To use a familiar quote, “I cannot tell a lie.”  I did tell my clients (and myself) that feeding dry kibble will keep a dog or cat’s teeth clean.  NOT.  This is one of the greatest veterinary myths of all time.  Today, we might call it fake news.  You might be thinking, “Why in the world would my vet tell me that if it were not true.”  It does seem logical.  The answer is that your vet was told the same thing and like myself, he bought it.  By the commercial pet food company.  No research, no evidence.  Just fake

I was asked by a lovely lady the other day if it is wrong for us to exploit animals for food, clothing, etc.  This has been a question that I have often been asked and one that I have contemplated for many years.  Most people who have had the fortunate opportunity to give and receive love from a pet often find compassion in those animals that are being used for people’s benefits.  Many vegetarians choose this lifestyle so that they won’t participate in what they believe is causing animal suffering. I once had a veterinarian associate who was a hunter. 

I received an email from one of my holistic vet colleagues today that discussed the topic of urinary incontinence in our pets.  It was a very detailed and scientific-oriented discussion about the most likely causes and what is used conventionally to treat the condition by most vets.  Then, being a holistic vet, she discussed the possible side effects of the two most common drugs used to treat the problem and then, offered some more natural options that might be just as effective. Urinary incontinence, is a very common problem in dogs, and occasionally a problem in cats.  It is the

In Switzerland, there is an enormous underground LEP.  LEP stands for large electron positron collider.  This giant, circular instrument consisting of magnets in a special alignment, is used to accelerate electrons and positrons (energetic units) near the speed of light.  Once they reach the desired speed, they will often collide and have a reaction.  For a moment, the reaction creates what is known as a virtual particle called a Z boson. To put this into layman’s terms, they are trying to create particles (mass or form) out of subtle energy.  Scientifically, this is called the Higgs boson particle or God

This morning I was invited to be a guest on a radio program.  I had a short visit with the program host and then we had five minutes for a news insert.  I sat quietly, waiting to be introduced.  I took advantage of the time and turned my focus inward to that empty space between my thoughts.  While I was basking in peace and quiet, a voice came into my head.  It said, “Talk about the energy crisis.”  I often have these energetic/spiritual downloads, especially when I am in meditation or contemplation.  I have learned not to discount the message. 

As most of you know, there is an enormous movement in health care, both human and pet, towards a more natural method of staying healthy.  This is a great thing, if for no other reason than it gets us out of the conditioned mind approach to medicine.  We have been so conditioned for so long with one perspective towards health care, that we forgot to keep asking questions. When I wrote my book, Whole Pet Healing, a few years ago, I told the fictional story of a young man who loved automobiles.  He lived in a small town with one

In a recent blog, I discussed how it is impossible for your pet to suffer.  The closest real definition of suffering is a mental belief that something that is happening shouldn’t be happening.  Essentially, this means that the mind has the ability to interpret something, judge it and deem it not acceptable.  When the mind does this, suffering happens.  Since our pets don’t have a developed forebrain with the ability to personalize its thoughts, they cannot suffer. I also pointed out the obvious difference between pain and suffering.  Your pet may experience pain or discomfort and that is real.  Paining,

I have always wondered why clinicians practice medicine.  I used to think it was because the wise clinician is always learning and applying new things that she learns.  I now believe that due to the way we utilize our intelligence require more and more practice.  I am reminded of the time that I gave a talk to the students at the state veterinary college.  A young lady student seemed impressed that I had been practicing for so many years.  She said, “My Dr. Thomas.  A vet that has been in practice for 35 years must be very good at what

When I suggest to clients that our pets don’t suffer, I usually get a wide range of reactions.  It might be a subtle, confused look or a blatant, “Excuse me.  My pet is certainly suffering.”  It all comes down to a simple misunderstanding. A while back, I wrote a blog about grieving and explained how we can look objectively at the topic and get a better understanding as to why and how it happens.  With basic understanding of any topic, it makes it easier for us to deal with it.  Suffering is no exception. Even the Buddha said that life

