News From Whole Health Veterinary

An International Visitor

2010-01-22T05:00:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

For the past two months, we have had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Victoria Morales, a veterinarian from Barcelona. Vicky studied veterinary homeopathy in Spain, and interned at two different homeopathic veterinary practices there before braving our weather and joining us in beautiful Blaine, Minnesota.

Vicky has been a wonderful addition to our practice, and we're trying to figure out how to keep her. She brings a fresh perspective to our homeopathic practice, and is proficient in conventional practice as well. Plus, everyone likes her. She meshes well with our staff, our clientele, and our patients.

I'm also impressed by Vicky's tenacity. It doesn't snow in Barcelona, yet Vicky remained calm and just carefully backed her car out of the snow drift it had floated into on our frontage road. She hasn't complained once about our winter weather. The rest of us do. Loudly. Until spring. Which sometimes doesn't come until June.

But I digress. Having Vicky at our practice, with her sweet nature, willingness to pitch in, and natural genius, has made the rest of us better at what we do. Plus, now we have someone to visit in Spain!

If I Had A Dollar For Every Time I Said "Spleen" This Week...

2010-01-20T13:10:00.016-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

WARNING: This post contains graphic pictures of a surgical procedure.

I wrote last week about the situation I was facing with the tumor we'd discovered in my dog Ozark's spleen. His surgery was yesterday, and that's the story I want to tell today. Even though I've worked in veterinary hospitals since 1998, and managed Whole Health Veterinary since it came into being in April of 2005, when it comes to my own dogs I'm every bit as involved - and worried when they are sick - as each one of you.

Being an "insider" in the veterinary business is a curse as much as it's good fortune. I know things, and over the years I've seen things. Sometimes cases go wrong for no reason, and illness (especially cancer) doesn't always follow the rules. On the other hand, I have access to specialists, and to knowledge of which many pet owners aren't even aware. In addition, we're a holistic practice, so our doctors think outside the box. I had the information and the resources to do everything in my power to stack the deck in Ozark's favor.

Another wonderful benefit of working for a veterinary practice (and being the one who makes the schedule) is that I was able to rearrange my work hours to allow me to care for Ozark. He received his pre-operation sedation at around 9:15 AM. The surgeon arrived around 10:30, and his surgery was over by noon.

Surgery always amazes me. Whether human or animal, surgeons are able to open up the body, take things out, put things in, rearrange various bits and pieces, then put it all together again... and the patient is still alive. Consider that one tiny wound from a gun or a knife or a pointy stick can be fatal within moments. A surgeon had better know what they're doing!

Here are some pictures from Ozark's splenectomy (removal of his spleen):

(Pre-operation. He's zonked on his sedation, and the IV catheter has been placed in his right foreleg.)

(On the table, shaved, anesthetized, waiting for Dr. Hammel. Vet tech Jenna is monitoring Ozark.)

(Dr. Scott Hammel, of Veterinary Surgical Specialists, begins the incision that will give him access to all the squishy, oozy stuff in Ozark's abdomen.)

(Dr. Hammel has located the spleen and brought it out of the body cavity in preparation for removal. The spleen should look like the part on the right. Sort of flat and dark red and mushy and shiny, like raw liver. The mass is the roundish area beneath the light-colored fatty material at the top left of the spleen as pictured. More pictures of the spleen coming up.)

(The spleen, again. The healthy tissue is the bottom - both right and left - and the tumor is the roundish area at the top-center.)

(Removing the spleen. What alarms ME is the incision visible above. Seems so... large. And look how thick Ozark's body wall is. Who knew there was so much meat on our canine friends???)

(Get that thing out of my dog, Dr. Hammel! Thanks!)

(A good shot of the spleen. If there's such a thing as a good shot of a tumor-ridden spleen. Doesn't it look like someone tucked an orange there in the top-middle part? The whole thing should be flattish and floppy, similar to a liver.)

(Since he was in the neighborhood, and because he's a skilled and thorough surgeon, Dr. Hammel also checked Ozark's intestines for signs of tumor growth. He checked the liver, too, and sent a small sample of that tissue to the lab, along with the spleen, to look for microscopic signs of cancer.)

(Getting that little bit of the liver to send off to the lab. The liver looked healthy, but there could be microscopic cancer cells sitting there waiting for a chance to cause trouble.)

(Everything back where it belongs - minus the spleen - and Ozark getting put all back together.)

Was I a nervous wreck? Yeah, pretty much. As soon as he was in recovery, we set him up in our healing and holistic treatment room, and I spent the rest of the day sitting with him.

One thing we learned is that Ozark is extremely sensitive to anesthesia. I'd expected him to be able to walk to the car with assistance around four hours after surgery. Dogs are way more resilient than we are. When I had abdominal surgery, I was in the hospital for 2 days and then spent three weeks in bed, whining. But at 6:00, six hours after his surgery, Ozark had done little more than flutter his eyes and move his head a few times. It was taking his body much longer to purge the anesthesia than normal.

Finally, we loaded him into the back of our Blazer, on a padded sled with blankets and heating discs, and my husband and I brought him home. He'd had his bladder catheterized to empty it, his temperature was steady and his blood tests looked fine. He'd had Reiki from both our technician Sabrina and Reiki Master Peggy Edman, and some homeopathic remedies. He'd mouthed some treats and swallowed some water syringed into his mouth. I knew what to watch for, in case of trouble.

So, we brought him home (dragging him up the stupid stairs in our stupid split level house on that stupid-but-handy sled) and set him up in our spare room on a dog bed and some comforters, with the heat discs to keep him toasty, and an afghan covering him. I slept on the futon, so we could keep him separate from the other dogs, and so I could keep an eye (and a hand) on him all night since the futon is so low to the ground. We had to turn him every couple of hours to keep his circulation going. It was an anxious night.

(Such a sweet, sad boy!)

But this morning, when my husband got up, Ozark stood. He went out on the deck and emptied his bladder, and ate some raw venison meatballs with medication in them. He's decided he wants to be with Brody, Darwin and me in the living room, so he's napping on a comforter across the room.

Now, if I can keep him from trying to sneak down into the basement family room to poo - which he wants very much to do, hating to do anything on the deck, which is his only other choice right now - at least until his incision heals a little, we'll be all set. His dog-brothers are behaving pretty well, and I'm keeping a close eye on him.

We should get the biopsy results Friday or Monday, then we'll know if we're likely out of the woods, or just starting a rough fight. Again, being part of the veterinary business and knowing the things I know is often helpful, and sometimes it makes things a lot harder. Until we get the report, I'll just hope. Really, really hard.

Reiki

2010-01-20T05:00:00.001-06:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

On January 12, our staff completed a Reiki I class, taught by Peggy Edman, our acupressure/animal massage/Reiki Master. Peggy did a magnificent job, and a good time was had by all. This will allow us to incorporate Reiki into our treatment plans much more easily, and will increase the effectiveness of all our treatments.

I really love Reiki. It's a simple, effective way to channel universal energy that is easy to learn and easy to do. I've used it for all types of situations, from acute injuries to chronic conditions. I used Reiki when my old dog Charlie suddenly yelped and couldn't rise from a sitting position. I treated his back and within minutes he was fine. I used Reiki when Malcolm reacted badly to a new food and was spending way too much time in the litterbox. One treatment and the crisis was averted. I used Reiki when our hospital adopted April, an elderly cat whose diabetes was out of control. I treated April every day for the first month, along with dietary modification and nutritional supplementation. She lived for three more years, insulin-free, and was the queen of our hospital cats until her death.

I'm excited that we can now offer this service to our clients and their pets. Reiki is always helpful, never harmful, and can be done hands-on or across the room.

I've also taken Healing Touch for Animals Level One, and have had Healing Touch work done extensively on my own pets. In my experience, Reiki wins.

The "Cult" of Homeopathy

2010-01-18T05:00:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

On January 10th, I attended the first session in a 10-session Acute Homeopathy course at the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy. It's so nice to go back to school. The new classroom is spacious and airy, and it was great to see some old friends and meet some new ones. Homeopathy creates an instant camaraderie amongst its adherents.

Which kind of makes it sound like a cult. And, if I were going to start my own cult (and don't think I haven't considered this option), homeopathy would definitely have to be one of our fundamentals. There is nothing quite like it.

Just this week, I had a client whose dog had been diagnosed with heart failure. The internal medicine specialist who had seen the dog started it on medications, but when I called the client that evening for an update, the dog was still not doing any better. From the owner's description, I was able to suggest a remedy that they could get at their local grocery store. By morning, the dog was doing much better and was eating.

I love it.

As a cult, homeopathy invites freedom of expression and interpretation. In any given practitioner - client relationship, a different remedy and different method of dispensing might be effective. This is why, in my mind, homeopathy resembles quantum physics. You can't take the observer - the homeopath - out of the equation.

Sometimes You Shouldn't Wait And See

2010-01-15T14:20:00.004-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

My 10-year-old Great Pyrenees/Labrador mix, Ozark, has a mass on his spleen. And in a very strange way, I almost feel lucky.

What? How can someone who adores her big, gentle dog feel lucky that he has something abnormal growing inside him? It’s because I’m so glad that I paid attention to my instincts, listened to my dog, and found out what was wrong much, much earlier than I otherwise would have.

Let me explain.

I tend to be a non-worrier. At this point in my life, and after as many years as I’ve worked in veterinary hospitals, I’ve had a lot of dogs, and I’ve seen countless others. I’ve seen all manner of trauma, as well as chronic and acute illness. I’ve gotten very good at “wait and see.” Whereas some owners are vigilant to the point of scheduling an “emergency” appointment every time their dog sneezes or has soft stool, I tend to wait it out. In truth, many minor things do resolve on their own.

A little over three years ago, I lost my precious “heart dog,” a 12-year-old golden retriever named Ripley, to hemangiosarcoma. He’d been panting more and more over the preceding month, but…

Granted, hemangiosarcoma is nasty, fast-moving, and nearly impossible to catch in its early stages. But should I have listened to my instincts a little more?

With Ozark, it was nothing obvious or overly alarming. He seemed a bit more subdued than usual, but he’s a very mellow dog in general. He needed to go out twice during the night on Saturday, but that happens with dogs sometimes. He always eats snow, but he seemed to be eating it more. He threw up once on Tuesday. Dogs do that. There was no one thing to which I could point and say, “Hey, something is seriously wrong.” But I know my dogs, and my gut was telling me that there was more to it than his subtle symptoms might indicate.

I brought him to work on Wednesday, and his blood work was just a bit off. There were definite signs that his immune system was working on something. We took x-rays, and the mass on his spleen was evident. I immediately panicked, because since I lost Ripley to hemangiosarcoma, anything in my dog that doesn’t belong there is especially terrifying.

Today the ultrasound specialist came and took a good look at what was going on in Ozark’s innards. Given the situation, we got the best possible news. Yes, he has a baseball-sized mass on his spleen. But it appears to be very localized and contained, and there is no evidence of abnormalities in his other organs. It is almost certainly not hemangiosarcoma.

I am always reluctant to subject any of my dogs to surgery. I want to do the least-invasive thing, and keep treatments as natural as possible. But since Ozark is otherwise very sound, with no other underlying health issues, I’ve decided to go ahead and have the spleen removed and the mass biopsied. This will take place on Tuesday, January 19.

We still have no idea if the mass is benign or malignant, but even a benign growth can rupture (especially on the spleen, which is a vascular-rich organ) and the dog will quickly die of internal bleeding. It feels like a time bomb. Of course, if it is malignant, it will grow and spread. So we’ll remove the spleen, and if the mass turns out to be malignant, we will ultrasound again in a few months and see if we can detect any signs of metastasis to other organs. If it is benign, the splenectomy may be curative.

I’m still pretty scared. My dog has a tumor, and he’s going to have major abdominal surgery. That’s never good. Yet I’m glad I listened to that little voice that was telling me that something was “off.” I didn’t put it down as “Oh, he’s getting old,” or “He’s just feeling down with all the cold weather,” or “He must’ve eaten something that didn’t agree with him.” Something in his energy and demeanor, combined with his minor symptoms, and my deep knowledge of him told me it was something more.

It took me a while to arrive at my point, but here it is. Many people are hesitant to schedule an appointment for their pets when they start to feel that way. They don’t want to be a bother. They don’t want the doctor to think they’re over-reacting. They don’t want anyone to think they’re being paranoid or “one of those kinds of pet owners.” They are reluctant to spend the money. If you are one of those people… get over it! Nobody knows your pet better than you do. If something is telling you that something isn’t right, call your vet. Get an appointment. And go!

No, every time your pet vomits is not an emergency. Every time he has a bit of diarrhea it is not a symptom of serious illness. But when small things begin to add up, and you sense that something is wrong, don’t let anyone tell you to stop worrying and wait and see what happens.

Sure, sometimes it will turn out to be nothing. But sometimes it will turn out to be something, and the sooner you know what that something is, the more options you will have and the better chances you have of a successful treatment.

Truth In Advertising?

2010-01-15T12:51:00.003-06:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

Veterinary medicine has its quackbusters, just like human medicine. One of the veterinary news magazines has been publishing a series of articles by the quackbusters' current mouthpiece. Let's call her NR.

