"To the person responsible for the Reunion Rescue website,
First I'll start by saying that it's admirable of you to undertake a noble cause. Pit bulls need all the help they can get, and I know first hand that they are wonderful companions. But...Here are some great sources on animal health:
Your website has quite a bit of incorrect information that I feel could be harmful both to the dogs and their people. I'm sure you have the best intentions, but they are a bit misguided. I am soon beginning my fourth and final year of veterinary school, and I have learned a great deal about health and disease of dogs, so I want to share some information with you in the hope that you will revise what is incorrect on your website.
Raw diets are not the best choice for the modern dog or cat. It is important to remember that although our pets have wild ancestors that consumed raw meat, humans have bred these animals to the point that they are far-removed from their wild ancestors. Our domestic pets now live much longer and healthier lives than their ancestors thanks to advances in science and pet care, such as the commercial diet. It is certainly true that not all commercial diets were created equally, and that it is important to feed a high-quality diet for the best health of our pets. Food from reputable companies such as Hill's, Purina, and Royal Canin have much scientific research behind them to come up with the best formulas for our pets' nutritional needs. As for raw diets, there is abundant data showing that these are actually dangerous not only to pets' health, but to their owners as well. In a study by Morely P.S. et al (2006), they proved that 93% of dogs fed raw diets shed Salmonella in their feces, whereas 0-2% of dogs fed commercial diets shed Salmonella. Both exposure to the feces containing agents of disease (such as Salmonella) and preparing a pet's raw diet can make their human owners very sick.
On a different subject, vaccination of pets is another medical advancement that has greatly improved both the quality and the longevity of our pets' lives. Thanks to vaccinations, rabies (which is 100% fatal) has basically been eliminated in the US pet population. Additionally, vaccination against very serious diseases, such as Feline Leukemia Virus and Canine Parvovirus (parvo), has greatly reduced the amount of sick pets in the US. But these diseases only remain at low numbers as long as people keep their pets vaccinated. And that means that when people adopt or rescue an animal with an unknown background (a stray pit bull, for instance), it is very important to have this animal examined by a veterinary doctor and then vaccinated. Even if the animal received vaccines with its previous family, getting boosters is not harmful to the animal, and will definitely help protect it from many diseases.
Under your "About Us" tab, I was hoping there would be some credentials or sources to back up the information on your website, but there were none. It is alarming how easy it is to spread misinformation on the internet, and giving people incorrect information could prove harmful to both their pet and to them. If you truly care about animal health, please consider doing some fact-checking from reputable sources (some are listed below) and updating your website. Or get in touch with your local veterinary doctor! I urge you, from one animal lover to the next.
Merck Veterinary Manual: http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA):
https://www.avma.org/public/petcare/Pages/default.aspx
Centers for Disease Control (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/
US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA): http://www.aphis.usda.gov/
Temple Grandin's website: http://www.grandin.com/
Best regards,
Amelia B.
Boy. There is so much wrong with this letter, it's overpowering, however, I'm experienced with ignorance and disbelief. In fact, I deal with it on a daily
basis. Let me take this assault apart point by point beginning with the
statement regarding Reunion Rescue's 'noble cause' saving pit bulls.The work of Reunion Rescue is not a cause. We didn't go out looking for an underdog to save. The underdog comes to me. I get something like four thousand emails and pleas per day asking for help. The bulk of these stem from pet over-production which is the life's blood of most vets who encourage breeding while shelters are killing millions of companion animals.
That being said, my work has led to years of experiencing over-zealous vets, offices filled with Hills Science Diet owned by Colgate-Palmolive which also runs the nation's largest rendering plant. Ever wonder where all the dead cats and dogs from shelters and vet hospitals end up? Nothing discourages me any more than some vet with only 3 hours of nutrition classes under his belt talking one of my adopters out of a healthy raw meat diet while trying hawk the products that paid for his vet school.
This dear girl goes on to suggest I change what she calls 'incorrect' information on my website by lashing out at 'raw diets' which she claims 'are not the best choice for the modern dog or cat.' This student even threatens illness to the concerned pet owner in preparing a raw diet. There is so much wrong with this paragraph, it's almost impossible to dissect, but I'll try. I'd much rather cut up some of the myths promulgated from the modern veterinary schools than the poor defenseless animals in their research labs.
Most raw feeders, and I belong to several co-ops around the country and Canada, are astute, thinking individuals who've done their research. Raw feeders I have met have more knowledge about nutrition and pet health than 98 percent of the conventional vets I've encountered. In over fifteen years and a lifetime before of depending on allopathic vet care, I've met more than a few. In my own experience, I've dealt with the loss of companion animals in which too often the vet after running a battery of expensive tests, produces an educated guess, a bottle of pharmaceutical drugs or 'humane euthanasia.'
Tragically, much of my email in box is filled with horror stories of some senior or very sick pet left to be euthanized at the local shelter because the owner couldn't afford the huge vet bill. I can't tell you how many times a day, an hour, I see these horrific stories. It sickens me.
Why don't they teach healing at vet school? Rather than cut up healthy animals on the research table, why not cure a sick one? I would love to share my experiences treating kennel cough and giardia with homeopathic remedies which cost $6.99 a bottle. Ok, so you have to vaccinate a kitten a thousand times because the law makes you? Why not detox that poor animal to remove some of the mercury, anti-freeze, formaldehyde, rabies and other nasty crap from the body? At least give that kitten receiving half the same dose given to a horse a bit of a fighting chance.
My experiences with sub-standard suggestions from the conventional veterinary community has paved my path toward healthy research in which I have personally not had to 'humanely euthanize' a pet in many years. Every animal in my care and those which live in a raw feeding household and practice holistic support have passed on when their times came naturally....in my arms or those of their caregivers. What a concept.
Which leads us to...
