Bowie's face a la Ziggy Stardust. I did not think it was going to turn out but as I got further along with it, it really came together," Dr. Buley says.

Jenna Buley, DVMReady to give it a try? Dr. Buley says some of the simpler designs take just a few minutes. The more complicated ones, like the dragon and ninja turtle, can take a few hours. "I work on them during down time between appointments so I don't just finish a design in one stretch," she says.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, by Jenna Buley, DVM

Dragon by Jenna Buley, DVMSee more of Dr. Buley's designs on the next page. 

Wolf by Jenna Buley, DVM

Underdog by Jenna Buley, DVM

Yellow Submarine by Jenna Buley, DVM