NR has written several long, rambling, nonsensical articles about various topics in alternative medicine. Honestly, this woman is such a poor writer; I don't know how she gets published. One of her recent statements was along the lines of how to tell the difference between a legitimate drug and a suspicious and bogus natural supplement. What's the difference? According to NR, the natural supplement will be represented solely by testimonials, as opposed to the drug, which is scientifically proven.

How many drug ads have you seen on TV lately?

Terry Gross interviewed Jane Lynch on National Public Radio's Fresh Air. Ms. Lynch mentioned that she had done a bit of commercial acting. Terry asked her which commercials she was in, to which Ms. Lynch replied, "Oh, I was the Nexium Lady." And the worst part was that everyone she met thought she actually had gastric reflux disease.

These drug ads? They are not real. They are "testimonials," except those everyman-looking people telling us, "I've had asthma for thirteen years," or "My COPD really used to slow me down," or "Now I'm Claritin clear" are actors. They are not the real people with the conditions that are being sold.

The Chantix ad features Lisa, a plain everywoman, with "Lisa is not an actor" on the bottom of the screen. This ad is fraudulent. Do you really think Lisa said, "Oh great pharmaceutical company, your drug is so wonderful, I will be happy to appear on national TV and tell everyone about it, and you don't have to pay me a dime!" Hell, no. I'm sure there is something in Lisa's contract that states "You Are Not An Actor," and Lisa signed it. There. See? She's NOT an actor.

Those are testimonials. And they're carefully crafted and directed... and they're fake.

My Dogs Can (And Do) Eat Nearly Anything

2009-12-29T11:00:00.006-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

My dogs have Garbage Gut. And I couldn't be happier.

Sounds awful, doesn't it? But it's just an informal phrase that describes a dog who can eat nearly anything and not get digestive upset.

We've all been through it. The dog gets in the trash or snatches something from the counter, or we give them what we think is a "special treat," only to spend the next three days dealing with vomiting, diarrhea, or both. As disgusting and frustrating as that is, that's the mild end of the "dietary indiscretion" spectrum. Some dogs wind up with pancreatitis from the rich, fatty content of what they've eaten, and that can be life-threatening. (And not to mention expensive!)

How does a dog develop Garbage Gut? It's not an overnight process, by any means. Taking a dog who has been fed the same variety of processed kibble for years and suddenly giving them a lot of new foods is asking for the very digestive upset you're trying to avoid. Go slowly, introducing only one new thing at a time.

The key to having a dog with a hardy dietary constitution is variety. (Let me say that again: Variety!) We used to be told that it was best to find one brand of food, in a single variety such as chicken or lamb, that seemed to agree with our dogs' digestion... and stick with it.

There are several problems with that. First of all... boring. Even if you love Eggplant Parmesan more than any other food on the planet, do you want to eat it every single day for the rest of your life? Second, there is no one food that any of us, canine or human, can eat that will provide perfect, lifelong nutrition. Third, even if your dog never has a problem as the result of the processed kibble you've chosen (unlikely), sooner or later he is going to eat something he shouldn't. Chicken thawing on the counter. Steak bones in the trash. The semi-decomposed mole he finds behind the shed. He's a dog. He'll find it.

And then you have problems.

At Whole Health Veterinary, we strongly advocate a raw food diet. If convenience or expense are an issue (though feeding raw is no more expensive or difficult than feeding a premium grain-free kibble if you put some thought and planning into it), we recommend at least 50% raw food. But unless your dog has serious allergies to multiple grains or proteins, the other part of the equation is variety.

Let's take a look at what I feed my dogs. Ozark is a 10-year-old Great Pyrenees/Labrador mix, Darwin is a 5-year-old Golden Retriever, and Brody is a 4-year-old Great Pyrenees. That's nearly 300 pounds of dog. They are fed about 75% raw food and 25% premium grain-free dry food. They have healthy skin and soft, abundant coats. They have small, solid stool, and they don't have chronic ear or anal gland problems. Their teeth are beautiful.

For the grain-free dry, they get either Wellness Core (Ocean or Original), Fromm's Surf & Turf, Merrick Before Grain (chicken or buffalo), or Nature's Variety Instinct (chicken, rabbit, or duck).

Their raw food, when I "make my own," might include a mixture of whatever I find at the grocery store. Raw chicken parts (including necks, backs, wings, etc.), liver, ground turkey, ground beef or bison, gizzards, cottage cheese, yogurt, dark leafy greens, sweet potato, cranberry, carrot, whole egg... use your imagination!

But I don't cook for myself, so I don't make my own raw food that often. I prefer to rely on the prepared frozen or dehydrated raw diets. We use Nature's Variety (chicken, lamb, beef, rabbit, buffalo), Primal (duck, pheasant), or Bravo (chicken, turkey, or lamb) as far as raw frozen foods are concerned. The dehydrated raw by Honest Kitchen or Sojos are also big hits. Honest Kitchen Force, Embark, and Keen are often used, or the Sojos Complete.

These raw foods usually get a sprinkling of one of the kibbles, and any supplements the dogs might be taking, such as joint support.

I never offer the same raw or dry food/variety two bags or packages in a row. Today it might be Honest Kitchen Embark with a sprinkle of Fromm's Surf & Turf. When that's gone, it might be Sojos Complete with a bit of Wellness Core Ocean.

I don't give a lot of treats. I like the Stella & Chewy's Carnivore Crunch (beef, duck, or chicken), or the Stella & Chewy's freeze dried "steaks" in different varieties. Treats from your own table are okay, as long as they're not too fatty or heavily seasoned (yes, salt is a seasoning), and are not too frequent. Since I know I'm feeding my dogs very, very well, I find it easier to make my food "mine," and off limits other than an occasional special treat. It doesn't stop them from breathing hot doggy breath on my knee while I'm eating, but with three big, drooly dogs, I'd never get to eat any of my own meals if I start sharing.

If your dog still has digestive problems, we can look at adding a probiotic or other enteric support to the diet. But the truth is that a dog who is transitioned to a varied diet (especially raw) has a much stronger digestive constitution. He won't be as likely to become ill if (when!) he finds an entire, delicious, vulnerable, unguarded pizza in the kitchen. He is also getting a broad range of nutrients, adding to his overall wellness.

And - honestly! - it makes feeding them a lot more fun... for both of you!

Free Vet Advice - Click Here!

2009-12-16T06:00:00.003-06:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

Double-digit unemployment. Gotta love it!

The number of people calling for free vet advice is increasing along with the unemployment figures. My staff regularly tries to explain to people why it's just not a good idea for us to give free advice about sick pets over the phone. It's like calling the pediatrician's office, refusing to bring your sick child in (you can't afford it, he doesn't travel well, or you just live too far away), but demanding to speak to one of the doctors because you only have a couple of questions about your child's condition.

I don't think it's appropriate for me to give you a whole lot of information about how I would treat your sick pet without even being able to see it, examine it, and review its previous medical records. So many people helpfully say at this juncture, "I can send you the records, and then you can just tell me what you think!"

No. Here's what I think. Pick a veterinarian. Pay them for their services, including a good, thorough physical exam, and follow their recommendations. If things don't work out, let them know, ask them for different solutions, whatever.

Your veterinarian truly cares about your pet. Okay, that's a wild generalization, but most of us do. We care if our treatments work, we care about whether our patients are getting better or not, we lie awake at night wondering if we did the right thing, or if we did all we could have.

When you call just to get some quick advice about your critically ill pet that you feel you cannot afford to have seen, you are putting your vet out of business. Then who ya gonna call?

Vaccine Crazy

2009-12-10T15:33:00.003-06:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

As I go along in practice, I am becoming more and more anti-vaccine. It amazes me how often I see animals that have been diagnosed with some dread condition - cancer, lupus, Cushing's disease, diabetes, chronic renal failure - who are then vaccinated, because they are "due." As if all is well. As if the immunity provoked by vaccines magically wears off by the assigned "expiration date." As if, when sick with a chronic or immune mediated condition (allergies, urinary tract infections, hypothyroidism, epilepsy), the immune system is not already busy/messed up/dysfunctional, and therefore may not respond at all or may respond unpredictably to the vaccines.

Then there are the "shot clinics" where unsuspecting pet owners can get their pets vaccinated for cheap. Why? Because there's no physical exam, people! That's right; your pet is getting vaccines without anybody looking at it first to make sure it is healthy enough to tolerate vaccination! What a bargain!

This is the whole point of the twice-yearly exams that we do at our hospital - to evaluate the health of your pet, to determine if any adjustments in care are necessary, and to truly act preventatively, rather than giving a bunch of vaccines and then lying to pet owners and telling them "these will keep your pet healthy!" No, they won't. Because that's not what vaccines are for. Vaccines are meant to provoke the immune system into developing immunity - sometimes very limited immunity - to very specific disease organisms. Some vaccines are better at this task than others, and that's a whole different topic.

Why do most veterinarians persist in this regrettable practice? Because of a lack of perceived harm. In other words, vaccines might prevent disease and don't cause any damage, so why not? Plus it gets the pet in the door every year for that all important physical exam. My approach is that my clients are not stupid. They easily understand the value of the physical exam and the potential harm of vaccination, and are quite capable of making the right choice.

A Bright Spot In Every Day

2009-12-02T09:50:00.003-06:00

One of the reasons it's so much fun to come to work! The office is always full of animals. There are usually at least 3-4 dogs, and the clinic cats come and go as well. This clip is practice manager Lori's 10 year old Great Pyrenees mix, Ozark, playing with Dr. White's 5 month old Mini Australian Shepherd puppy, Murphy. This will go on all day! It makes it really hard to be in a bad mood when you're surrounded by this much cuteness!

(Ozark and Murphy take a break to pose for a picture. If it's possible for them to be any cuter, we can't figure out how!)

Dr. White's Trip North

2009-11-16T10:21:00.002-06:00

In October, Dr. Cara White attended the Waggalot Dog Lover's Weekend at the Gunflint Lodge in Grand Marais. Below is the Fox 9 news story about the event. Dr. White had a fantastic time, as did her greyhounds Ziggy and Brick, and her Mini-Australian Shepherd puppy, Murphy!

Why Take The Risk?

2009-07-01T13:31:00.002-05:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam, Practice Manager)

This is the time of year when many families employ a lawn treatment service. Most of us want – or are under pressure from neighbors to have – a lush, vividly green, weed-free yard. Unfortunately, there is almost no way to achieve this without the use of chemicals.

The lawn treatment companies advertise the safety of the chemicals they use. They even put giant pictures of Golden Retrievers and Dalmatians on the sides of their trucks. They tell customers that the lawn is perfectly safe for pets once the chemicals have dried.

I absolutely do not believe this.

These chemicals are toxic. They kill foliage. They interfere with seed germination. They circumvent the natural life cycle of the plants they eliminate and the insects that inhabit those plants. I don’t care if the chemicals are wet and soaking your pet’s pads and fur, or if it is dry and leaving only traces of residue.

It is poison.

I can’t cite studies or specific research, but I do have – on most days – a certain amount of common sense. I can also give you some unofficial “research,” which much to my shame and dismay was unintentionally conducted on my own dogs.

When we moved into our first house in 1990, we had two Cocker Spaniels, Flash and Porsche. In 1991, we added another Cocker, Cricket. In 1994, we got my beloved Golden Retriever, Ripley. We lived in that house until June of 1996, and we used a well-known lawn service the entire time. Many times throughout the spring and summer, the technicians pulled their big truck with the picture of the puppy on the side into our driveway, hooked up their hoses, and saturated our lawn with chemicals to kill the dandelions and crab grass, as well as to fertilize the lawn itself.

We had a beautiful yard. Our dogs ran, played, and rolled in it, always after the treatment had dried. They ate grass and licked their paws. They ate bugs and who-knows-what-else that they found outside. They lay in the shade under the maple trees.

We moved to Minnesota in 1996, and never once used a chemical lawn treatment after our relocation. But let me tell you the fates of the dogs who lived for so many years with a poisoned yard.

Porsche died suddenly at the age of 12 due to an immune-mediated blood disorder. Cricket died at the age of 11, due to a similar disorder. Cricket had also suffered from seizures since she was six months old, and had glaucoma. She was blind by the age of 5. I can’t directly tie the blindness to chemical exposure, but I can sure make a good case for the seizures and both dogs’ immune-mediated blood disorders.

Flash made it a bit longer, until the age of 13. However, he spent the final 5 years of his life suffering with Cushing’s Disease, which is a malfunction of the adrenal gland. He lost most of his hair and muscle mass, and was a shadow of his former self. As this is again a defect of the immune system, I can see a probable connection with the chemicals.

My Ripley died of hemangiosarcoma, a fast-moving cancer of the blood vessels. Again… chemicals used in lawn care may have been responsible.

No, I can’t say beyond doubt that lawn chemicals caused the diseases and disorders that took my dogs’ lives. But given the following evidence, it’s enough proof for me, and I will never, ever use any sort of chemical on my yard.

I’ve had numerous other dogs since moving to Minnesota, and none of them have ever been exposed to lawn chemicals while in my care. Seko and Sprocket, both Golden Retrievers, lived to 14 and 16 years old, and both were ultimately euthanized due to structural degeneration in the rear quarters. Despite all the supplements and supportive care they received, the eventual physical breakdown of a large-breed dog is almost inevitable, if they live long enough. I do not associate this in any way with chemical exposure.