"And that means that when people adopt or rescue an animal with an unknown background (a stray pit bull, for instance), it is very important to have this animal examined by a veterinary doctor and then vaccinated. Even if the animal received vaccines with its previous family, getting boosters is not harmful to the animal, and will definitely help protect it from many diseases."So the over-vaccinated animal which is vaccinated again upon shelter release is then vaccinated again at the kindly vet office. According to this young lady, vaccines are not harmful. When an animal is referred to as an 'it' as this future vet calls them, I know the mentality I'm dealing with. To these people who might have entered vet school as a vocation to help the animals they claim to love, those beings are now a commodity.
You want credentials? How about the thousands of animals Reunion Rescue has helped over the years. Let your research abilities direct you to our Reunion Rescue Facebook page with tons of pictures of healthy animals who've eaten raw meat diet and enjoyed holistic rather than pharmaceutical support over the years.
You cite Merck and AVMA along with Center for Disease Control and USDA for me to examine and replace our good healthy information with? Why? These gruesome authorities have near nothing of interest to the person looking to heal animals. Why do I feel like the lady in the movie 'Coma' when she discovers a horrible medical conspiracy. If you were looking to terrify me, you've succeeded.
I'm saddened that rather than teach healing and look for actual cures, the modern vet school is turning out students that attack the voice of reason and good health much like their prescribed antibiotics kill everything encountered like the Mucinex army.
So, to wind it up, there will not be any changes to the Reunion Rescue website and Health Page. We have a job to do and it's a hard job. It's not easy to try and undo huge pharmaceutical company funded 'studies' and corporate-based myths about nutrition, but we have living, healthy 'case-studies' which we call by their names.
Names like Vinny who came to us overweight, blind and riddled with hip dysplasia. After a few weeks of good healthy organic free range diet and a homeopathic work up, Vinny is pain free and spends his free time running for his ball. Dogs like Raspberry who was fine when she got here, but contracted a near-death bout of rabies vaccinosis at the vet.
Dogs like Misha who had recurring 'meatball' tumors from over-vaccination and since being deferred from vaccines and holistic support, has gone on to enjoy life tumor and vaccine-free. Benny was going to be destroyed at the shelter due to severe complications from mange was cured completely without any pharmaceuticals and has the blog to show his progress.
I have a saying for students like this young woman who promotes pharmaceutical companies, low-grade kibble and research which depends on mass animal torture....I'll take my chances with the rabies.
Horray!!! Thank you for posting this. My god people wake up. This crap is killing people too
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteBill Nye [on climate change, but I'd say it applies to pretty much everything]- "What I would encourage everybody to do is back up and let's agree on the facts."
DeleteDon't be fooled by skillful manipulation and misinformation.
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DeleteDon't let this blog brainwash you. The vet student is right.
ReplyDeleteYES people don't be idiots. too many manipulative people like this who know how to take advantage of ignorance
DeletePurina, Royal Canin & Hill's have all had recalled food.
ReplyDeleteI would not feed my dogs those foods.
(I do not trust Merck or USDA either.)
Garett- Maybe you are the one that's brainwashed.
Wow!! Shame on you for not being open to other viewpoints, and for getting so defensive instead of acknowledging you might be wrong. Check your facts and look at the science. Try to see the good in people. Not all vets are as heartless as you make them seem. The average nurse goes to school for 4 years LESS than a vet and makes the same amount of money. Vets DONT practice for the money, they practice for the greater good of animals.
ReplyDelete^ what this person said. duh. and i couldn't imagine a single veterinarian being anything resembling heartless. better read the letter from her again, it was completely perfect and left no room for miscommunication and was clearly respectful.
DeleteSorry but vets do practice for money. And this young lady is firmly full of her own ego and wants to espouse what she has learned in books and from an industry that likes to call itself Drs. I would trust a rescue organization before I trust any of theses "so call" experts. Science is a study of theory not fact. Something todays scientists have forgotten. Maybe vets do not have the same standards "first do no harm". The fact is a serious of vaccines that are unecessary at best and harmful at worst costs well over 100.00 to the animal and costs the Vets office at most 8.00 per vacine. I have worked in Vets offices so don't try to say this is about the animals. We were specifically required to pressure people with scare tactics to sell these posions and science diets. Oh and UNKNOWN Cindy is not only open to other viewpoints she does her research so she knows the difference. Her methods are tried and true.
DeleteUnfortunately Vanessa maybe you can't imagine it, but I have seen many heartless rough and even abusive vets,so until you have seen it and seen the condition of some of the rescues these organization save you really shouldn't comment. Cindy was not disrespectful she was truthful and sad that these young vets come out of school with worse education than farmers.
Please cite these good vets which don't promote Hills, Merck, cruel animal research, etc. Please publish the names of some of the good vets who help animals and offer support to animals rather than a huge vet bill most people cannot pay. Would love to spotlight those good doctors interested in healing and saving lives.
ReplyDeleteVets promote Hills because Hills foods undergo extensive trials and have been scientifically proven to be effective treatments for certain diseases. For people not wanting to give their pets drugs, Hills (or other veterinary diets) are legitimately the next best option.
