I have for many years advocated for raw food (especially raw meat) diets for dogs and cats. It wasn’t always that way. For the first few years of my homeopathic practice, I made the typical recommendations of most conventional veterinarians: “Get a high quality, good brand commercial canned or dry pet food.” I’m not sure how we evaluated what “good” or “high quality” was. I remember recommending Eukanuba® because it was only sold at pet supply stores (not at the grocery stores), and their published product information said they had higher-quality ingredients. It had the appearance of being different, and somehow that translated into better. Many veterinarians recommended it and sold it.
Here’s the amazing thing: we knew little more about pet nutrition than the average pet owner, as we were educated little more than the average pet owner. Though I went to a great veterinary school (University of Missouri) that produced exceptionally well-prepared graduates for clinical practice, the bulk of my nutritional education consisted of a few hours per day for one week. That’s right – a grand total of one week out of four years for a discipline that is now one of the three main pillars of my approach to optimal health for pets. And that’s not the oddest part. Believe it or not, it was taught by a Hill’s® Pet Food company representative. It seems many of the veterinary schools in the U.S. use Hill’s reps to teach nutrition! I would guess the schools save money by not having to have a full time nutritionist on staff, or they get deeper discounts on their Hill’s products.
Hill’s is the maker of the line of prescription diets called Prescription Diet (though there is nothing really “prescription” about it) and Science Diet. You may have heard of their much imitated string of acronym named diets – R/D, W/D, C/D, etc. To their credit most of the teaching was good, generic physiology, with only about 10-25% of the time spent on how their products fit the needs of various pathologies. It was good marketing for them and a good start of a nutritional education for us. But, it was not enough.
And that was all there was. Most pet owners do not realize this fact, but I have just checked with recently graduated vets and the story is still very much the same.
I intend to keep blogging on this particular topic so stay tuned.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The Cost of Holistic Vet Care
When Willy Simone had a near-fatal attack of FUS, I was ready to recommend a cystotomy if I was unable to successfully treat him. This is a surgical procedure that will clear the blockage.
I have always maintained that the cost of keeping a pet in my care is 50-70% less expensive than conventional veterinary care, and this case is a perfect example of how.
A cystotomy is the recommended conventional procedure for urinary blockage in cats. Veterinary hospitals in the Hudson Valley, where I am located, charge about $1,000 for this surgery, after you figure in the hospitalization and anesthesia costs. The same surgery performed on a cat like Willy in New York City, where he lives, costs about $2,400.
My fee, after all was said and done with Willy, was less than half that of my neighbors', and less than 20% of the cost of a reputable veterinary hospital in New York City.
I have always maintained that the cost of keeping a pet in my care is 50-70% less expensive than conventional veterinary care, and this case is a perfect example of how.
A cystotomy is the recommended conventional procedure for urinary blockage in cats. Veterinary hospitals in the Hudson Valley, where I am located, charge about $1,000 for this surgery, after you figure in the hospitalization and anesthesia costs. The same surgery performed on a cat like Willy in New York City, where he lives, costs about $2,400.
My fee, after all was said and done with Willy, was less than half that of my neighbors', and less than 20% of the cost of a reputable veterinary hospital in New York City.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Curing a Cat's Urinary Crisis Over the Phone
I got the first call about Willy as I was preparing to go to Boston for the marathon. Willy is a ten-year-old male cat, and his owner Ann had seen him straining unsuccessfully on the litter box.
Feline Urological Syndrome, or FUS, is a blockage that prevents a cat from urinating. Left untreated, the cat can become toxic and die, as it is unable to remove waste products from its body.
The Simones live in New York City, two hours' drive on a good day. Had his condition worsened, I would have recommended bringing him in for local care, like a cystotomy - a surgical procedure that effectively straightens out the kinks and clears all the blockages.
However, I also knew that the drive and the surgery would further compromise Willy's immune system by adding stress. Although I was prepared to recommend surgery, I instead treated Willy homeopathically, as well as with a combination of herbs and modifications to his diet.
I spoke with Ann about Willy several times over the weekend, even as my partner competed in the Boston Marathon. By Monday Willy was able to urinate again.
A lot of animals are stressed about cars, and whenever I can take some of that stress off by treating over the phone it's my pleasure.