Gulliver, a Great Pyrenees mix, died abruptly from what was believed to be a brain aneurysm. This was probably a congenital defect, and I cannot see any connection to toxins.

Ruxpin, a Golden Retriever, also died rapidly from an antibiotic-resistant staph infection and had nothing to do with the absence or presence of chemicals.

I currently have three dogs. Ozark is a 10 year old Great Pyrenees mix, Darwin is a five year old Golden Retriever, and Brody is a four year old Great Pyrenees. None of them have any health concerns whatsoever.

No, this is not conclusive evidence. But I can say that there is a high degree of likelihood that all four dogs who were raised on chemically-treated lawns died of things that were associated with that chemical exposure… and there is a very low likelihood that chemicals had anything to do with the symptoms or illnesses seen in the dogs I’ve had since I stopped allowing lawn chemicals to be used. My chemical-free dogs have enjoyed overall better health during the course of their lives, and their deaths were not hastened in any way because of toxins.

I understand that there are other factors that have contributed to my chemical-free dogs’ health. I began feeding my dogs a lot better about ten years ago, a combination of raw and super-premium dry foods. I also have refused to vaccinate any dog once it comes into my care. I know these are beneficial changes in their overall lifestyles, just as I know that banning lawn chemicals from their environment is.

And that’s good enough for me.

We determined long ago that the yard belongs to the dogs. Really, how yard-proud can you be if you have dogs? Their urine leaves spots in the grass, they dig holes, and they construct their own motocross courses around the fence line. Am I so worried about the appearance of a hunk of grass that I am willing to deny my dogs the pleasures of their own yard? And is the need for a green, fluffy lawn so important that I’m willing to risk my dogs’ health? The evidence may not be proven to the nth-degree, but my common sense and years of monitoring my dogs’ health tells me that soaking my yard in chemicals isn’t good for them.

And it’s probably not good for children, either.

Whose Decision Is It, Anyway?

2009-06-29T07:00:00.002-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

Okay, so veterinarians have been over-vaccinating animals for years. A lot of health problems and serious diseases are caused by vaccines. Many animals suffer severe reactions or even die after vaccination. It's all true.

In spite of this, I think that blasting veterinarians as the sole source of over-vaccination is overrated. How many times have I been forced against my better judgment to vaccinate an animal because the boarding kennel, the groomer, or the trainer required that the pet have "all his shots" before setting paw in their establishment? In order to take your dog to PetCo for a $5 nail trim, you have to prove that all the vaccines are up to date.

Any pet catalog will sell you any animal vaccine you want, and you can vaccinate your own pet as often as you please. In some states, the vaccines are available for purchase at farm stores or feed mills. State and municipal laws require boostering of rabies vaccines at predetermined intervals, regardless of what science tells us about post-vaccination duration of immunity.

Veterinarians play a decreasingly important role in deciding what gets done to animals and why. Yes, we're the ones conducting the research, but the information is not being disseminated to the wider public. In the past, we put so much time and effort into brainwashing people into believing that their pets would die without their annual shots, that now we've created an uncontrollable monster.

Some veterinarians may feel that if they don't follow the manufacturer's recommendation for that annual booster that they will expose themselves to legal attack. There have also been articles in the veterinary literature claiming that if I use a vaccine labeled for booster in a year, but I tell my client that it's good for three years, that I am putting my license at risk.

Hello, fellow veterinarians. We are professionals. We are highly educated. We have brains, and we can think. Can we regain control of this situation and put a stop to this nonsense? I fear that as a profession we are losing our credibility. The American Veterinary Medical Association has not shown the strong leadership I had hoped when I joined that organization. Veterinarians end up being blown around by the latest trends instead of taking a stand and upholding ourselves as the medical professionals we are.

Do day care employees determine the vaccination schedule of the children in their care? I think not.

It Doesn't Hurt

2009-06-26T09:26:00.002-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

I love it when people say that they know their pet is not in pain. The dog who is three-legged lame, the cat hiding in the closet, the horse who refuses a jump, whose owners all announce, "He doesn't seem to be in pain. Yeah, he's limping, hasn't eaten in three days, and his eye is squinted shut and crusty, but he seems to feel fine!"

Look at the person next to you in line at the bank, on the next treadmill over at the gym, in the checkout line at the grocery store. What do you think? Are they just starting to get a migraine, having really bad period cramps, or holding in a fart? Guess what - YOU CAN'T TELL!

Why the heck would we think we know what our pets are feeling? Are we a nation of animal communicators? (And don't even get me started on that topic!) Are we all psychic? Have we all dropped so much acid that now we can see auras? Not likely!

Bottom line, we have no idea what any person or animal is feeling. All we can base our assumptions on is what is thought to be normal for that animal or that species. When dogs are not in pain, they use all their limbs equally. When cats feel good, they are friendly and active. When horses feel limber and flexible, they take the jump with ease and confidence. And even these assumptions will get us fooled sometimes.

Farewell To A Friend

2008-11-13T09:50:00.003-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

It’s always hard to lose a precious pet. It’s pretty much part of the deal we make with ourselves when we get them, and we spend their lives not thinking about the day they’ll be gone. I had to go through that (again) myself just two days ago.

My 15-year-old golden retriever, Sprocket, went to the proverbial Rainbow Bridge on Tuesday. He was my first foster dog for Retrieve A Golden of Minnesota in 1997. He was 4 years old at the time. When the family I’d chosen for him changed their minds at the last minute, I knew he was meant to stay with us, and he did, for 11 years.

Sprocket was a sweet, willing boy. He took the blue ribbon in his obedience class, and worked with me and his golden-brother, Ripley, as a Therapy Dog for several years. He loved our annual trip up north to a lakeside cabin, where he could ride in a boat, swim, fetch, and roll in the pine needles. He was a very agreeable dog, never wanted to make trouble or be in the way, and enjoyed the occasional sip from my wine glass. He was the tug-of-war champion of the world, and liked to sneak up on the other dogs when they were busy and “stealth sniff” them.

15 is really old for golden retrievers. Sprocket had always been a very healthy dog, aside from all the times he’d “accidentally” swallow bits of a toy, or a sock, or a wash cloth, get lots of x-rays and narrowly avoid exploratory surgery. His problem the last several years had been progressive loss of nerve and muscle function to his hind quarters.

I know that we were able to keep him for at least a couple of years longer than might have been expected, thanks to feeding him raw food, and providing him with great Standard Process whole food supplements, joint support, and herbal pain treatments. He benefitted from chiropractic care, acupuncture, and Healing Touch for Animals ™. But, ultimately, the progression of his condition could no longer be managed.

It was only in the past month or two that I had to resort to giving him prescription pain medications. I’m adamant about not giving any of my dogs unnecessary prescription drugs, and this includes antibiotics, steroids, and NSAIDs. While they might suppress a symptom, making the dog appear better, they can cause just as many problems as they alleviate.

He’d been just chugging along, declining slowly but hanging in there. Then, on Monday, I arrived home and found him sprawled spread-eagle on the kitchen floor, urine and stool around him, a sopping mess. He couldn’t get up on the slate floor. I got him up, and managed to get all 80 pounds of him into the tub to clean him up. (And then I broke down a bit.) When my husband got home, we spent a nice evening with him, baby-gated in the bedroom to keep the other dogs from disturbing us. He fed Sprocket pizza and M&Ms (not good, but at that point it hardly mattered). We knew that in the next several days we would have to make a very tough decision.

Never wanting to be a problem, Sprocket made the decision for us. The next morning, he couldn’t stand up at all. I hoisted him upright, but he didn’t have enough control of his rear legs to stay that way. So, it was time.

Afterwards, I was so grateful that I still have Brody (3 year old Great Pyrenees), Ozark (9 year old Pyr/Golden mix) and Darwin (4 year old golden). All the years I’ve worked in the veterinary business, I’ve worried about people with only one dog. How awful it must be to go home to an empty house, after saying goodbye to your only dog.

I even worry about the people with just two dogs. I feel sad for the “only dog” who is left. I’m definitely a “pack animal,” and insist that I’ll always have at least three dogs, though my husband thinks two might be better. We have three now, of course, and that’s a tiny pack for us. In the 12 ½ years we’ve been in this house, we’ve been “over the limit” of three dogs for all but March-November of 2007. We’ve had as many as seven at one time. I don’t think I could do that anymore, but I do love my three-dog pack. I just wish we were still “four.”

I’ve counseled people for years about how to know when it is time to say farewell to their pets. I know all the answers. I tell people to think of two or three things the pet loved more than anything, and whether they can still do/enjoy those things. Do the bad days outnumber the good ones? Is there any realistic expectation that he or she will see improvement in their condition? Finally, look deep into your heart and ask yourself if you’re keeping the pet alive for the pet’s sake, or your own.

Yes, I know the answers… except when I’m the one who has to answer them. Then, I struggle as much as any of you do.

Please keep my Sprocket in your thoughts, as he adjusts to his new existence, where all good dogs go. I’m sure he’s with my Ripley, who went ahead two years ago this month. Ripley took care of him in life, and will do so now. He’s also getting reacquainted with former pack-mates Porsche, Cricket, Flash, Gulliver, Seko and Ruxpin.

Friends keep telling me that Sprocket was lucky to have found us, and maybe that is true. But I know for sure that we were truly, truly fortunate to have found him, and to have had him for 11 wonderful years.

Talking the Talk

2008-11-05T08:47:00.001-06:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

These drug ads on TV just crack me up. The latest insane ad I’ve noticed is for some Rheumatoid Arthritis drug, where a woman exclaims: “I knew Rheumatoid Arthritis could be painful, but I didn’t know it could affect my joints!” What are you, a moron? What did you think “arthritis” meant? When you were diagnosed, did your doctor fail to explain what RA means? Did you fail to ask? It’s a pretty significant disease. I would think any doctor would mention the joint thing. But, you never know. And some people don’t ask.

I spend probably more time than I should bemoaning the state of health education in modern schools. People are either undereducated about health, or self-educated. Granted, how you teach a room full of teenagers anything, I’ll never know. I paid a lot of attention in high school and worked really hard, but only because I knew I wanted to go to vet school. In any case, it didn’t really work for me, and in spite of all my efforts I was a B or C student at best. Some stuff I was good at, like history and languages and reading, and some stuff like math and sciences just failed to make an impression on me.

Of course, the school system was a little wacky, too (aren’t they all). In 11^th or 12^th grade all the teachers went on strike for 3 months. What a deal! It was awesome! And the school year still wrapped up right on time. Oh, yeah, at first there was some whining about “how are we going to fit all this important information into the short time we have left”, but apparently they figured it out.

That’s almost as good as my nephew’s school burning down 2 weeks before summer break. My sister said it was every kid’s dream come true. Apparently a forest fire got a little too close. Luckily it was a weekend, so no one was in class, and in Israel all the buildings are made of stone, so the school wasn’t razed to the ground or anything, but the windows blew out and the walls were blackened. And school was closed for the year.

I’m sure we had some sort of health education in high school, but I can’t remember any of it. We had biology class, and I remember dissecting frozen fish. A gym teacher once told us we knew nothing about our bodies, but then wasn’t inclined to explain it herself.

After vet school, it took me a couple of years to realize that I no longer spoke English. Instead I spoke “medicalese”, and I had to relearn a lost language in order to communicate with my clients. Medicalese was easy for me, because my dad was a doctor and Mom was an English major, and people who visited us used to comment on how my parents spoke “like something out of a book”. Even today, my dad speaks the most grammatically correct Hebrew you’d ever want to hear. No slang in our house!

I try to make medicine as simple and easy to understand as possible. But it’s like trying to speak Spanish to someone whose vocabulary consists of “Una mas cervesa, por favor!” What I need is a cartoon textbook of physiology, a graphic novel of basic health and healing. Anybody out there got one?

(Return to the Whole Health Veterinary Website)

A Seminar Worth Every Penny

2008-10-20T13:37:00.002-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

About three weeks ago, I went to a weekend seminar that was hosted by Standard Process and taught by Dr. Stuart White, a nutritionist and chiropractor from Houston, Texas. I had never been to a Standard Process seminar before. It's hard to drag veterinarians to non-veterinary lectures. We don't have time, we're too busy, and we don't get any continuing education credits for our money, so why go?

I went because I was getting a little burned out at work, and really needed to sit in a hotel room all day and have someone lecture at me. Also, I needed knitting time (it's baby blanket season in my world). And as a kinesthetic learner, knitting really helps me focus on what is being said and taught.

As recent events in my hospital have turned out, my business partner's departure quashed my plans to attend the American Veterinary Medical Association meeting, as well as a course in Fundamentals of Small Animal Osteopathy, and the Veterinary Chiropractic course had to be put on hold, too. So, desperate for education, there I was at the Bloomington Hilton, in a room full of chiropractors, nutritionists, and - surprise! - a veterinarian from Bemidji.

What a day! I learned a ton about nutrition and about Standard Process products, and got a lot more information than I've ever had about how to apply them in practice to really make a difference in my patients' lives. The best part was that Dr. White passed around bottles of supplements and had us take them on the spot, and the immediate changes were dramatic!