DeletePlease cite scientific papers for your statements and beliefs Cindy (anti-vaccinations, raw diets, vaccination "detox"). One thing you need to remember Cindy is that vets are in school for 8 years which leaves many $150,000 in debt at minimum and starting pay for vets is very low (plus our job market is very poor, but yet we go into the field hoping to find jobs and care for animals). Yes there are vets out there that take advantage of people, but the vast majority of vets charge fair amounts. Vets have bills to pay, families to provide for, we can not give our services away for free. Part of owing a pet is paying for vet appointments, just like raising a child and paying the doctor. If people can not afford the vet bills they should not own the animal. Sometimes life happens and your dog cuts its paw, the bill is going to be high because surgery most likely is required. The vets I work with as long as a deposit is left we will work with clients on a payment plan. Vets are far better at working with people compared to insurance companies and doctors offices. If people are worried about high vet bills, there is pet insurance out there that is getting better. If you think vets have a huge bill, take a look at your doctor bills with and without insurance. An example would be the 20 dollar rabies vaccination once a year or in some cases every other year for dogs and cats, compare that to the 800 dollar (insurance covered 1/3) rabies vaccine I had to get in order to attend vet school (by the way no side effects here, still the same guy as before the shots :). I am all for vaccinations because I have seen the cases where people didn't want a 20 dollar shot for parvo or lepto disease and a month later they call on emergency because there animal is sick. Parvo is incredibly hard to treat and very expensive and easily contractible. Lepto is another disease easy to prevent but people don't vaccinate for it because they don't think their dog will get it. Next thing you know your dog comes in contact with raccoon urine with leptospirosis and you are at the vet looking at a huge bill. Also leptospirosis is highly contagious to humans. These huge bills easily avoided by simple, safe vaccines. Have a nice night.
Deleteobviously you haven't gone to a vet... what's a rabies shot, 12 bucks? and what's your pet's life worth... orrr do you just have them for selfish reasons... don't own a pet if you cannot care for them properly.
DeleteSorry Vanessa I wasn't clear in my statement. What I was trying to get across is the fact that this lady thinks vets are all about money when in reality we are not but the human medical profession is. My point was vets charge $20 for a rabies vaccination, where as the rabies vaccination I had to get in order to attend vet school was $800.
DeleteHow many cases of leptospirosis this past year? I read there have been none in the us exceptca pocket of cases in san diego. Please clarify about deadly leptospirosis in texas please.
DeleteI can't speak to your question about Texas, but I know for certain there have been several confirmed cases in Kansas over the past few years because I have helped treat them.
DeleteWow... just wow... Veterinarians are some of the most highly educated individuals on the planet. They have a minimum of 8 years of college. It is so difficult to get into veterinary school that less than 10% of those that apply get in. A large percentage of them achieve advanced degrees like masters or doctorates while they are biding their time waiting for a spot to open up. The most common bachelors degree held by veterinarians is an ANIMAL SCIENCE degree (which, in and of itself, requires extensive undergraduate coursework dedicated to nutrition and digestive physiology). In order to apply for vet school, they will have had to complete: 2 semesters of biology, 2 semesters of chemistry, 2 semesters of organic chemistry, biochemistry, 2 semesters of physics, Genetics, Anatomy and Physiology; All of this in addition to their normal undergraduate major bachelors degree coursework... and they must do well in all of it. Once veterinary students are accepted into this 4-year doctoral program, they take almost all of the same courses that human doctors do... where they learn about all of the same diseases that people get... because of the 1,461 recognized disease that people get, 60% are also shared by multiple animal species. Then, there are the hundreds of diseases that animals get that humans don't. So veterinarians take many more classes that human doctors don't. Veterinary students will have a 1 semester nutrition class dedicated to teaching about nutrition and how to formulate homemade diets as well as how to judge whether or not a specific food choice (purchased or homemade) is appropriate for each individual patient. In addition, they also get additional extensive education on diet formulations in their 2 semesters of physiology, 1 semester of cell biology, 1 semester of immunology, in 1 semester (7 credit) small animal internal medicine class, in their 1 semester of equine internal medicine, in their 1 semester of large animal internal medicine, in their 1 semester of exotic animal medicine class, in their 1 semester of toxicology, in their 1 semester of cardiology, in their semester of dermatology. There are additional electives they can take to expand on this. They learn the dangers of raw diets in their immunology class, in their virology class, in their bacteriology class, in their parasitology class, in their 2 semesters of pathology. Many veterinary schools have banned the on-campus interaction between pharmaceutical representatives or pet food representatives and their students. Much time is spent with veterinary students on how to objectively evaluate different claims by pharmaceutical companies and how to dive into the data because they know FULL WELL that pharmaceutical companies need to make money. Veterinary students have 1 semester more of pharmacology than human medical doctors do to make sure they have a solid understanding of all the drugs that are on the market and how each and every one (vaccines included) affect each species. They know that pharmaceutical companies try to put the best spin on the data that they can and are taught to be skeptical. They know about each little ingredient in each vaccine, why its there, how it works, and the risks of using that product (and yes the risks exist). It is their job to educate the owner about the actual risk (not the perceived risk) and to recommend what is truly in their patient's best interest. Their #1 allegiance is to their client and the patients that they treat, not to any drug company or pet food company. Not only can the vet student/veterinarian show significant provable logical evidence that many of these raw diets are dangerous, they can quote you the genus and the species (and probably name the surface proteins) of each of the strains of bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungi, and prion diseases that your animal could catch from these raw diets.
ReplyDeleteVeterinarians, like human doctors, are taught evidence-based medicine and required to obtain annual continuing education to maintain their licenses. Everyday we learn more about animal health and they are the best source to get advice on what the EVIDENCE shows is best for your animal. They are taught to critically evaluate the true scientific evidence that exists to support marketing claims like "raw food diets are better for your pet." If you are going to take advice from anyone about alternative food choices, find those who are credentialed. Believe it or not, there are veterinarians who specialize in holistic medicine who can give you far better advice than a person who has rescued a pit bull which managed to survive despite foolish care, and now suspects that she's an expert. I've rescued beagles for years, but that hasn't done shit for advancing my scientific knowledge. Demand peer-reviewed evidence for everything. Trust your vet. They know more than this person. Period.
ReplyDeleteBOOM. Glad people like you are taking the time to do this. Got enough misinformation around here going undisputed.
DeleteRDH: Thank you. All you've said is true. From a struggling member of the class of 2016.
