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

(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.

The "Cult" of Homeopathy

(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.

Truth In Advertising?

(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.

Vaccine Crazy

(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.

Why Take The Risk?

(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?

(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.

Talking the Talk

(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

(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!

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

(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

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.

First Experience With Animal Chiropractic

(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.