Since then, I've started myself on a regimen of Standard Process supplements, which I've been taking twice a day - lots of them. I feel better, my mind is sharper, I can get more stuff done, and I sleep better at night. I've been applying my new understanding to my own pets as well as my patients, and getting better results with my treatments. This seminar was well worth the money!

Living a Healthy Life

2008-09-19T15:17:00.001-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

The other day I was talking to my oldest sister. The topic was people we knew who were getting older and sicker. She discussed the health status of her in-laws, who are in their 80’s and suffer from diabetes, heart disease, and asthma; I brought up my husband’s only surviving grandparent, also in her 80’s, who has diverticulitis and is in an assisted living facility because she is too weak to walk.

My sister, who is 11 years older than I, was concerned that this is the way of the world, as you get older you get sicker, and it somehow seems unavoidable. I reminded her that our father is going to be 81 this year, and is in robust health, thanks to good genetic material and his wife, who monitors his diet a little closer than is comfortable. (Sometimes my siblings and I have to sneak Dad away to his favorite steakhouse, where he is not officially “allowed” to eat by the powers that be.)

On the other hand, he’s always interested in something new, spends summers in Israel and winters in Florida, and periodically sends me emails along the lines of: “We’re on our way to Vienna (or Frankfurt or Aruba), here’s our hotel contact information, etc.”

My lesson from this is that taking care of your own health really does pay off. Good old diet and exercise, as well as maintaining an active and interested mind, will keep us alive and healthy. We are lucky to have Dad as an example of how to do it right. Plus, we hope we got the good genes, too.

So there we were being all self-righteous, when we remembered that Mom’s been dead for 15 years. She died of myelofibrosis, which is one of those rare weird things that people die of. Not hereditary, as far as I know, and she lived several years with a disease that has a dire prognosis. She also quit smoking, watched her weight, read like a maniac, knitted like crazy, traveled the world, and never cooked the same thing twice.

Better clean up my act, before it’s too late.

Your Dog Doesn't Fear Raw Food, So You Shouldn't Either!

2008-09-10T12:42:00.002-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

Just recently I’ve read a couple of books which, while decrying the pet food industry and the health impact of feeding processed pet foods, then go on to say, “But I certainly don’t recommend a raw food diet!” Then the discussion begins of what makes a high quality dog food, etc, etc. Which is certainly an important discussion to have, yet why the avoidance of feeding raw food?

There’s always some discussion of whether dogs have evolved past the point of being wolf-like, and are no longer able to tolerate the raw diet of wild carnivores. Let’s be clear: Evolution takes a long, long time. Like tens of thousands of years. Processed pet food has been around for less than 100 years. No, dogs have not evolved into processed-food-eaters. It just ain’t so.

Dogs in the wild, while adept at catching mice and birds, are largely scavengers. The lions, hyenas, cheetahs, etc, do the bulk of the large-game hunting, and the dogs clean up the left-overs, often days later. Yes, dogs are made (or have evolved) to eat road kill.

This is what I love about dogs! They’re so adaptable, so opportunistic, so varied in their repertoire of things they can eat/pass through their intestines/digest. This is why they’re man’s best friend! Man trashes the planet, and dogs eat the trash!

When dogs are fed unnatural (processed) diets, disease results. Dogs do not naturally have delicate digestive systems, inflammatory bowel disease, food allergies, etc. These problems are induced by human actions upon the planet, which leaves us stuck in this 1950’s white bread, white rice, better-living-through-chemistry mindset.

People, of course, should not eat all processed foods, either. It induces disease in us, too. People should not suffer from delicate digestion, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, stomach cancer, diverticulitis, heartburn, gastric reflux, etc.

I encourage my clients to have courage, learn about feeding raw foods, and dive in! It's not nearly as hard as most people think! There is a ton of information available these days, both online and in books, about how to do it. The plethora of premixed raw foods on the market make it even easier to do right by our dogs.

Don’t be afraid to try it! You and your dogs will love the results!

News and Updates

2008-08-12T09:02:00.001-05:00

Since you’re reading this blog, you are aware that there are big changes taking place! Central Bird & Animal Hospital is now Whole Health Veterinary, which we feel better reflects our focus on holistic care for your pets. We had been planning this name change for some time, but it came about a little sooner than expected when our avian/reptile veterinarian left the practice. Since we are no longer seeing birds, having “Bird” in the name of the clinic was no longer accurate.

Changing the name of a business sounds fairly simple. You just fill out the correct paperwork and send the fee to the state, and voila! But then you realize that there are countless details that must be addressed. New business cards, magnets and brochures. New signs and awnings. New website. Mass-mailings and phone calls to clients. Notifying our vendors. New email addresses. New on-hold recordings and voice mail messages. It was even a big procedure to change the clinic name in our practice management software.

Over the past month, all of that has fallen into place or is coming along, and we’re getting used to our new identity. As if that weren’t enough, we have other exciting things happening at Whole Health Veterinary as well!

Today, we are getting a new state-of-the-art digital x-ray system installed! Our antique x-ray machine had been on its last leg for a long time, but the process of selecting a system and making all the arrangements for purchase, installation and training kept the project on the back burner. This new system will provide much higher quality images in a shorter amount of time, and we’ll be able to copy images onto CD or email them to other veterinarians if needed.

Also, this week Dr. Cara White will be attending the 5^th International Symposium on Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy in Veterinary Medicine. As a certified Veterinary Chiropractor, the information being presented at this conference with be extremely relevant and applicable in the care she provides our patients.

Later this month, Shari, one of our Veterinary Assistants, will be attending the two-day animal communication workshop presented by Carol Gurney, the creator of the HeartTalk ® program. Shari is already a Level II Healing Touch for Animals ™ practitioner, with amazing sensitivity to the physical and emotional state of animals. We know she will get a lot out of this training, enabling her to use her skills and intuition to an even greater extent in the treatment of your pets.

The Dangers of Modern Drugs

2008-08-04T11:48:00.003-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

This past week I had an eye-opener, and not a friendly one. A commonly used drug in veterinary medicine, one that I had dispensed thousands of times over my 11-year career (so far), caused an unusual, life-threatening reaction in one of my patients.

This happens periodically in the practice of medicine. Not often, but when it does happen, it sure makes me sit up and take notice.

Now, granted, out of all the animals I've treated with this drug, one of them having a bad reaction is a very, very small fraction of a percentage. But it serves as a reminder to me that drugs, on the whole, are not safe.

This is the kind of thing that prompts me to continue to pursue natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals. Of course, I am aware that not everything labeled "natural" is safe, either.

What to do, in this dilemma, but to help my adversely affected patient as best I can, and proceed with extreme caution? This is not the only bad reaction I've seen recently, and certainly every day in practice I am called upon to treat a myriad of conditions that are the result of bad reactions to diet, vaccines, and conventional medical treatments.

For myself, it's a good thing I have an autodidactic nature, as there's nowhere to learn what to do or what can happen sometimes - except in the school of real life.

But what a way to learn, through the suffering of others. It is easy to forget that with all conventional drugs a certain amount of risk is considered "acceptable". What a bummer for my patients.

Over vaccination (why less is more)

2008-05-02T12:16:00.004-05:00

(by Dr. Cara White)
I have not written a blog before so as they say ' there's never a good time like the present.' I was giving a talk to the Miniature Schnauzer Club last evening and when I brought up the topic of vaccines there seemed to be a lot of questions regarding what protocol is right for their pet. I know when clients come to see us they get a lot of information and handouts regarding diet and nutrition but we haven't put one together as of yet regarding the problems of over-vaccinating your pet.
By now most people are aware of the acute vaccine reactions that can occur in their pets such as swelling at the site of injection, loss of appetite, vomiting, lethargy or even anaphylaxis but there are many more reactions that can occur 1,2,3 or more months after getting a 'shot'.
In a study done by the Vaccine Research Group at Purdue University in 1997 they found that vaccines might trigger dogs immune systems to attack their own bodies potentially causing a number of diseases such as Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia or Thrombocytopenia (destruction of red blood cells or platelets), chronic active hepatitis (inflammation of liver), Systemic Lupus Erythamatosus (inflammation and destruction of tissues), thyroiditis and other organ destruction.
Vaccines also cause inflammation, not only at the injection site but throughout the body.This can lead to arthritis, exacerbation of allergies or potential inflammation of the nervous system and can lead to nerve paralysis.
So how do we avoid these side effects? Another study published by Purdue in 2005 did find a correlation between vaccine reactions and other variables such as age , size and number of vaccines given.

Smaller dogs are more prone to vaccine reactions than larger dogs
Risk of reactions increased by 27% per each additional vaccine given per office visit in dogs under 22 lbs, and by 12% in dogs over 22 lbs.
Risk increased for dogs up to 2 years old then declined after.
Risk increased for pregnant dogs or dogs in heat.
Also more reactions were found in small dogs given Leptospirosis vaccine.

In a 2007 Vaccine Forum presented by Dr. Alice Wolf and Dr. Richard Ford they included updated duration of immunity information for the most common vaccines which reads minimum duration of immunity for Distemper/ Parvovirus and Adenovirus (modified live vaccine) is 5-7+ years. Also the Rabies vaccines have a duration of immunity of 3+ years. There is absolutely NO BENEFIT to immunize an animal that already has immunity to a virus. This will not add extra protection to your pet, in fact this may compound the bad effects of vaccines.

In looking out for the overall health of your animal you should advocate for fewer vaccines over the life of your pet with decreasing or eliminating certain vaccines as your pet ages.

Puppies should ONLY receive 1 vaccine at each visit and monitored for any reactions afterwards.
DO NOT re-vaccinate any dog that has had a serious life threatening vaccine reaction.
Vaccinate ONLY when your dog is healthy and free of skin/ ear infections, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, fever, has had or is currently being treated for ANY immune mediated disease or cancer.
Talk to your vet about what vaccines are necessary and do ONLY the vaccines that are absolutely needed.
DO NOT patronize any boarding facility, groomer or training facility that requires you to vaccinate your pet more than it needs.
We recommend not giving dogs under 22lbs any more than 1 vaccine per visit.

Don't get me wrong, there are benefits to having your dog vaccinated against common viruses and Rabies, it is just not necessary to give these vaccines on a yearly basis. We as humans get our childhood immunizations then are essentially good for life, the same should be said for our dogs.

So I hope this helps make sense as to why we as holistic veterinarians wish to minimize the sad effects of over vaccination in our pets and to educate you in order to be an advocate for your own pets health.

My Dogs Are Great. Please Help Me!

2008-01-10T10:25:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

On the upside, Brody and Darwin seem to have reached a truce, or at least a cease-fire, and I haven't had to check either of them for bloody puncture wounds in about three weeks. I'm still not sure if this is their doing, or if I'm just getting better at managing it. Either way, no Tasmanian-Devil-style go-rounds and lack of impending bodily harm equals "good."

Brody used to be my "problem barker." He's a Great Pyrenees, which is a livestock guardian breed, and in fact his parents are working livestock guardians on an Arabian horse farm in Illinois. His job, as he sees it, is to patrol the yard for extended periods of time, and bark at any person, dog, squirrel, cat, leaf, cloud, shadow, or invisible ninja he sees (or imagines). The good part, inasmuch as there is one, is that there are long periods of patrol and observation in between barking jags. He is selectively deaf when outside, and at this moment has been outside since 6:30 AM (and it is now 10:53 AM) and is currently barking in the general direction of a tree which may or may not contain a squirrel.

Amazingly, he is no longer the reigning Bark King of the immediate neighborhood. That honor now belongs to Darwin, the three year old rescued golden who joined our family on November 21. I've had six goldens, and none of them have been dedicated barkers. Sure, they'd bark once in a while (actually, Seko's bark was more like a whinny, which was comical coming from such a regal senior male golden), but none of them seemed to make a hobby of it.

I should have had a clue when, while visiting Darwin at his foster home, he barked for thirty solid minutes at the German Shepherd who was there with Foster Mom's brother. But hey, he was excited and really wanted to play. He did that when he came to our family, too, barking at Brody to get him to play... which was a big part of Brody's animosity toward him in the beginning. Apparently Darwin the Golden doesn't know how to bark in "Pyrish." He may have inadvertently barked something offensive, but I'm not sure because Ozark, who is a Pyr/Lab mix and presumably fluent in Pyrish and probably at least conversant in Goldenese, refuses to translate.

Outside, when Brody and Ozark were wrestling, Darwin would bounce and bark in an effort to get into the game. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Which, I think, is when the problem began. We have a large yard, two acres in a subdivision that used to be in the middle of a corn field but is now bordering on Strip Mall Central. We are two houses off a two-lane county road with moderate traffic. The chain link fence between our yard and the neighbor between us and the road is now Darwin's personal racetrack. He has discovered the cars that pass by every couple of seconds, and has decided that if Brody and Ozark are too busy to play, the cars are an acceptable alternative. He runs the fence, barking maniacally at his new "friends," (or maybe they're enemies... he's not been forthcoming on the subject) and chases them away. But wait! There's another one! "BARKBARKBARKBARKBARK!!!!!!!!!! Ha! Chicken! Run away! Next!!! Coming from the other direction, huh? Thought you could sneak up on me? BARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARK!" He's run the fence so much that the snow there is now compacted into a narrow, Darwin-width glacier, and in the spring I'm sure it will turn into a muddy trench.