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ReplyDeleteYou are clearly misinformed if you think veterinarians graduate with a mere 3 hours of nutrition education. Speaking of, how many accredited nutrition courses have you attended? You also seem to have strong opinions regarding vaccinations, so can I assume you have taken graduate level biochemistry, immunology and virology courses? It is shameful that you are given a platform simply because you bought a web domain and it is tragic that people might actually listen to your unfounded opinions. Animals will suffer for your ignorance and while I'm sure that is not your intention, that is reality.
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ReplyDeleteThis makes me sad that people think vet students as a whole are uneducated and greedy. I know that I am in this field for my love of animals and I am striving to become a well-rounded doctor, educated in both the prevention and treatment of illness. I think there is a place for both types of medicine, holistic/alternative methods and more traditional/western methods. I have seen wonderful results with alternative medicine and have also seen dogs that would have died immediately without the advancements of newer medicine. I hope that people realize that the vet students coming of school in the near future are not just money-hungry, laboratory trained, dog dissectors. We are people who were born and raised in the generation that fully supports holistic, alternative medicine, people that are working to reverse the idea that it is better to fix a disease than to prevent it, people who are willing to take on hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt just to make a little bit of difference for the animals that we dearly love and want to care for. A majority of us are 'bunny-huggers' who find ourselves torn between wanting to help animals and thus having to dissect them in order to do so. I hope that people realize this article comes from the same place of ignorance and close-minded thinking as the people who say western medicine is the only, right way to cure a problem. And it needs to be said, none of us are being supported by dog food or drug companies to pay for school but many of us will learn to push or sell this because of the massive debt we take on for very little pay, this is because often times, many of us do pro-bono work because of how much we care. Spreading misguided judgements like this that lump all veterinarians in the same group is damaging to both to the animals that could potentially be helped by one should a random unavoidable trauma happen (say hit by a car, doesn't matter if your dog has a healthy raw unvaccinated life, this still happens) and also the rescues that hope to enlist the the help of kind open-hearted vets. These opinions drive people away from the profession and then you are only left with the jerks that wanna pump your dogs full of drugs, because they don't care what you think. Also, just because your dog went 'naturally' does not mean that they may have not suffered deeply and been in agonizing pain. People are blind to that sometimes and euthanasia is often a great gift to an animal. We have to find a way to work together for animals, not call out entire groups because we've had a few bad experiences. It'd be the same thing if the AVMA said all rescues are run by crazies and shut them all down. It would hurt a lot of really well intentioned and well run rescues. FYI, this is the opinion of a few current vet students.
ReplyDeleteUgh, I am also a vet student (about to enter my fourth and final year), and there isn't much I can add that my colleagues haven't already addressed. This person is absolutely ridiculous and clearly ignorant. Jenny McCarthy has been called a "menace to society" because of her role in the anti-vaccine movement, and I would venture to call Cindy a "menace to animal health". I am so freaking tired of our profession being accused of greed and lack of compassion, and that is a large part of what drives the high suicide rate among veterinarians. Look up the story of Dr. Shirley Koshi of New York City, who committed suicide because of the misguided and ignorant beliefs of someone who didn't know what they were talking about. All I can say is that if you are willing to "take your chances with the rabies", maybe natural selection has a place here. You probably don't know what natural selection is, but my colleagues do.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I literally laughed out loud when I read your comment about treating kennel cough with homeopathic remedies. Kennel cough can resolve on its own with time, so know that you didn't do crap to help that dog, other than put it at risk for a secondary infection.
DeleteKennel cough has been treated successfully with bryonia 30c and phosphorous 30 with no recurring after affect and certainly not the residuals left in the system by pharmaceuticals. Can any one of you 'learned' scientists lay claim that your pharaceutical treatments have no underlying after affects? I hear on a daily basis of animals developing terrible side affects from your pharmaceuticals.
DeleteThank you for speaking down to your lowers. You must do great on Jeopardy!
Delete"Thank you for speaking down to your lowers" - Oh, so you do agree that you don't have any authority to be speaking about this. Great! Maybe we can move on.
DeleteThis conversation sounds like this - "Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time and annoys the pig."
Seriously, Kennel cough is a self limiting disease. It will resolve on it's own, even without medication. I seriously laughed out loud when I read that statement. I also can't believe that you think all veterinarians are money hungry and ignorant. Maybe you should come live a vet students life for a week for so. You might understand the +150K in debt I have and the fact that my future salary will be less then some nurses. Not to mention the 18hr days of classes and hardcore studying, but don't forget all the volunteering and service work on the weekends.
DeleteCan you tell me why the yearly vaccines? I was not vaccinated yearly as a child and would really like to know why its required of pets?
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DeleteWait, we can get Hill's to pay for our education? Sweet! I must have missed that announcement. Please post the information on exactly how to do that, so I can stop taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars of student loans. I'm glad you know more about this than I do. We vet students sure are an ignorant lot.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.itchmo.com/wondered-why-you-always-find-science-diet-at-the-vet-241
DeleteI still don't see in that article where it is they pay for vet education. Would LOVE to find out, know a few people who could benefit. Haven't ever found anything to back up this claim. It is apparently bogus :-/
DeleteSeriously! Sign me up for this loan repayment option! If this is the case, how is it that the average veterinary student debt is $150K?!? "Mis-informed vet student trashes holistic rescue group" Really? This is dramatic. I guess my understanding of the terms "mis-informed" and "trashing" are way off because the letter that you received was nothing but eloquent, knowledgable and respectful. Your credentials are dogs on Facebook? This is insulting. You have invalidated the time, emotion, money and compassion that the veterinary profession invests into safeguarding the health and wellness of animals AND humans (rabies is a 100% fatal disease that is zoonotic to humans, ie. can be transmitted from animal to human). Your emotional and anecdotal soap box is incredibly dangerous to both animal and human health. Shame on you.