Every year in late July or early August, fire season begins in many parts of the western United States.  Due to climate changes, increased average temperatures and decreased rain and snowfall, the fire season is getting harsher and longer each year.  With fire, there is smoke, and with smoke there are health issues that need to be addressed in people and pets. Research has shown that in healthy individuals, short term smoke from wildfires may not cause health issues, but long term exposure is something else.  This year, here in the pacific northwest, exposure to smoke from regional wildfires has

Grieving is something we all do.  Whether it is from the loss of our first Teddy Bear, our loving grandparent or parent, or our beloved pet, at some time in our lives, we will experience grief.  Grief has been a problem for longer than we can imagine.   Professional therapists now focus on grief counseling as a primary emotional disorder.  The death of a beloved pet can cause enormous grief.  For each and everyone of us who are pet caretakers, we accept the reality that we will likely outlive our pet and we will have to go through a grieving period. 

You reap what you sow.  What goes around comes around.  You get what you deserve.  These are all statements that reflect the meaning of karma.  Karma, in a nutshell, means that whatever you put out in your world, will come back to you.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t describe how that will show up.  Most of us adults believe in karma whether we like the concept or not.  More than likely, we have witnessed its effects too many times to ignore that it is real.  Our skeptical mind tries to convince us that what goes on out in our world is beyond

The special relationship we have with our pets goes way beyond what most of us believe.  They offer us so much and in so many ways.  They give us unconditional love and the ability to love them back in the same way.  They provide healing energy that benefits our health and they mirror us so that we can learn more about our deeper, inner selves.  Often, they do it in ways that we don’t recognize. In my book, Whole-Pet Healing, I delve deeper into the heart-to-heart link we share with our cherished animal companions, and how we can influence their healing—and they,

There is not a week that passes without someone contacting me about their dog having anxiety issues.  Just like human health care, anxiety issues are escalating and the pharmaceutical industry is booming in pet health care.  Anxiety is not something new, but with more and more people focused on anxiety problems, there is an awareness of it existing in their dogs and they want something done about it. One of the main problems that I see in veterinary medicine, and I suspect that it is the same in people, is that we tend to bunch a lot of different emotional

Many years ago, during the last couple of months in veterinary school, the veterinary clinicians took it upon themselves to give us little practical quizzes.  I guess they thought it would be a good way to prepare us for the life of a real veterinarian.  They would come up to a senior vet student and create an imaginary scene of a situation that would require veterinary services. I remember once when I was standing by a Brahma cow in a stock, the large animal clinician walked towards me with a grin on his face.  I thought, “Oh, no,  not another

A lot of people, and a whole lot of clinicians, have a hard time believing that everything is energy.  When you stump your toe on a rock, it doesn’t feel like energy.  When you look at or feel the physical body, it is hard to imagine that it is energy.  It’s pretty easy to understand when we know how we perceive things.  Our perceptions are solely based on our senses, combined with thoughts and feelings. We can touch the body, feel the body, hear the body, see the body and even taste it, so we absolutely know that it is

I am sure that there have been many times as a pet caretaker, you wished that you could talk to your pet.  There might be times that you wish you could turn to your most trusted friend for advice or just carry on a safe conversation, knowing that you would not be judged.  Many of my clients, while facing serious pet  health issues, lament, “If I only knew what she wants, then I would know what I should do.” There is a reason why they weren’t given a voice.  So, that there would be no chance of miscommunication.  We humans,

I did a phone consultation with a lady the other day who has a dog with cancer.  Following her vet’s recommendation, she took her dog to the veterinary college to work with their oncologist.  The oncologist told her that if she were to have any hope of extending her dog’s life expectancy beyond a couple of months, she would need to have chemotherapy given to her dog.  The client agreed to the treatment and the drugs were started.  After just a couple of treatments, due to the dog’s reactions to the drugs, it became obvious to the lady that it

I am a fan of Dr. Karen Becker, the veterinarian who works with Mercola.  She is a great veterinarian and a true advocate for alternative and natural methods for pet health care.  I also sympathize with her duties of having to supply tons of information for her readers.  I know, before I became a vet, I was a journalist and had a weekly newspaper column on outdoor recreation.  It is hard to continually find new sources for interesting information.  So, we will usually re-use material after a while, not only to help fill in the blanks but give readers who