I'm nearly immune to barking. At least big-dog barking. Little yappy-dog barking still gets on my nerves, but I don't have any little dogs, so that's not a big problem in my world. My stress and irritation come because I have always gone out of my way not to impose my dogs on others in the immediate vicinity who may not be as devoted to dogs as I am. So when he starts barking, my tension level begins to rise, worrying that someone in the house next door might be sleeping, nursing a hangover headache, or trying to do some other domestic task that would best be accomplished with some QUIET.

One option would be to shut the gate in the fence that surrounds our back door, deck, patio and pool, thus denying him (and out of necessity the other dogs) access to the rest of the big back yard. That puts another tall wooden privacy fence between him and his view of the road. The downside to this is that he would soon begin to make frequent trips (and potty stops) on the top of the snow-and-ice-covered in-ground pool cover. This is not a big issue right now, but much more problematic as it begins to thaw. Hauling a soaking, freezing dog out after he falls through slushy ice is Not Fun. And yes, I do know this first-hand. Plus, when spring arrives, much poop would have to be scooped and/or pumped off the pool cover turned canine septic tank. Also Not Fun. Even if it's not on the actual pool cover, a winter's worth of large dog droppings in the mulchy area around the pool is also undesirable (or so says my husband, who is the designated poop-scooper, mainly because it bothers him way more than it does me).

Let me be clear about two things. I will not, under any circumstances either de-bark my dog, or use a shock collar. I'd move us all to a remote Canadian outpost first.

Which still leaves me searching for a solution. Trekking down the Killer Steps of Death (currently covered in three inches of ice) in my floppy boots, dog-hair-covered sweat suit, and parka is something I don't tend to do a lot of in the depths of a Minnesota winter. This makes in-person corrections, rewards or distractions difficult.

So far, I'm considering duct tape, a moat (wait, he's a golden, he'd like that... plus it would be frozen, and therefore not a moat but a slippery road running parallel to the highway, so maybe
I should just get him ice skates), super glue, a paintball gun (that was my husband Tom's idea), a helper monkey (also Tom's idea, but he really just wants a monkey), or perhaps a scud missile. We talked about those ultrasonic things you mount on the fence, that make an "unpleasant to dogs" sound when something loud happens near them, but he'd never hear the "unpleasant to dogs" sound over his own bark. A citronella collar sounds like a good possibility. At least he'd smell all herbally. The helper monkey would probably enjoy that. Wonder what frozen citronella is like around a dog's neck/chin, though.

I've always been a dog-person, managing multi-dog packs successfully. Given time, I usually work out any behavior issues we encounter, but this one has me stumped at the moment. Every time I yell at Darwin, Ozark (all 110 pounds of him) gets nervous and flings himself under the end table, where he really does not fit, considering all the junk I have stuffed under there. 14-year-old Sprocket is kind of deaf, making him the luckiest one here, as he is largely immune to both the barking and the yelling.

If any of you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Provided I haven't been barked deaf. So you'd better hurry. In the meantime, I will be learning to read lips so I can communicate with the Realtor who will sell me my remote Canadian outpost.

I Cry At Dog Shows

2008-01-07T12:23:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

I admit it. I cry at dog shows.

Part of this is me just being sappy. I so totally and deeply adore dogs, and seeing so many wonderful, cheerful, well cared-for dogs makes me happy right to the center of my being.

While I might be sentimental when it comes to dogs, I’m not completely naïve. I know that there are some dogs at these events that are of more financial than emotional concern to their owners. I know some of these dogs travel extensively with their professional handlers and may seldom see their actual “owners.” (Not that the handlers don’t love and take great care of these dogs… they do, or they wouldn’t be making a successful living as a handler) These are, thankfully, the exceptions. In general, there are caring owners present handling, or at least cheering on, their much-loved canine companions.

We don’t advocate prolific breeding of purebred dogs, but the majority of the owners at big shows like the Land O’Lakes Kennel Club Dog Show that we attended over the weekend are at least trying to do things responsibly. This means doing something with their dogs to make sure they are good, healthy representatives of their breed, including comparing them to other dogs, doing appropriate health testing, and following a carefully planned (and not too frequent) breeding program. They are careful where they place their “pet quality” dogs, and follow up often with the families who have their dogs. The people who regularly show their dogs pay close attention to diet, exercise, grooming and socialization. These dogs work with their people every single day, which is the most important thing to the dogs. Many “show” dogs are anything but spoiled, pampered, foo-foo pseudo-dogs. They often have obedience, agility, field, tracking or other work-related accomplishments.

My favorite part of these large shows, however, is the obedience competition. Back in 1995-1996, I competed in AKC Obedience with my first golden retriever, Ripley. From the time he was four months old, we trained every single day (except when he had to take a break at six months old for hip surgery) and never missed our weekly training class. Ripley and I had an incredible unspoken bond. I was a rookie handler, he was an untitled dog, and while we never took high score, we did qualify every time we competed, and earned his Companion Dog title. He would have gone on for more advanced titles… if I’d asked him to. But I knew my boy, and he was doing it because it was important to me; he didn’t really enjoy it that much, so we “retired.” You can tell, watching the more advanced Open and Utility level obedience that those dogs love what they’re doing, and the working relationship between dog and handler is amazing.

I watched a woman and her red golden retriever in Novice A, which is the rookie/rookie level that I was in with my Ripley. I sat there with tears in my eyes the whole time they were in the ring. The handler was so nervous, and I could completely relate! Before they entered the ring, he sat by her side and she was fondling his ears in exactly the same way I used to with Ripley. The dog was happy, and trying hard, but they were both too inexperienced to give a perfect performance. He lagged when he should be heeling, his “sit” was slow and crooked, and he often got distracted. Still, the joy they got from working this way together was obvious, and I was reminded of the fun I had with Ripley. Now I am thinking I need to get back into obedience with one of my dogs. Three year old Darwin? He’s a golden, and bright, and would likely take to it very well. 2 ½ year old Brody is a smart boy, too, but he’s a Great Pyrenees, and might have other things he’d rather do! 8 year old Ozark is a mixed breed, but I bet he’d still enjoy going to classes and training with me at home, even if he can’t go to competitions.

So that’s something for me to think about as spring (hopefully) approaches. My dogs are with me constantly when I’m at home, all four of them following me from room to room and setting up camp wherever I am, but actually doing something with them again would only enhance our bond.

The other part about dog shows is… shopping! I always buy way, way too much stuff that I simply can’t live without! This weekend I bought a denim jacket (with golden retrievers embroidered on it), a dog tapestry purse, a silver paw print necklace, and a tiara. Don’t ask about the tiara!

Adventures in Raw Feeding

2007-12-24T08:38:00.000-06:00

(contributed by Lori Whitwam)

I have four dogs, ranging in weight from 65 to 110 pounds, and all of them are fed at least 50% raw. Sprocket, the 14 year old golden, gets 90% raw, using the Honest Kitchen (Force or Embark) because you rehydrate it with warm water, and all his supplements mix into it really well. Plus, he loves it, and at his age it is extra-important for him to eat well. The other three (Brody the Pyr, Ozark the Pyr mix, and Darwin the golden) get 1/2 raw and 1/2 Nature's Variety, Wellness or Merrick dry. Still, the expense of feeding this many BIG dogs raw food, even with employee discounts and manufacturer-sponsored sales programs, was becoming a concern. The pre-made Nature's Variety frozen raw food cost me anywhere from $1.93 to over $3 a pound, and I feed two pounds of raw a day. I know the importance of raw food in their diet, but how to keep doing this, and not end up in the poor house?

I don't cook. If I had my way, my house wouldn't have a kitchen at all, just a hotline to every place in town that delivers. Oh, and a really great bathroom. But the answer to making my dogs' raw food more affordable was (deep breath)... make it myself.

I have to say, I'm just starting out in this endeavor. I've recently joined Midwest BARF Buyers (a raw meat-buying co-op), so in January I should be able to order large quantities of pre-ground (with bone) raw meat at a great price, provided I can find someone to pick it up for me. The pick-up is on Wednesdays, in the middle of the day, when I have to be at work.

So for now, it's just me and the local grocery store. I went shopping yesterday for Batch #2, checking to see what was on sale. I ended up buying:
5# tube of high-fat ground beef (it was on sale for $6)
3# of ground turkey (about $1.38/lb)
1.5# of chicken gizzards (cheap!)
1# of chicken liver (also cheap!)
1# of cottage cheese
carrots
parsley
a sweet potato
cranberries
green beans

I ground the gizzards, liver, fruit and vegetables, added it to the ground beef and turkey, also pulverized 4 raw eggs (including shell), added some garlic, some Missing Link Plus and fish oil, put on my Playtex Living Gloves and mushed it all around in my giant turkey-roasting pan (as if I ever roast a turkey) like the world's biggest meatloaf, then it was time to make it into portions. Brody, Ozark and Darwin each have two Gladware containers, and I used my $5 kitchen scale to measure out their individual portions. Brody's portions also get a Chondro-Flex joint support in the middle (like a special treat!), and Darwin's portions get a scoop of Standard Process Canine Immune Support. Within about 1/2 hour, I had a week's worth of raw food for all three of them!

Another added benefit is that it makes it easier for my husband to feed them at 5:00 AM. He's the first up in the morning, and believe me that feeding the dogs better be the FIRST thing that happens every morning! Now all he has to do is give them each one of their patties and a cup of the dry food, and it's set. Their supplements are already in there.

I'm not happy with the limited protein choices (ground beef, ground turkey, chicken or beef livers) at the grocery store. I'm also looking at tripe and chittlings (EW, intestines, but dogs love it), but am looking forward to having the increased options from the buying group. This way I will be able to feed other proteins such as lamb at an affordable price. There are other places you can get things like rabbit and wild-caught beaver, but that will be an occasional purchase, as it would drive my cost per pound up quite a bit.

The two batches I've made so far have cost around $1.30/lb! That is at least 60 cents less than my least expensive option in the "pre-made raw frozen" products, and less than HALF of many of the choices! By spending a half hour to an hour once a week, I've found I'm able to feed all my "Big Boys" the food I know is best for them, and make it more affordable, too!

The next step? Buying a good grinder that can manage to grind chicken and turkey wings, necks and backs. Bone is an important part of the canine diet, and my food processor made it QUITE clear that chopping up bone was Not In Its Job Description. By the way, the food processor was a gift from my mother-in-law about five years ago. After 25 years in the family, you'd think she'd be aware that cooking is not something I do, but now I have a weekly use for it! The dogs! (Don't tell her... she'd be horrified!) (OK, tell her... it might be funny!)

Visit the Dog Show!

2007-12-05T13:03:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

We're planning to have a booth at the upcoming Land O'Lakes Kennel Club Dog Show on January 4, 5 and 6 at the River Centre in St. Paul. We haven't really done any events like this, but thought it would be a good way to get out and meet pet-lovers in the community, and also get the word out that we're out here as a holistic option for their pets' care. Plus, we get to spend the day surrounded by a whole bunch of wonderful dogs!

It's also a great opportunity for you to not only meet a lot of wonderful dogs and their trainers, handlers and breeders, but to get a wealth of valuable information, too. Besides the usual "dog show" that many people are familiar with from television, this event also features obedience competition, which is so much fun to watch.

Just think of all the things you can learn! If you want to train your dog, you can ask obedience competitors where they train and what methods they use. If you are considering adding a dog to your family, you can talk to experts in that breed. Besides their extensive knowledge of their breed, they love to "talk dogs." You'll find out the good points of the breed, as well as the drawbacks. These folks are passionate about their breed, but also are quick to point out that it is might not be the breed for everyone. You might find out that the breed you've set your mind on requires more coat care or exercise than you're able to handle, that it isn't typically good with children, may not do well alone at home through a long work day, or isn't likely to get along well with your other dogs or cats.

Many breed clubs and breed rescue groups will have booths at the event as well, and are good sources of information.

One word of caution, though! Be sure to ask the permission of the human at the end of the leash before touching any dog you encounter. Some of the obedience competitors are very focused and don't want to be distracted before going in the ring. The handlers of the dogs about to enter the conformation ring, however, may be even more opposed to having anyone touch the dogs. They have been meticulously groomed, so always, always ask, and it's best to approach someone after their breed is finished showing.

Above all, be sure to stop by our table and say hello!

Guardians for Pets

2007-12-04T12:15:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

I had a friend ask me today if I would allow her to put me in her will as the guardian of her three golden retrievers, should anything happen to her. She said it was important to her that they be kept together, and that they be showered with love and security for as long as they live. Being a "golden person," she knows I'd be happy to do that for them.

But this got me thinking. My own dogs are all from either Retrieve A Golden of Minnesota or NorthStar Great Pyrenees Rescue, so I know that these groups will take care of finding them great new homes if something should happen to me (and my husband), since I don't have any strong feelings about keeping any combination of them together. They're all more connected to me than each other, which is probably a good thing. Therefore, I'm not as worried about a "pet will" as others might be.