ReplyDeletehttp://vetmed.illinois.edu/hills/
DeleteThe link you provided is talking a bout a feeding program for students to buy Hills science diet at a reduced cost while we are in school. In no way are they paying for our schooling. At most Hills provides scholarships which we can apply for.
DeleteWait this a satirical article right? Because the vet student sounds like the educated and passionate one between the two
ReplyDeleteYeah i am pretty sure it is. There are a lot of the 'hoax' pages out there like this. Maybe you've seen them, like 'Bonzi Cat' and such. They are funny if you get the humor, but sometimes people get really worked up and think people like poor Cindy here is nuts. When really, she is obviously being comedic. No sane person would every really think these radical and obviously fictitious things!
DeleteShame on anyone who promotes dangerous toxic drugs and substandard kibble which contains euthanized animals. Shame on people reduced to ugly name calling.
Deleteohhh please dear natural selection.... work your charm!!! I think it would be a poetic justice for a person like this to know what it feels like to be dying of thirst yet terrified of water (how rabies kills) all because of a fear of sciences. I bet this lady thinks the sun revolves around us too.
ReplyDeleteIn our own work, the heatlhy animals are the ones being fed raw diet, detoxed from poisons and toxins injected into their bodies year after year and supported with herbal and homeoplathic supplements and treatments. The animals whose parents opted for a kibble diet along with conventional care are sick an dying. These are the hundreds we've tracked through Reunion Rescue adoptions. It's terrifying to consider the poor animals held hostage to the mentality of some of the 'vet students' and 'scientists' commenting on this blog. Right shameful that people who claim to love animals and want to heal then, have no interest in altering their egos to learh what can really really help the animals they profess to love.
ReplyDeleteExactly...in your own work. Opinions abound. As a vet, let me throw in my own personal experience.....My dog, my baby, Cali (California) is a basset hound mix that most likely came from a puppy mill (poor genetics). I adopted her at 8 weeks of age. Since then, she has been fed both Hills/Purina/Iams, has been vaccinated on a regular schedule, gets regular exercise....guess what. No one believes this doll of a dog just turned 10? She retains her youthful look, yearly ultrasounds/bloodwork show a very healthy state, and despite her predisposition to obesity, I have maintained a very healthy weight. Far from a sick and dying dog. So I guess I'm a shameful vet who doesn't understand what I'm doing and only leading to her demise (lol). Tell my little girl Cali that.....she is my soul mate and I follow what I preach/recommend.
DeleteTo the run on sentence above...to be clear, you are telling us to over vaccinate our companion pets with mercury, formaldehyde, rabies and all kind of other killer toxins with a dose for a kitten as large as that of a half horse? You wish us to feed sub-standard kibble made from rendered dogs and cats killed in shelters and sick vet offices so your children can attend college?
ReplyDeleteThere are many points that I could argue over, but for now I'll start with the vaccines filled with "mercury, formaldehyde, rabies, and all kind of other killer toxins." There is of course plenty of scientific research to prove the safety of vaccines, but I assume scientific information doesn't interest you much. Instead of trying to debate with logic, I'll present it as such instead:
DeleteFor centuries, pets survived just fine without the use of vaccines. Those pets, however, only interacted with a few other animals on any sort of a regular basis, whether those were the other cats in the barn or the pack of other friendly dogs running around the neighborhood. In today's society, our dogs are exposed to dozens of other dogs on a daily basis at dog parks, pet product stores, during walks, at puppy daycare, etc. You may point out that your unvaccinated dogs meet lots of other dogs without getting sick, but remember that nearly all of the other dogs they meet are vaccinated, serving as a buffer between your pets and other infected animals. With more unvaccinated animals, your pets would lose that buffer, leaving them more at-risk for disease. The results would be horrifying.
If we work under your INCORRECT assumption that vaccines ultimately lead to cancer and other diseases in pets as they get old, I would still choose to vaccinate each and every one of my pets to protect them against your "perfect" vaccine-free world. In your "perfect" world, countless puppies would die of severe dehydration while vomit poured out one end and bloody diarrhea poured out the other (parvovirus). In your "perfect" world, countless other puppies would die of dehydration and starvation between fits of seizures, vomiting, breathing difficulties, and diarrhea (distemper virus). In your "perfect" world, countless kittens and cats would die of seemingly mild bacterial infections because their bodies would be so weakened by anemia, fever, destruction of white blood cells, and even cancer (feline leukemia). In your "perfect" world, countless pets and even humans would die incurably from bouts of aggression, paranoia, and delirium with severe dehydration because of how excruciatingly painful drinking becomes (rabies). In your "perfect" world, you could sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor as puppies and kittens died horrible deaths all around you. Your world sounds really awesome, but I think I'd rather let my pets all survive into late adulthood so that they can live out healthy, happy lives before somehow coming down with your hypothetical vaccine-induced diseases.
Poor vet student was being so factual and probably was taking all these radical 'reunion rescue' perspectives seriously and did not realize it was off beat humor.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Taking your chances with rabies! Cindy you are hilarious!
Kinda morbid sense of humor, but this a great dry satirical piece about how inferior modern animal medicine/health is!
I really enjoyed the bit on "products that paid for his vet school"….every kid in the wold wishes that would happen. And "humane euthanasia." another good one…considering 'euthanasia' is latin for 'humane death'.
Great blog post. Thanks for the good laughs. Cindy have a really amazing gift for comedic writing! :)
By the way, you almost had me fooled too…until i looked up the 'reunion rescue' and saw it was just a .com page….everyone knows that legit animal rescue services are non-for-profits and thus .org pages.
DeleteReunion Rescue is a legitimate well respected rescue organization of which I. Cindy Marabito am the director and very proud of the work done over the past 15 plus years and do not feel the need to hide behind a cartoon name. Please reveal yourself and your motivation for attacking a rescue from behind a facade?