Feline Urological Syndrome, or FUS, is a blockage that prevents a cat from urinating. Left untreated, the cat can become toxic and die, as it is unable to remove waste products from its body.
The Simones live in New York City, two hours' drive on a good day. Had his condition worsened, I would have recommended bringing him in for local care, like a cystotomy - a surgical procedure that effectively straightens out the kinks and clears all the blockages.
However, I also knew that the drive and the surgery would further compromise Willy's immune system by adding stress. Although I was prepared to recommend surgery, I instead treated Willy homeopathically, as well as with a combination of herbs and modifications to his diet.
I spoke with Ann about Willy several times over the weekend, even as my partner competed in the Boston Marathon. By Monday Willy was able to urinate again.
A lot of animals are stressed about cars, and whenever I can take some of that stress off by treating over the phone it's my pleasure.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Herbal Repellents for Fleas, Ticks, and Other External Parasites
I have two poodles in my family who enjoy spending quite a bit of time outside in this beautiful weather (you can learn a bit more about Bijou and Janvi by taking a peek at my Facebook account, if you're so inclined). Running around in the woods within our invisible fence, they have plenty of opportunity to bring home unwelcome friends, especially ticks. Now I'm a veterinarian, and I know that ticks function very much like slow-acting mosquitoes, but it's still pretty disgusting finding a bunch of those engorged buggers on my boys.
Enter Buck Mountain Botanicals, the formulator of the amazing cancer drug Neoplasene. They have a product called Parasite Dust for Animals, which is a combination of three ingredients (neem herb, yarrow, and diatom flour) and a triple threat for external parasites. As described in the clinical guide:
- Yarrow functions as a repellent
- Neem heals the wounds created by the parasites
- Diatom flour dessicates the bugs
I pulled a few bloated ticks off of my poodle Bijou this morning and Terence poured a small amount of the dust on them as an experiment. Their little legs, which had been slowly wriggling, stopped moving within seconds. I've been told that this product even works on embedded parasites like scabies and mange, and I'm inclined to agree!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Neoplasene: the Future
Research is ongoing with Neoplasene, and the protocols and treatment methods are constantly changing. The effects of bloodroot’s active ingredients have not been researched aggressively, because most pharmaceutical companies will not spend money on something that they may not be able to patent, such as a plant. However, there is an astounding study on the effects of bloodroot on cancer from the medical school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, done in 2000. This study was done in vitro with prostate cancer cells and skin cancer cells. The results were so clearly impressive the researchers remarked, “We suggest that sanguinarine could be developed as an anticancer drug.” The clinical case histories from veterinary hospitals throughout the U.S. are now accumulating, and are adding to the profound data of this very promising drug.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Homeopathic Emergency Kits
Over 80% of all of our appointments are by phone. This is possible because our clients have learned to be observant, take good notes, and are willing to be our partners in maintaining their pets' health. We ship out any appropriate remedies immediately after a telephone consultation, and we work with local, conventional veterinarians to provide services that cannot be offered over the phone.
Many of our longstanding clients find that this relationship is supported by keeping an emergency homeopathic kit at home. We offer one here that includes fifty remedies that we often prescribe. If a client places an emergency call, more often than not the appropriate remedy for the problem is at hand, which prevents the need to go to an emergency clinic for treatment.
These kits are also money-savers for our clients. After only six remedies are given the kits pay for themselves, and they can be used hundreds of times. We don't offer them as a way to make money, we offer them as a way to save animal lives and our clients' wallets.
There are certainly other kits available on the market, and as long as they are used with a homeopathic professional's guidance, they are all a good value. Here's some of the details on the one we offer to our clients:
All remedies are in a 200C strength. Included are arnica, arsenicum, cocculus, drosera, ignatia, lachesis, lycopodium, nux vomica, phosphorus, and rhus tox, among many others. Like all homeopathic remedies, as long as they are kept away from strong sources of heat, light, and electromagnetic radiation, they have an indefinite shelf life.
Many of our longstanding clients find that this relationship is supported by keeping an emergency homeopathic kit at home. We offer one here that includes fifty remedies that we often prescribe. If a client places an emergency call, more often than not the appropriate remedy for the problem is at hand, which prevents the need to go to an emergency clinic for treatment.
These kits are also money-savers for our clients. After only six remedies are given the kits pay for themselves, and they can be used hundreds of times. We don't offer them as a way to make money, we offer them as a way to save animal lives and our clients' wallets.