We've all seen the stories on the news about wealthy eccentrics leaving fortunes to their pets. I'm all for it, being a "pet person," but have to admit I don't see much sense in it. The important thing for all pet owners to consider, though, is whether they have any plans in place for what should happen to their pets if they should pass away. Do you know who would take them in, care for them, feed them and love them? Are you able to leave some sort of fund to help with special care your pet might need? Don't assume your kids or grandkids - or even your spouse - will be willing or able to care for your beloved pets.

Nobody likes to think about this sort of thing, but for the sake of your precious animal companions, give it the same thought you would put into choosing guardians for your human children.

Rescue Dog Update

2007-11-29T09:48:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

For those of you who read my blog from earlier this month, I wanted to let you know how things turned out with our new rescue dog!

I'm happy to report that he came to us the night before Thanksgiving, and everything is working out beautifully! We named him Darwin.

I had a few apprehensive days as I watched to see if he would settle in and get along with our resident dogs. The main potential obstacle was Brody, our 2 1/2 year old Great Pyrenees. Pyrs are by nature more aloof than goldens, and I wondered if their personalities would match, especially since they are so close in age. Darwin barks when he wants to play, and to Brody (from a long line of livestock guardians) that means either a threat or challenge. At first he wasn't sure what to do about it. Darwin, being a golden, is a very sunny and outgoing dog, and I think Brody initially interpreted this as a challenge to his position of authority. It took several days, but Brody finally gave Darwin a chance, and now they play wonderfully. Ozark, my 8 year old Pyr mix, seemed to hold back and wait for Brody to decide how things were going to be. He was pretty nervous, avoiding Darwin's play attempts for fear of starting or getting in the middle of a conflict between the two younger dogs.

Right from the beginning, though, our 14-year-old golden, Sprocket, seemed to recognize "one of his own." The very first night he was playing tug with Darwin (and winning, but he cheats).

Our pack is now 4 dogs strong, and we couldn't be happier! I just spent ten minutes watching the three younger dogs wrestle out in the yard, while old Sprocket napped by the window with me.

If you'd like to see a short clip of the first time Brody and Darwin played, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P1wh34l-hw .

Holiday Pets

2007-11-29T09:19:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

I end up having this discussion every year. I'm never sure how much good it does, because it's such an emotional decision, and the happy holiday commercials showing a puppy with a big red bow around its neck are everywhere. Still, I have to say it. "Please don't give pets as a holiday gift!"

There are so many reasons not to do this.

Some parents decide the kids are old enough now to have a pet, and it will be a good lesson in responsibility for them to take care of it. The reality is that almost never turns out to be the case. Kids are kids, and unless YOU as the parent are willing to ultimately to care for the pet, don't get one. This applies all year long, not just at the holidays. I once did the intake of a golden retriever into our area rescue group in which the mother sat there with her 9 year old son and told me repeatedly that they were "getting rid" of the dog because the boy didn't take care of it. How do you think that poor little boy felt?

Other people think things like, "Aunt Mary lost her cat this year, and a new kitty would sure put a smile on her face." Selecting a pet for another person is a recipe for disaster. Which pet is the right one for any person is a very personal decision. There is that "this one just feels right to me" factor which cannot be perceived by anyone other than the person looking for a pet. And did you even ask Aunt Mary if she's ready for a new cat? Maybe she's still mourning Mittens, or has decided that maybe she'd rather have a dog or a bird or a fish tank. And can Aunt Mary afford the food, vaccinations, spay/neuter, supplies... and time your gift will need?

Some people get so caught up in the idea of getting a pet for the holidays that they forget about the realities. Puppies cry, bark, chew, pee on the floor, require constant supervision and training. And do you really want to take an 8 week old puppy out in the frigid Minnesota weather to housetrain him? Kittens get on the counters nibbling your Christmas cookies, climb the tree, and try to eat the tinsel.

Impulsive pet-buying decisions have sad consequences. Cute puppies and kittens grow up in just a few months, at which point some people lose interest. No commitment has been made to training, so puppies grow into unruly and badly-behaved dogs. Kittens grow into cats that nobody ever really bonded to. By summer, many of these "special holiday gifts" end up in shelters or rescue groups.

Even if your family has sat down together and made a careful, considered decision that you would like to add a pet to the family, the holiday season is a bad time to do this. Most families are very busy with holiday shopping, decorating, entertaining, visiting, cooking and other related activities. This all takes time away from the care and attention that any new pet (puppy, kitten or adult) requires. Guests coming and going can be extremely stressful to a pet that is trying to adjust to its new home. And don't forget the holiday hazards! Trees full of shiny objects, gifts beneath, food and baked goods, new toys with small bits, and other things that will prove to be tempting dangers for the new addition.

If you sincerely believe a pet is a gift you want to give this year, consider some creative ways to do this. Make a card good for one trip to the local humane society, or get a certificate from a breeder you've found, willing to work with you to select a puppy or kitten sometime in the next month or two. (A good breeder will appreciate your careful planning and willingness to make sure the right pet comes to your family at the right time.) Give a box with a bowl, collar, leash and toy along with the card or certificate. No, it doesn't have the same impact as the puppy or kitten with the pretty bow around its neck. It kind of feels like giving a gift card, doesn't it? But is that one moment of "OH, it's a PUPPY!" worth the sick feeling you will have about the middle of February when you realize what you've really gotten yourself into?

Pets are not video games, toys, jewelry or nice sweaters. They are living, loving creatures who will depend on you for the rest of their lives. Please be sure you are willing to make that commitment before taking the steps to add a pet to your family!

New Rescue Dog

2007-11-19T09:42:00.000-06:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

It appears as if our three-dog pack will expand this week to four. To some people that sounds like a lot. In fact, I've been chastised by members of my own family for having "too many dogs," to which I generally reply with something along the lines of "mind your own business." I tell people that we don't have the hobbies that many families have. We don't own a cabin, a boat, a jet ski, a snowmobile, a motorcycle or an expensive car. We don't spend our money on going out to restaurants frequently, we don't collect antiques, and I couldn't care less about a huge wardrobe or jewelry. We love dogs. They make us happy, and we make them happy. They ground me in the natural world, and watching the pure joy they derive from the simplest experiences reminds me that my own petty problems aren't so awful in the scheme of things.

But, having said all that, I wasn't looking for another dog. Other than when we adopted Brody, a 2-year-old Great Pyrenees, last New Year's Eve, I haven't actively set out to find a dog for our household in 13 years. The right dog always seems to find us at the right time, whether we were aware it was the right time or not.

So there I was last Monday, perusing the Retrieve A Golden of Minnesota website, as I frequently do. While I'm not an active volunteer at this time, I have a 10-year history with the group. I used to serve on the board, was the Placement Coordinator, and originated the website and newsletter. I like to check out the dogs in the system, bookmark ones that catch my eye, and follow their progress through their foster experience to their eventual adoption. But Monday I saw a dog, and the bells went off in my head. I felt the same way I did when I first laid eyes on our Ruxpin, when he was at the clinic where I was working for his neuter. Something told me that this was OUR DOG, and I was right.

I emailed my husband right away, and he replied "NOT FAIR!" But when I got home that night, he still had the dog's page up on the computer. I made some inquiries, got my application reactivated, and before long our information was in the dog's foster-mom's hands and we had an appointment to meet him on Saturday.

Let me tell you a bit about this boy. He is a golden retriever, 3 years old, and had apparently been kept chained in a garage and neglected horribly. He's a short-stature dog, but has a thick bone structure. He should probably weigh about 70-75 pounds, but is barely over 50 pounds. He was terribly matted, so much so that most of his chest and rear end and tail had to be shaved, revealing sores from the knots pulling on his skin and the matted urine and filth. His toenails were nearly an inch long, forcing him to walk on the backs of his feet. He escaped (thankfully!) and was impounded. His "family" declined to claim him, so he was turned over to RAGOM. He's cleaned up now, healing, and is neutered. When we met him on Saturday, you would never guess that this tiny, abused boy had suffered as he did. He has a true golden personality, is sweet, loving and playful, and has managed not to lose his joy in just being alive.

The next step in the adoption process is for him to come to our house one evening this week and meet our three resident dogs. The only one I'm slightly concerned about is Brody, the 2 year old Great Pyrenees. Being a livestock guardian breed, Brody takes protection of his house and yard very seriously, and might not readily accept another dog, particularly a male, into it. But even considering that, Brody is a pretty easy-going dog and has never showed any signs of aggression. We'll manage the introduction carefully, and I'm optimistic that it will go well. If it does, we will go to the foster's home again on Saturday and complete the adoption, and he will officially be a member of the family.

Besides the fact that I immediately predicted a real connection between this dog and my husband (which he needed... he hasn't had his own "special dog" since our Ruxpin died in March), I feel like I can do so much to get this sweet boy back on the road to being a strong, healthy, vital dog again. At our clinic, we promote raw/natural diets, and that will be the first step. I'm sure his skin will improve rapidly with the right diet, some essential fatty acids, and possibly some Standard Process Canine Whole Body Support. We'll assess any other issues he might have, such as if he needs a chiropractic adjustment from many months of being forced to walk in an unnatural posture. Dr. Andrews thinks the physical and emotional trauma he's endured would respond well to some Traditional Chinese Herbs. I plan to take "before and after" pictures of him, to track his progress as he moves closer and closer to true wellness.

I think Ozark, my 8 year old Pyr Mix will likely enjoy having another young dog around to siphon off some of Brody's energy! They love to play, but there are few dogs who can keep up with Brody for long! I have my fingers crossed that he and Brody hit it off, otherwise I will gladly withdraw our application and allow him to be placed in a home that will truly be perfect for him. I know the importance of not "forcing" a dog to fit into a pack. What matters most of all is what is best for the dog, and if that isn't our family, I'll happily watch him be matched with someone who is.

Did I NEED another dog? Nope, and I wasn't looking for one. But this one found me, and I'm sure he needs US. I'm sure we'll find out we needed him, too, in ways we didn't even know.

First Experience With Animal Chiropractic

2007-10-24T11:09:00.001-05:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

We recently added a fantastic new doctor to our staff. Dr. Cara White has experience with holistic medicine, has particular knowledge of herbal medicine, and is a Certified Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapist. What is that?! In language that those of us who are not doctors would use, she practices Animal Chiropractic care. I’ve been excited to have her skills and energy added to our practice, and I’ve been particularly glad to have the opportunity to learn a bit about Animal Chiropractic.

As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I have a 14 year old golden retriever, Sprocket. While we’ve been very lucky that he hasn’t spent his senior years battling debilitating hip dysplasia as many other goldens have, he has definitely experienced a lot of age-related changes. With Dr. White on our staff, I quickly took advantage of her expertise to evaluate my sweet old boy.

I have been amazed to learn the wide range of illnesses and conditions that can be helped with chiropractic care! I knew that aching, painful joints and various musculoskeletal injuries would respond to chiropractic adjustments. But at a recent staff meeting, Dr. White told us that since the spinal cord is contained within the spinal column, and that all nerves radiate from that space, any spinal abnormalities would affect those nerves and can affect all the body’s systems. A chronic anal gland problem could stem from the associated nerves being compromised because of a misalignment somewhere you would never think of in relation to anal glands! The same principle applies to kidney, bladder and digestive problems, just to name a few. In addition, a slight misalignment or subluxation in one location of the body is going to cause the body to compensate for that, creating further misalignments throughout the body.

When Dr. White did Sprocket’s initial evaluation and adjustment, I learned things about him that I’d never even considered before. He had good range of motion in his hips (for a 14 year old), but his pelvis has almost no movement. I had never thought of the pelvis being particularly moveable! I associated “pelvis” with “hips”, with the hips being the moving part and the pelvis being more of a big frame to hold it all. But (imagine my surprise) the pelvis is supposed to move in a wide variety of ways! The areas that needed adjustment extended from his tail, to his toes, to his pelvis and spine, to his shoulders, and to his neck and jaw.

In the six months prior to his appointment, Sprocket had stopped using any stairs at all. He hadn’t even attempted the six or seven stairs up to our entry way, requiring him to be carried, or at least assisted with a towel around his belly. The three steps up onto the deck at the cabin where we spent a little time this summer were too much for him. When he and I got home from work the day of his adjustment, he hesitated at the entry way stairs, and then went up them unassisted for the first time in months! In the weeks since then, he has been consistently brighter, more alert and energetic, more frisky and playful, and has an easier time rising from the floor. I can tell he is much more comfortable than he has been in a long time.

He has had one follow-up adjustment since then, and will continue to have them about once a month. Just as you can’t trim your hedges or clean your kitchen once and have them stay that way forever, chiropractic care does require maintenance. My dog’s aging body has changes going on all the time that cause changes throughout his body, so we’ll continue to address those.

I’m grateful that I’ve been exposed to Animal Chiropractic. I feed my dogs well, use the right supplements, and manage their weight, and those are things that all pet owners can do. But now I have a way to help manage the discomfort and mobility problems that Sprocket is experiencing, with no drugs or surgery. I know that we’ve added quality, comfortable, active time to his life without any painful, invasive procedures.