DeleteI have to send this is 2 parts, but I hope you take the time to read it anyway… I’m not going to reiterate what was already said to comment on a lot of what I think was wrongly stated in both the veterinary student's letter and the reply. I will however comment on some things I think you may be misguided on, and as a 3rd year veterinary student myself, feel the need to say.
ReplyDelete1) Vaccines. There are some situations where they are not warranted and we can test for this by doing a quick blood test where the titres (antibody levels) can be measured. If they are high enough, the animal is still protected and vaccinating again would not be ethical. The harmful compounds you mentioned such as mercury and formaldehyde are in such tiny levels it poses no threat, even if the vaccine was given 10 times over. Are you aware there is acetone in apples? but again its all about the amount, you don't hear of people using apple juice to take off their nail polish.
2) the "it" comment. People call babies and "it" when they don't know if its a girl or a boy. Do they think the baby is an object, no, there just isn't another word to use. she was very respectful in the letter, taking a stab at her love of animals is a low blow. We kill ourselves to be veterinarians, learning the nuances of over 10 different species (including human signs of contracted animal diseases) in the same amount of time as human doctors is not an easy or even enjoyable task. Not to mention the fact that we don't get the same level of payment or respect that we deserve.
Part 2
ReplyDelete3) Raw food. As doctors and scientist we are trained to look at the evidence objectively. Unfortunately to the detriment of the raw food companies they do not have the studies to support their claim like the major dog food companies do. Those major companies do however pay for studies to preserve their interest by pointing out the bacterial exposure risks. Personally, I understand the impact diet has on the body, and when my dog started suffering from allergies, his diet was the first thing I changed. I know the benefits of raw food and holistic medicine because i have seen it first hand, but if these things aren't done properly the outcome is often catastrophic. The reason why raw food isn't recommended is because if the person feeding the animals isn't diligent about proper handling and management of the food, they can get very very sick. Raw meat should be kept frozen until it is given, and should be removed if its not eaten within 20 minutes. Keeping it out longer allows harmful bacterial growth that can seriously harm both the human and pet. The diet composition itself is also very important, simply feeding meat cuts isn't enough. In the 'wild' they're diet is composed of the entire carcass. organs, bone, and the herbivores stomach contents all provide key micronutrients needed for proper health. Without a proper balance they can get very sick and in some cases (which i have also seen first hand) die. How to avoid this: feed your pet a balanced diet by people who KNOW what they are doing. Nutrition isn't learnt in 3 hours, it takes years of study to get it right, and there are many raw pet food companies who can be counted on to properly balance the diet. However even with all that, certain health situations require different formulations that they have yet to provide, but that the large kibble pet food companies can. For example if your pet is suffering from renal (kidney) failure, they need less protein and potassium (among other electrolytes) in their diet. Reducing these helps slow the progression of the incurable kidney diseases, and keeps them off harmful pharmaceuticals for longer. In these situations, it's important for who ever is feeding the pets to be aware that a kibble -based diet is in fact the better choice for the animal.
4) Holistic medicine has its place in pain management and treatment of slowly progressive or "in-curable" diseases. But even the holistic doctors with the best track records will tell you that holistic medicine isn't always the best option. If your child has an allergic reaction and their throat closes, because they ate something they didn't know was harmful (something every pet-parent should know well), do you reach for the epi-pen or the homeopathic remedy? You reach for the fastest fix because waiting means death. holistic medicine isn't as fast or as targeted as pharmaceutical medicine, so when something needs to be treated quickly and efficiently, waiting on holistic medicine isn't an option. after the immanent threat of death has passed and you want to continue treatment with holistic medicine, as the person responsible for the animal's wellbeing, that is your prerogative. In some cases holistic medicine works wonders, especially when modern medicine has failed, but that doesn't mean it will work in every situation.
Its important that people keep an open mind to both sides, and not discount one as the absolute best. Every animal, body, life, is different. Proper healthcare isn't about the exact methods you use, it is about trying all available avenues and using what works best for the animal and your pocket. I've spent more money on holistic remedies than pharmaceuticals and at the end of the day I needed both. Its not about one being better than the other, its about using all available avenues to help the animals.
Melissa
As someone who has had animals (usually numerous) throughout my life (currently 4 cats, 3 dogs, all of them the rescues I couldn't find homes for due to various issues)- my experience with vets has been both good and bad... with a slight emphasis on the bad. I am currently with this amazing vet, Dr. Rae (Crossroads of the Danforth, Scarborough, ON)_ who is one of the most compassionate, straight and honest vets I've ever worked with. She recognizes that not everyone is a bad owner if they can't afford expensive surgeries or unncessary procedures. She is also NOT proponent of raw diets but accepts my belief in them and will still treat my animals when I need her to. I swtiched to raw diet on the advice of a fully accredited vet who happens to be a naturopath as well. My then 6 year old shepherd was rapdily losing feeling in his hindquarters (started life in a backyard breeder's cage, chained at 8 weeks to a doghouse where he spent the next 3.5 years in ALL weather). My regular vet tried him on anti-inflamatories and a few other thing which did not agree with him. I went to the naturopath who put him on natural supplements and switched all dogs to a raw diet. Llyr gained strength, for the first time in his life, his coat (he is black) shone like a mirror, he had more energy and absoultely has done wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteMy other GSD (black and tan) has also done wonderful. Last march I adopted as a pallative (they estimated 3 months max) a 14 year old pit mix that people had dumped at a shelter. He was a mess. Bloated, yet skinny, with raw, oozing skin, could bearly walk. The shelter had to remove 2/3 of his teeth they were rotting in his mouth. He literally had no hair - just inflamed, raw patches. I switched Maxx to a RAW immediately - he manages very well with bones and meat portions despite having not a lot of teeth - and LOVES it - the veggie portion I use (sweet potatoes, kale, cabbage, carrots, spinach, and other things)- -is mixed into hamburgers with raw beef, chicken and pork and frozen is also a hit. A friend of my daughter who saw Maxx when he came last March then was out of the country returned to visit just before Xmas. When she came in, she saw Maxx and said "oh, you have another pit bull - what a cutie". I said "another"? She said yeah, I know you got one that was dying last March - I guess you got this guy after he died? She was shocked that it was the SAME dog.