There are certainly other kits available on the market, and as long as they are used with a homeopathic professional's guidance, they are all a good value. Here's some of the details on the one we offer to our clients:
All remedies are in a 200C strength. Included are arnica, arsenicum, cocculus, drosera, ignatia, lachesis, lycopodium, nux vomica, phosphorus, and rhus tox, among many others. Like all homeopathic remedies, as long as they are kept away from strong sources of heat, light, and electromagnetic radiation, they have an indefinite shelf life.
Treating with Neoplasene
As I've mentioned in prior posts about how I treat cancer in your pets, the new drug Neoplasene is an amazing addition to my arsenal of homeopathic remedies. I always tell clients that they are critical to my patients' care, for several reasons.
The treatment can be felt. There may be a mild, immediate burn or itch. Cancerous tissue will swell and feel sore once the reaction begins, as the immune system is kickstarted and must process the dying cancer cells. The immune system works through the production of inflammation. This is a natural and very effective process that the body uses to heal most any problem. Often, with surface tumors, there is a reddened ring of healthy skin visible around a thin, grey ring of macerated, or softened, dead tissue which rims the tumor. Additionally, the entire surface of the tumor will likely become grey and macerated as it approaches sloughing. The dying cancer tissue is being rejected by the body.
Good wound management is critical. With this loss of the diseased tissue, there will be an open wound which must be well managed for successful treatment. It must be kept moist with an appropriate wound salve. It is important not to allow a hard scab to form. Be aware that scarring may very well occur as the body works to heal the wound left behind by the vacated tumor. In two to ten days the dead tissue will slough off. If this takes more than five days, there is probably living tumor present, and continued application is called for. The shedding of dying tissue should not be forced. It must be allowed to fall off naturally. Forced removal will often create bleeding and leave bits of surviving tumor behind. Licking, rubbing, chewing and scratching must be prevented, as mentioned above. And, it must be left to heal as an open wound. In our modern medical culture it is not very common to allow large wounds to heal in an open manner. The common urge is to suture the wound closed. Nice, neat, clean. However, it is best not to do so. Continued sloughing and drainage of discharge must be allowed to occur without interference.
Rarely, cancer may reappear long after the treatment series with Neoplasene has ended. This can happen because not all of the diseased tissue was destroyed, or because the conditions that caused the cancer in the first place still exist and can recreate it from scratch. The good news is that there is no evidence of development of resistance by surviving cancer cells.
There's more to say about Neoplasene, but I'll save that for my next post.
The treatment can be felt. There may be a mild, immediate burn or itch. Cancerous tissue will swell and feel sore once the reaction begins, as the immune system is kickstarted and must process the dying cancer cells. The immune system works through the production of inflammation. This is a natural and very effective process that the body uses to heal most any problem. Often, with surface tumors, there is a reddened ring of healthy skin visible around a thin, grey ring of macerated, or softened, dead tissue which rims the tumor. Additionally, the entire surface of the tumor will likely become grey and macerated as it approaches sloughing. The dying cancer tissue is being rejected by the body.
Good wound management is critical. With this loss of the diseased tissue, there will be an open wound which must be well managed for successful treatment. It must be kept moist with an appropriate wound salve. It is important not to allow a hard scab to form. Be aware that scarring may very well occur as the body works to heal the wound left behind by the vacated tumor. In two to ten days the dead tissue will slough off. If this takes more than five days, there is probably living tumor present, and continued application is called for. The shedding of dying tissue should not be forced. It must be allowed to fall off naturally. Forced removal will often create bleeding and leave bits of surviving tumor behind. Licking, rubbing, chewing and scratching must be prevented, as mentioned above. And, it must be left to heal as an open wound. In our modern medical culture it is not very common to allow large wounds to heal in an open manner. The common urge is to suture the wound closed. Nice, neat, clean. However, it is best not to do so. Continued sloughing and drainage of discharge must be allowed to occur without interference.
Rarely, cancer may reappear long after the treatment series with Neoplasene has ended. This can happen because not all of the diseased tissue was destroyed, or because the conditions that caused the cancer in the first place still exist and can recreate it from scratch. The good news is that there is no evidence of development of resistance by surviving cancer cells.
There's more to say about Neoplasene, but I'll save that for my next post.
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