So, who needs chiropractic care? The answer to that is almost every pet can benefit! My son has a 2 ½ year old 11-pound lhasa-poo who has a bad knee, and he will soon be getting his first adjustment. Have you noticed that your dog is holding his tail or neck oddly? Is it taking him longer to get up after lying down? Is he having difficulty eating or chewing? Have you noticed changes in his gait? Do you have a hunting, working or competition dog that seems to be slowing down? Chances are good that chiropractic care can help.

I had been to a chiropractor a few times myself, but I had had no experience with the same care for my dogs until recently. Now I have seen the results in my own dog and just had to share that experience so that others are aware that this option is available to help their beloved pets.

The Value of Senior Testing

2007-09-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

We always encourage regular health screening for pets, especially as they get older. I’ve always believed in that, but today I got a first-hand lesson on just how important it truly is.

Yesterday, I took my 14 year old golden retriever, Sprocket, with me to work so that Dr. White could do a chiropractic evaluation and adjustment. His last bloodwork had been nine months ago, so I knew it was past time to check him over. His adjustment went well, but his bloodwork was cause for serious concern. His white blood cells and other infection-fighting indicators were very, very low, which meant they were being used up somewhere in his body faster than he was producing them. His liver and kidney values were slightly elevated. In addition, his urinalysis showed his urine was very dilute. The doctors decided to do x-rays, looking for any abnormalities that might explain what was going on.

The x-rays were even more frightening than his bloodwork. As any of you know, if you’ve ever tried to “read” an x-ray, they can be tough to decipher. They’re only a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional animal. But Sprocket had what appeared to be a large, round mass on or near his liver. His spleen was larger than it should be, and appeared bumpy. Putting all these clues together, the most likely diagnosis was hemangiosaracoma, a deadly cancer of the blood vessels. It tends to not show any symptoms until it is very advanced and has already metastasized to other organs in the body. Occasionally a dog is fortunate and it’s caught early, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Most often, dogs live days, to perhaps a couple of months after diagnosis. Surgery and chemotherapy may buy another month or two, if you are very, very lucky.

I lost my 12 year old golden, Ripley, less than 10 months ago to hemangiosarcoma. He lived only 11 days after his diagnosis. Was it possible I was going to be going through that loss all over again, with the sweet and gentle-natured Sprocket? I lost 7 year old Ruxpin, another golden, just six months ago to sepsis. How would I bear losing my three golden-boys in less than a year? Sprocket had been fine. He didn’t have any signs of illness, such as vomiting, diarrhea, fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, or unusual pain or weakness.

I spent today seeing Dr. Ralph Weischelbaum for an ultrasound. The outstanding image quality of an ultrasound allows the doctor to virtually “see” inside the body, and get a much more detailed picture of what’s going on in there. I walked in with a heavy heart, dreading what was to come. Sprocket, as always, was pleasant, mellow, and totally agreeable. Dr. Ralph looked at the bloodwork and the x-rays I’d brought along. Then the ultrasound began. I kept one hand on Sprocket, and both eyes on the display screen. As the other doctor manipulated the ultrasound device over his abdomen, I was afraid to listen. Then I heard, “…nothing that looks like hemangiosarcoma.” As things progressed, we looked at his liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, adrenal glands, prostate, gall bladder and spleen. His spleen was slightly enlarged and had a patchy surface, but this is how it reacts to an irritation or infection, while it’s doing its job. We’d begun antibiotics the night before, and that will most likely resolve the spleen issues. His adrenal glands and kidneys are slightly large, but nothing too worrisome in a 14 year old dog. Best of all, the large round object seen on his x-rays was actually his pylorus, the outlet from the stomach. Apparently, Sprocket just has a really, really big one! His liver is fine, and not being taken over by hemangiosarcoma, as I’d feared.

Dr. Ralph suggested testing him for Cushing’s disease, which is a malfunction of the adrenal glands. I had a cocker spaniel who had Cushing’s, and I maintained him on diet and supplements, no prescription medication, and he lived to be 13. If Sprocket does turn out to have Cushing’s, I can deal with that! My mantra as I entered Dr. Ralph’s office was, “Anything but hemangio, anything but hemangio…” I fully expected to find some sort of cancerous invasion, either in the spleen or liver, and couldn’t believe the wonderful news that my boy is not in imminent danger of leaving us!

So, what did this teach me? What point does it prove? Sprocket looked fine. I didn’t take him in because he’d stopped eating, was losing weight, was vomiting, or suddenly couldn’t get off the floor. I only took him for routine senior bloodwork. Though he was showing no symptoms, that bloodwork and the urinalysis showed something was wrong, and needed immediate attention.

If it had been hemangiosarcoma, he would have had a better chance for more time with us, because we’d have been catching it earlier than most. (Many hemangio cases come to light because the dog has an internal bleed and collapses, or becomes very weak and pale.)

If it is “only” Cushing’s disease, I’m happy that it was caught so early, because left untreated, Cushing’s can do serious damage to the liver and kidneys, beginning a cascade of symptoms that eventually leads to death. Now, we’ll be able to put together a treatment plan consisting of diet and carefully-selected supplements, we’ll recheck a urinalysis frequently, and we’ll monitor his kidney and liver values.

A simple blood test probably just added months and months to my “old boy’s” life. I’ve always believed in the value of those tests, especially for older pets, but now I have living proof!

Pet Store Puppies

2007-08-15T11:09:00.000-05:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

Every so often, a client will bring a new puppy to our clinic and announce that they “rescued” it from a pet store. They mean that the conditions in the store were unpleasant and unhealthy, the puppies were overcrowded, dirty, or perhaps even sickly. In their minds, they’ve “saved” that puppy from spending one more moment in such an environment, and I certainly understand that feeling. I’ve done it myself. From 1988 to 1991, I “rescued” three cocker spaniel puppies from pet stores near where I lived in Indiana. Largely because of them, I learned about pet stores, puppy mills, and the whole ugly pets-for-profit industry. In my clueless, kindhearted but well-meaning way I had helped support that industry. Instead of “rescuing” my three dogs, all of which I loved dearly, I had actually rewarded the unethical breeders and everyone along the line who made a buck, and sentenced many more yet-unborn puppies to the same fate.

Wow, how did I get from falling for a cute face in a pet shop window to supporting an industry that exploits animals?

Every single national breed club for purebred dogs states in their Code of Ethics that responsible breeders do not ever sell puppies to pet stores, or offer them as prizes in auctions or raffles. Why? Because an ethical breeder assumes lifelong responsibility for every puppy they breed. They also want to carefully screen potential families, and select a puppy that will fit their lifestyle, or even tell them that this breed is not the one for them. They can’t do that if they hand a puppy over to a store that has to sell it to anyone who pays for it.

So, then, where do puppies in pet stores come from? Other than the stores that offer space to rescue groups to showcase homeless dogs and puppies, they either come from large breeding facilities called puppy mills, or occasionally from local breeders who keep dogs to breed for profit. Puppy mills keep large numbers of breeding females in horrible conditions, breed them as often as possible, and don’t waste money (profit) on things like health testing, genetic screening, proper nutrition, selective breeding, or veterinary care. Puppies are a commodity, not a family member. I won’t go into the specifics of the horrors of these facilities here. I will provide some links at the end of this blog for those seeking more information. Local breeders who sell to pet stores are no better; they just operate on a much smaller scale.

“But the breeder that someone recommended to me charges twice as much for puppies as the pet store does.” This may well be true, but what are you getting? A good breeder’s dogs see the inside of a show or obedience ring, or an agility course, or a hunting trial, or something other than a kennel or back yard. They invest in their dogs, through training, socialization, health screening, nutrition, and other important factors. They breed carefully, infrequently, with dogs chosen to make a puppy even better than either parent. They know their breed, and will be a valuable resource for you. They offer health guarantees, and if for any reason you’re unable to keep the puppy (even when it’s an adult), they will take it back and either keep it or find it a new home. A pet store is essentially done with you once your payment goes through. They might give you a partial refund if the puppy is sickly and you want to give it back, but what do you think they’re going to do with it? They didn’t breed the puppy, don’t personally know who did, and can offer you absolutely no useful information.

“But this puppy has AKC papers! He’s pedigreed!” Every dog has a pedigree. So does the stray cat that keeps sneaking into your garage. So do you. It only means a family tree, a genetic lineage. As for AKC (or other registration) papers, every well-bred dog has them, but countless poorly bred dogs do, too. All they mean is the breeder took a few minutes to fill out the proper paperwork. It says nothing about health, quality, temperament, or anything else, or even if the information provided is true! Unless the breeder is audited (a rare occurrence), who would ever know? In pet stores, large quantities of puppies are moved in and out, and paperwork often arrives jumbled, and is matched with the “right” dog. Is your Bichon really a toy poodle? Is it even a mix, since the puppy mill had a little breeding mishap?

“But look at that face! He’s so cute! I have to get him out of that awful place!” Newsflash: All puppies are cute. And while you may buy him and adore him, you are not “rescuing” him. By buying that puppy, you are financially rewarding the store owner, the distributor who got all the puppies from the puppy mill, and encouraging the puppy mill to produce more puppies (because they sure sell well!), and sentencing the breeding dogs to churn out even more litters. The cycle will never be broken as long as we continue to fall for those cute little faces and pay these people to keep doing what they’re doing. Every time a pet store sells a puppy, fewer ethical breeders produce puppies since they won’t breed if they aren’t sure of an appropriate home waiting for their litters. Rescue groups aren’t able to place a puppy from an accidental or abandoned litter, and more dogs are euthanized at animal shelters because there is nobody to adopt them.

I just don’t go into any store that sells puppies. It’s that simple. Not only am I then not tempted (and heartbroken) by those little bundles of fluff, I never, ever purchase a single collar or treat or toy there. I refuse to give these places one cent of my money.

Stop Puppy Mills

http://stoppuppymills.org/

The Humane Society of the United States Puppy Mill Facts Page

http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/get_the_facts_on_puppy_mills/index.html

Prisoners of Greed

http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/

Welcoming New Avian Clients

2007-07-20T08:09:00.000-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jina Andrews)

From the time we opened two and a half years ago, we have required an exam the first time we see any bird, even for something as routine as a wing trim. It is important to assess the bird’s overall health to catch any underlying issues it might have, and to be sure we can handle the bird safely, without undue stress or trauma.

During the course of these examinations, we found that many (if not most) of the bird owners, even those who had owned birds for years, were making basic husbandry and diet mistakes that, while not causing overwhelming harm to their birds, was still impacting their health and well-being.

So earlier this year we began approaching our avian exams in a different way. We feel strongly that it is our job to provide pet owners with all the information they need to give their pets the best possible care. Now, the first time anyone comes to us as a bird owner, their initial “New Avian Client” appointment is a longer one, so that we can cover the wealth of important information regarding diet, supplements, husbandry, behavior and health. This exam also includes a full avian fecal test. Why is that fecal test so vital? We’ve found that at least 80% of the avian fecals we run show some degree of abnormality, which tells us so much about that bird’s health. Besides parasites, we find undigested starches and bacterial counts that are not properly balanced, all of which can lead to a wide range of health and behavior problems, including feather-plucking, maldigestion and even malnutrition. This test and the exam enable us to provide that bird owner with specific instructions and suggestions on how to maximize their bird’s health and quality of life, and eliminate many of the nagging issues that may have plagued them for some time.

When that owner returns with another bird, they are not required to have that “New Avian Client Appointment” again, just the general avian exam. While some clients have felt the extended first appointment is unnecessary, we truly believe it is. If we can form a good working partnership with that bird owner right from the start, we can, together, provide their birds with the best we all have to give, and that is what is most important to all of us!

Why We Don't Declaw Cats

2007-07-16T10:30:00.000-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

Declawing is a hugely controversial procedure. To some people it seems a routine procedure, to others it's a horrible mutilation of a beloved pet.

Jina and I have always debated declawing, whether we should even do it, and just how awful it was to continue to perform this procedure. Neither one of us would've ever declawed our own cats. As new business owners, however, we feared that if we didn't offer declaws, our surgery schedule would be bare! I felt very confident about Jina actually doing them, because her surgical skills are amazing, and she is extremely conscious of pain control.

Then this past winter, I was on my way to Israel to visit family and attend my nephew's wedding. Somewhere I came across a list of the countries in which declawing is illegal. To my surprise, Israel was one of the countries on the list. When I lived in Israel, there was not a big pet-owning population. In the Middle East animals were traditionally considered dirty, so having them in your house was quite unusual. Animals tended to often be casually mistreated or neglected. The people who frequented the vet clinic I worked at after high school were mostly Americans who had immigrated with their strange beliefs about keeping animals in the home.

My return to Israel was an eye opener! Pets were everywhere! Animals were treated courteously and kindly! When I grew up there, we used to joke about the "fur-lined streets," but those are history! The best part is that all cosmetic surgeries are now illegal, so there were Boxers and Dobermans with ears and tails. I saw restaurants putting out leftovers for the cats.

As soon as I saw that Israel was on that list, I thought, heck, if they can do it, so can we. And as of the first of the year we stopped doing declaws. Our surgery schedule has remained steady. And we can feel good about ourselves, as doctors and as the representatives of those who cannot speak for themselves.

Farewell, April

2007-07-09T10:08:00.000-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

April, our diabetic clinic cat, died over the weekend. She was one of our greatest successes, having been on insulin for most of her life, but maintained for the last year and a half with diet and supplements.