Over the years, I have had NOTHING but issues with the over the counter foods - when I look back over the issues I had with skin, teeth and other health issues with prevous dogs, I wish I had known about the Raw diet a lot sooner.
I am not against conventional vet medicine - I still get my dogs certain shots - just on my own schedule - not the vet's. I stretch these out around 5 years between innoculations and do not get everything they recommend - just the ones I feel are necessary.
What it comes down to is, like with kids, you have to do what you think is best for your animals - and respect other people's decisions on theirs.
The only thing I will say is that I believe that conventional food is generaly NOT good for aniamls. You simply have to look at the number of recalls, the cases of poisened animals, the SCIENCE that shows that in the end, it is all about profit for these companies- not for the animal.
The most true comment on this entire thread. I am disappointed. In the "vets" posting on this thread, it has really spotlighted their selfishness in feeling we as pet owners "owe" them because of their profession.
Deletewinner winner chicken dinner. Some people are really not smart. From this idiots rant I think i can tell a few things about this person. First, they are an Atkins lover....carbs bad! bring on the bacon!! Next, i highly doubt they have children, but even if they do or did, those children would be unvaccinated. I mean come on, if its bad for kitty or fido, its bad for your child. Who cares about things like polio, measles or mumps to pick a few. And for your pet, things like rabies, parvo, distemper, FelV,...easy peasy.... And for you anti-vaccine people, lets discuss rabies for a minute. Its not your vet being vaccine happy, its required BY LAW by the human Health Department. They control the laws on that, and they are not broken. So what happens when your kitty gets a wound of unknown origin from being outside and it is not up to date on rabies. It gets reported to the health department, who will require a quarantine. And when said kitty starts showing neurologic signs during said quarantine, it gets euthanized, its head is chopped off and sent in for rabies testing. Oh and since all those owners always get bit by said pet, they win a few rounds of rabies vaccines for themselves as well. In the last year alone, how many rabies positive pets has my practice seen... 6 pets. Oh and as a fun story,,, client took care of a feral colony of cats that were not vaccinated. One became sick and neurologic and of course bit her, well lets go straight to the end result. Rabies positive. Health department had to trap and euthanize the colony of 30 cats. Theres a fun time. And then let me also make a guess about said author.... you probably are one of those people that think lemon juice cures parvo. And my last guess, you at one time applied to vet school but were not accepted
ReplyDeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteScientific research is based on systematic observation, measurement, and experiment. This process is intended to be as objective as possible in order to reduce biased interpretations of results. What you are providing is an objective viewpoint with absolutely no scientific backing.
I can sit here and type multiple stories of pets that I have seen over the years that are not on, nor have they ever been on any of your suggested diets and vaccine protocols, and yet they have lived perfectly healthy and disease free lives. I can also sit here and type multiple stories of pets that I have seen and treated for diseases directly linked to your suggestions. We could sit here all of a lifetime and debate each other. This is why medicine is based on scientific research not objective observations.
You make accusations and statements that make you look very reactionary and equally, if not more as closed minded as those you accuse. Every organization and profession in this world will always have corrupt, selfish, ignorant people that seek only to better themselves and their agendas. The world can be an evil and unforgiving place. It is the job of those that want to step outside of the human condition and change this, to be kind, to be generous, to be rational, and to be non-judgmental. You cannot accuse a group of people within a profession as greedy, uneducated and deceptive without making you yourself appear the same. I as a veterinarian would love to have educated, open minded conversations with people such as yourself. You make this type of progressive dialect impossible when you speak or type words as you have done above, you make every rescue, every well-meaning animal lover, look ignorant, uneducated, unreasonable and simply irrational.
Coming together and making a difference in the lives of the animals that we all love is not done in such a manner. I am disappointed and embarrassed as an animal lover, as a pit bull advocate, as a veterinarian, as an educator and most importantly as a human being that you believe this type of behavior is helping anything.
I had to split my comment into 4 parts due to length restrictions:
ReplyDeletePart 1/4:
There are so many things wrong to your response to the vet student that I am oscillating between disbelief and anger. I cannot belief that you, an animal rescuer, can put so many FALSE things on the internet. Please please please RESEARCH what you say before opening your mouth and spreading lies about veterinary medicine and veterinary schools. People trust you as an authority on pet care, so please be RESPONSIBLE in your reporting and do your research before spreading misinformation. So many things you said about vet school are just so wrong. Given the fact that you have not been to vet school, and I have, I have the experience to tell you that you have a fundamental misunderstanding of much of our education. I would like to address your mistakes one by one:
• “That being said, my work has led to years of experiencing over-zealous vets, offices filled with Hills Science Diet owned by Colgate-Palmolive which also runs the nation's largest rendering plant. Ever wonder where all the dead cats and dogs from shelters and vet hospitals end up?” This is a HORRIBLE thing to say. If you had ever actually worked in a veterinary hospital, you would know that deceased pets are typically either cremated or sent home with the owner for burial. Typically, we do not render small animals. The owner ALWAYS decides what is done with the animal: veterinary hospitals do not just steal away deceased animals and sell their carcasses for some diabolical money-making plot. No. The owner could a) elect to have a private cremation and get the ashes back, b) have the pet cremated in the presence of other decreased pets and not receive the ashes back, or c) arrange for a burial. I have worked in 4 pet hospitals, and not ONCE was rendering an option.
