If you can’t leave the house without a list, carry a tissue around for a persistent runny nose, have moisturizer in your purse for dry skin, achy joints and you have defined boundaries that no one dare cross, chances are that you are of the metal element.  Metal element individuals are known for their high level of intelligence and their meticulous focus on detail.  When in balance, they love to work, are consistent with their daily routines and anatomically have lean body structure and defined angles.  Think of the distance runner (marathon runner or Greyhound) and you can picture the

Last time, I discussed the Five Element System in Chinese medicine and how it plays a role in overall health issues.  It is a system that we would do well to become acquainted with as it can help us promote well health for both ourselves and our pets. Earth, like each of the five elements, is part of a circular flow of direction and influence that an element has on the others.  The flow of influence is clockwise and each element acts as both a mother of an element and a child of another element.  The mother element must be

  I was taught in veterinary school that in order to know what is wrong with the body, I must first know what is normal for the body.  The first couple of years in school, we focused on the anatomy and physiology of the animal body to get a clear picture of what was normal, both in structure and in function.  After that, we moved into what could go wrong with the body and what it would take to get it back to our predetermined normal.  Little did I know that what I learned as normal was just the tip

Just yesterday, two clients asked me how to handle a situation at their “regular” vet.  Both of them explained that when they told their vet that they were feeding a wholesome, fresh diet and questioned the possibility of over-vaccinating their pets, the vets either rolled their eyes and humiliated them or got defensive and started laying a guilt trip on them for potentially harming their pets. For many years, there has been an ongoing argument about who knows best regarding your health or your pet’s health.  From the doctor’s perspective is that he is a trained and intellectual doctor, he

This is the final in a series of blogs on a holistic approach to cancer.  You check out part 1 here, and part 2 here. What is the purpose of the disease? The purpose of the experience might be as simple as needing a lifestyle change or it might be as deep as an awareness of impending death and a need to contemplate about death.  The greater truth might reveal that life cannot be fully experienced without an awareness of death.  In our society, we fear death to the point that we ignore it until we are forced to face

*this continues a series of blogs that I started last week.  If you missed last week’s blog you can check it out Here. What is the difference between healing and curing?  Healing leads to a greater awareness of ourselves while curing is likely temporary and only at the physical level of the body.  How many cancer patients are cured only to find that the cancer returns later?  Perhaps the greater truth in the experience of cancer had not been learned and so life wants to give you another chance to learn it. In our society we have been conditioned to

STOP! Start with some breathing before you read the article.  Take a moment and breathe in deeply, hold the breath for a few seconds and then breathe out.  Hold on to that space between breaths for a couple of seconds and then repeat this for a few minutes.  If thoughts come, acknowledge them, let them pass and return your focus to your breathing.  I will wait.  Breathing, breathing, breathing A Conceptual Disease I asked you to spend some time with this breathing exercise to put you into a frame of mind that will be less reactive to conditioned thoughts and

  In my office, I am continually confronted with people who must make very difficult decisions.  This might be when to let their beloved pet go or whether to continue to try to support an aging pet. I try to help these people as much as possible, but invariably, I am left with one response, “Let your heart be your guide.”  This is not a superficial response, but a heartfelt truth that has powerful implications. Recently, I told you the story about how I moved away from the conventional approach to pet health care towards a more holistic perspective.  Today

In an old John Travolta movie called, Phenomena he picked up an apple and showed it to two children.  “If I throw this apple on the ground it will rot.  If I eat the apple, it becomes part of me.”  That is what I want to talk about today. Have you ever had a conversation with your veterinarian about your pet’s nutrition? I bet it wasn’t long, or informative.  Most veterinarians are not very interested in pet nutrition.  Twenty years ago, that was me too.   Like most veterinarians, my education in animal nutrition consisted of one undergraduate course covering dogs,

Every week, my clients ask me why other veterinarians don’t use a holistic approach to pet health care. My answer? They don’t know why it would benefit their patients. I remember the exact moment when I knew that I needed to make a change. I was in my second year of veterinary college when my dog, Lucy, got sick. That morning she looked depressed and had vomited several times during the night so I took her with me to school. Before class began, I walked her into the animal hospital and told the on-call veterinarian that my dog was sick.

“We have been all wrong! What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been lowered as to be perceptible to the senses”….. Albert Einstein               What did Einstein mean when he said that matter is energy?  How does it apply to pet health care? That is what today’s blog is all about. From the time of Isaac Newton, we have been led to believe that matter is stable, dense and predictable.  The human body, since that time, was assumed to be made purely of matter.  In fact, our entire health care system is based on this perspective.  This

  The last time we visited, I discussed my transition into being a holistic veterinarian.  I told the story of my beloved dog Lucy and the incredible success of acupuncture on a dog with persistent seizures. One thing that I passionately believe is that this life isn’t just for veterinarians. I want you to see that YOU can begin integrate holistic pet care into your life to empower yourself for your pet.           Just yesterday I received a call from another veterinarian asking for additional options for treating a patient of hers with terminal cancer.  I gave her some options but