April was the queen of our hospital. The other cats knew to give way when she stalked the hallways. She especially ruled the countertop in Pharmacy, eating unattended snacks, walking on the x-rays, and stretching out on top of everything you happened to be working on.

April, we love you and will miss you.

Toward a More Natural View of Health Care in Pets

2007-07-02T10:04:00.000-05:00

(Contributed by Jessica Levy, DVM)

What would we do if we didn’t have all these chemicals available? What if we had to rely on more natural sources for simple problems?

Recently our farrier, Fred, reintroduced an old idea that I had practically forgotten about under the onslaught of chemicals in our environment. He l

He learned from a client that instead of toxic fly sprays, if you just spray the horses with a half and half mixture of water and vinegar, flies are eliminated.

I should have thought of this.

When I lived in Israel, if our dog got fleas, we gave her a vinegar bath. Voila! No fleas!

When my sister got lice from babysitting young children, she’d brew up a pot of rosemary tea and wash her hair with it. Voila! No lice!

When I lived in Maryland, before going hiking or camping, we’d take a bunch of B-vitamin pills. Voila! No mosquitoes!

In 1998 I was at a large Arabian racehorse stable in Ocala, Florida, in June. It was hot, but there were no flies. The groomers were adding vinegar to the horses’ grain.

For years I’ve been adding apple cider vinegar to my horses’ water trough, because it cuts down the algae growth.

In some ways these simple practices seem almost harder to think of, because we have chemicals available easily at hand, and also we wonder, “Will this really work? It seems simple. Too simple, perhaps.”

I’m sure we’d be a lot more inventive, and successfully so, if we didn’t have carte blanche to grab the nearest toxic preparation and just use that. And it can be hard to tell which claims are true and which are not. How do we know what really works?

It has always been my policy to try stuff on my own pets before recommending natural products to other people. Unfortunately, what works well for one animal may not work for another, for no reason that we can see. Every member of Central Bird & Animal Hospital is striving to achieve perfect health for our pets, and this common goal is what drives us to test products and supplements at home. This way we can be sure that we are offering our patients proven, reliable options for natural health care.

What Makes Us Different

2007-05-25T16:01:00.000-05:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

In recent years, it seems as if veterinary practices are springing up all over the place. How does one practice distinguish itself from another, and how does a pet owner select the one that best suits their needs?

For the past several decades, the standards of veterinary practice remained largely unchanged. We were all taught that annual vaccinations and "complete and balanced" processed food in a bag was the key to health and long lives for our pets. Yet pets have chronic illnesses, cancer, immune system problems, obesity, and other health problems in higher numbers than ever before. What's wrong with this picture?

Central Bird & Animal Hospital was founded by two veterinarians, Dr. Jessica Levy and Dr. Jina Andrews, who believed that we could do better for our pets. Not only could we do better, we had to do better. Our doctors and staff reach beyond those standards that we've been living with all these years. They truly believe in forming a partnership with people and their pets, and empowering owners through information and education to improve their pets' quality of life and their longevity.

We do not promote automatic annual vaccinations. Yes, young animals should receive the protection that their immature immune systems need. Beyond that, however, we believe in evaluating a pet's overall wellness, risk factors, previous vaccine history, legal requirements, and their owners' wishes before determining which vaccines are necessary for that pet. People are often shocked when our doctors decline to vaccinate their pet. We cannot, though, in good conscience, further destabilize a struggling immune system with the artificial jolt of a vaccine.

Does this mean you don't have to take Buddy or Mittens to the veterinarian? Quite the opposite. We promote "Twice for Life," the term for twice a year wellness exams. There are some who think this is excessive, yet we all know that we should visit our own doctors for an annual exam. Pets' lives are shorter than ours, though, and therefore take place in a more compressed timeframe. Six months in a pet's life can equal several years in our own. Regular exams, with or without vaccinations, can and do catch early signs of illness, allowing us to take steps to restore health or minimize complications, adding both quality and length to our pets' lives.

When asked, most owners will say, "Buddy is fine. He doesn't have any health problems." But our veterinarians might notice that the dry, flaky skin and hot spots are a sign of a dietary intolerance or some systemic problem. They can palpate the abdomen and feel signs of problems with the internal organs. They might notice a pattern of hair loss or an unusual lump that indicates an issue that, if caught early, can be managed through diet and supplements, rather than waiting until the condition progresses and presents a true danger to the animal. A trained veterinarian can manipulate joints and feel the signs of early joint disease. And as always, our doctors work to continually expand their skills and knowledge to enable them to provide the most progressive care possible.

Our doctors believe that proper nutrition is the cornerstone to our pets' health. Dogs and cats (or any pet, for that matter) are not made to eat highly processed, nutrient-depleted, carbohydrate-rich food from a bag. But since that is a reality for most pet owners, they and their staff have put a lot of time into researching what makes a quality pet food, so as to be better able to guide the clients that come to the clinic seeking such information. Proper whole-food supplements and the addition of as much raw food as possible are other key points that they discuss with clients each and every day.

CBAH strives to be the center for holistic health in the Midwest. This not only can be achieved, but it will be. When you have doctors and a skilled team who deeply believe that this is the key to helping every pet enjoy a long, happy life, there truly is no other possible outcome. The world is full of clinics that will continue to treat a pet's chronic ear infections, dispensing medication repeatedly, or treating urinary tract infections time after time with antibiotics. Our doctors certainly will do that when needed, but they go the extra mile. They will present all the options to the client, and share their knowledge about not only how to clear up the current health problem, but to work toward improving the animal's overall wellness so that the problem will not recur.

That is different. It is special. It is unique. And we are very proud to be a part of it.

Pet Obesity

2007-04-27T13:31:00.000-05:00

The following letter was written by Bud Stuart, DVM, of Santa Barbara, CA, to the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and appeared in their April 15, 2007 edition. Dr. Stuart has graciously allowed us to post the content of his letter here, as he spells out very clearly his thoughts on pet obesity and nutrition. Dr. Stuart is compiling information for a book on pet nutrition which he hopes to publish soon, so be sure to look for it!

"As a pet practitioner for over 40 years who puts nutrition first, articles dealing with any aspect of pet nutrition always catches my attention. Allow me to say that I was rather disturbed by your recent news article on the newly introduced drug for pet weight reduction.

I wasn't bothered by the fact that still another large pharmaceutical firm has come up with yet one more money making medication to treat a clinical sign, not a cause. That's what they do to produce a large profit flow. We all understand that.

What does continue to disturb me is my own profession's continued inability (or is it a choice?) to deal with the major cause of pet obesity in the United States. During almost half a century of pet practice, my patients have been trim and healthy when their owners followed my instructions. The pets maintained a proper weight, had healthier skin and coat, had less urinary tract problems (including stones), and lived into a happy old age.

In my experience, the magic key to this dietary success, which all of your so-called experts can be counted on to consistently ignore as they always have, is to restrict the overuse of dry pet foods. To blame table scraps is to act as a spokesperson for the enormously powerful pet food industry. To be satisfied with merely "reducing 10 to 15 percent of body weight" in obese pets is to fail your patient.

When will the AVMA and all other veterinary organizations take a clear, unbiased look at what high-carbohydrate, grain-based diets do to our pets when fed according to instructions on the bags? My poster pet for obesity control was Jimmy the 47-kg (103-lb) Labrador Retriever that once waddled into my examination room but quickly and easily got down to 29.5 kg (65 lbs) on a properly balanced diet. My clients who view Jimmy's before and after photos were not hard to convince to follow my advice. Why can't I convince my own profession?"

Bud Stuart, DVM
Santa Barbara, Calif

Food Testing

2007-04-18T10:28:00.001-05:00

(Contributed by Lori Whitwam)

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Julie. She agreed to participate in a nutritional study being performed by a large national food corporation, testing a new line of vitamin and mineral enhanced foods. She, along with 7 other adults who were of normal weight and health, participated. All they had to do was have some basic bloodwork done before and after the six month testing period, and during that time they were to eat only the company’s new products, a fortified bologna and Ramen-style noodle cup.

After a month or so on the diet, she noticed she was losing weight, though she was eating an even higher than usual amount of food. She was tiring more easily, she noticed her skin was breaking out, and it seemed she kept catching the same cold over and over. But it was so easy to eat this convenient, processed food, it was pretty tasty, and she always felt full.

By the end of the test, Julie had lost 14 of her slim 130 pounds. She was also shocked to learn that two of the study’s participants had passed away toward the end of the testing period! One, a woman in her early 40s, had died of kidney failure, though her pre-test bloodwork had not indicated that she had a problem. A 50-year-old man had also died after contracting a serious infection. While the food company’s staff was saddened by these deaths, they were not due to “nutritional causes,” and so did not affect the outcome of the study. The new foods were certified as safe and providing complete and balanced nutrition.

Yes, the above story is totally fictitious. There is no way that a human dietary item would receive such inadequate testing! However, that is exactly the testing required for pet foods to receive certification from the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), which must appear on every product offered as a maintenance diet for pets.

The requirements for a food to pass the AAFCO test are:
8 pets older than one year must start the test.
At the start, all must be normal weight and health.
A blood test is taken from each animal at the start and finish of the test.
For six months, the animals must only eat the food being tested.
The animals finishing the test must not lose more than 15% of their body weight.
During the test, none of the animals used are to die or be removed because of nutritional causes.
6 of the 8 animals starting must finish the test.

So, what does that tell us about our processed pet foods? We cannot take the labels at face value, and must work to educate ourselves about what ingredients are used, and whether they are something we want our pet to eat. Huge pet food companies pay advertising agencies millions of dollars a year to present their foods in the best possible light. Is a slick ad campaign enough? Don’t you want to know more about what you are feeding your pet?

At Central Bird & Animal Hospital, we talk with clients every day about the importance of proper nutrition. It truly is the cornerstone of our pets’ health. One thing that we frequently hear is, “Those foods are too expensive.” Yes, in most cases a quality food does cost a bit more than something with a lot of fillers, by-products, and questionable ingredients. However, the reality is that by feeding a food that supports your pet’s health, you actually save money in the end. You will feed less of a high-quality food, because it is more digestible and contains more nutrition than “bargain” brands. You will also spend much less money treating recurring or chronic problems such as ear infections, hot spots, other allergy-related problems, immune system problems, and kidney disease, just to name a few. And the best benefit of all is that your pet will have a longer, healthier life and more energy.

The fact is that any processed food is, by its very nature, less than ideal nutrition. Much of the nutrition, the essential fatty acids and probiotics, vitamins and minerals, are lost during the necessary cooking process. While a raw natural diet is best, for most owners, a kibble or canned food is a convenience that they are unable to give up. In those cases, choosing the best quality food you can find, and supplementing it with raw food and whole food supplements is a good alternative.

Nutrition truly IS the most important decision you will ever make regarding the health of your pet.

Homeopathy Milestone

2007-04-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

This past weekend I graduated from the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy. This is a four year program dedicated towards treating humans with classical homeopathy. I am a member of the fifth class to graduate from this program.

My homeopathic studies began in 2002 with the Veterinary Homeopathy course taught by Dr. Richard Pitcairn, a veterinarian who also has a PhD in immunology. It's interesting how many homeopaths have a background in immunology. I had come across many mentions of homeopathy throughout the years, and had always thought it sounded too far out to be applicable to my practice. Then one day I saw the ad for the veterinary homeopathy course, and something shifted in my brain and I thought, "I've got to take this course!" I registered two weeks before it started and flew out to Eugene, Oregon, for something I really knew nothing about.

Needless to say, it blew my mind. Once I graduated from that year-long course, I felt frequently stumped while trying to integrate homeopathic philosophy into the conventional practice I was working in at the time. Then suddenly the information about the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy jumped out at me in the same fashion, and I thought, "I've got to take this course!" Again, I registered within two weeks of starting classes.

I am so glad I've had this training, and feel privileged to have been a part of this educational program. The first two years were largely didactic, mostly lectures and discussions with the opportunity to observe cases taken by the instructors, who had all been practicing for over 20 years. The last two years were student clinic years, during which the instructors opened their private practice for our use and taught us how to practice homeopathy in a real life setting.

This experience was priceless. It was like being back in vet school, where you are responsible for animals and clients in your care, but you have a senior clinician assisting you and making sure you don't make any huge mistakes, while guiding you through the diagnostic and treatment processes.

This allows me to practice homeopathy with much greater confidence than I would have otherwise. In 2005 I attended the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy annual conference, and met veterinarians with a wide range of experiences and practices. It was gratifying to see the advantages that the education I've had has granted me.

I graduated in a class of 24. The ceremony was held at the Jewish Community Center on Cedar Lake Road in Minneapolis. There were over 300 people who came to cheer us on as we stepped into the world of professional classical homeopathy. My husband, who is a devout adherent of conventional medicine, was amazed at the attendance and at the grace and dignity of the proceedings. He was quite impressed!

I definitely had reservations when I started this program, and it was not easy for me, as a time commitment and as a personal commitment as well. It has completely changed the way I practice medicine, and encouraged me to open my own hospital so that I could practice as I see fit, focusing on promoting true health and well-being for my patients.