• “Nothing discourages me any more than some vet with only 3 hours of nutrition classes under his belt talking one of my adopters out of a healthy raw meat diet while trying hawk the products that paid for his vet school.” Do you honestly believe that we only have 3 hours of nutrition classes? Boy, you are DEAD WRONG. We take a whole course in nutrition, and then apply and expand upon that course throughout the next three years.
• “I love to quote my trusted good veterinarian who likes to ask, 'ever see a wolf with a toothbrush?'” Sigh…there is so much wrong with this statement I don’t even know where to start. You didn’t see cavemen with toothbrushes, so does that mean we shouldn’t brush our teeth? Can you imaging what our mouths would look/smell like? If a wolf’s teeth were rotting out of its head to the point of causing pain, that wolf would not be able to hunt or eat. That wolf would then die. We see this in the wild. In addition, there are skeletal differences between a wolf’s skull and domestic dogs. Some dogs have naturally messed up teeth due to the conformation of their skulls and teeth (example: Yorkies). The overcrowding of the teeth causes additional buildup, which can lead to painful infections. I’ve seen so many patients with teeth rotting out of their heads and breath so bad you could smell it across the room. I’ve seen pus-filled dental abscesses, and infections so bad they were green. Yes…I think a toothbrush may have been useful in these cases in order to prevent the massive buildup that accumulated. That being said, I’m not going to recommend a yearly dental for every single one of my patients, but honestly evaluate each on a case-by-case basis in order to determine the need.
• “Most raw feeders, and I belong to several co-ops around the country and Canada, are astute, thinking individuals who've done their research. Raw feeders I have met have more knowledge about nutrition and pet health than 98 percent of the conventional vets I've encountered.” Really? 98%? May I see those calculations?
Part 2/4:
ReplyDelete• “In my own experience, I've dealt with the loss of companion animals in which too often the vet after running a battery of expensive tests, produces an educated guess, a bottle of pharmaceutical drugs or 'humane euthanasia.'” Yes, this is true. Medicine fails us from time to time. Sometimes we cannot elucidate the cause of the illness or cure the animal from said illness. However, we believe in evidence-based medicine. We do studies on pharmaceuticals and continue to monitor them after they receive market approval. Studies have been done on homeopathic remedies as well. Time after time, the “gold standard” for care is usually modern medicine, and not homeopathic care. If a pet came to me with an illness, I would prescribe the treatment with the BEST success rate. If that was unsuccessful, I would try other avenues, including homeopathic care. I actually worked in a clinic that offered acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, and other homeopathic medicine. However, these treatments were never as successful as their modern medicine counterparts. I am completely open to alternative/homeopathic treatment methods…IF there is scientific, peer-reviewed research supporting their efficacy (which usually there isn’t), and IF their efficacy exceeds that of traditional medicine (which is usually doesn’t).
• “Tragically, much of my email in box is filled with horror stories of some senior or very sick pet left to be euthanized at the local shelter because the owner couldn't afford the huge vet bill. I can't tell you how many times a day, an hour, I see these horrific stories. It sickens me.” I don’t see why I should live hand-to-mouth funding other people’s financial shortcomings when I already have $250,000 in debt (with a very high interest rate), and a very low salary. It’s going to take me over 20 years to pay off my student loans, yet I am expected to live in poverty after going to school for 8 years to get my education? Should I just not buy groceries one month? Owners frequently come to us and say, “I don’t have the money,” but the truth is, us vets don’t either!
• “Why don't they teach healing at vet school? Rather than cut up healthy animals on the research table, why not cure a sick one?” I don’t even understand this. I’ve never “cut up a healthy animal on a research table.” I don’t do research. I study veterinary medicine. We practice on dead animals obtained from shelters that were going to be euthanized whether or not we would use the cadavers after. They do teach us healing (four years of it, in fact), and they never advocate cutting up a healthy animal. Maybe you should ask to sit in on a couple of lectures, because I think you’d see that they truly teach us how to best care for the animal.
• “Ok, so you have to vaccinate a kitten a thousand times because the law makes you?” There are NO laws governing vaccination of cats. Dogs are legally required to be vaccinated for rabies, but not cats. Also, we don’t vaccinate “a thousand times.” Usually, kittens only get a series of four vaccines as a baby, then another series the next year, and then only once every three years after that (except for feline leukemia, which is recommended for outdoor kitties and needs to be done every year). We base our vaccine boosters based on EVIDENCE. When you give a vaccine, it stimulates the body to make antibodies. Antibodies are good – they attack foreign invaders. However, after the first vaccine, there is an initial rise, then drop of antibodies levels. We booster this vaccine 2-4 weeks after the first vaccine because then it “boosts” antibody levels again. With each booster, antibody levels rise and tell the body, “you need to remember this foreign invader” and it increases the number of memory B cells specific to that pathogen in the future. The higher number of circulating memory B cells, the better the animal can respond to the pathogen if it is exposed to it again later in life. Over time, these memory B cells decrease, which is why we still do boosters as an adult.
Part 3/4:
ReplyDelete• “Why not detox that poor animal to remove some of the mercury, anti-freeze, formaldehyde, rabies and other nasty crap from the body? At least give that kitten receiving half the same dose given to a horse a bit of a fighting chance.” Certain components are put in vaccines in order to stimulate an immune response. Also, there is no anti-freeze in any of those vaccines on your list. Please study how vaccines are made before making sensationalist claims. Now, I’m not saying that vaccines are harmless. I’ve seen one mild allergic reaction in my experience, but I’m aware that in some allergic patients, they can cause full-blown anaphylactic shock. However, this is extremely rare and we always instruct owners to monitor their pets after vaccination. Also, there is some concern that vaccination may cause some auto-immune disorders. However, at this time, the association is not yet proven. In addition, the odds of actually contracting a fatal disease (if not vaccinated) are GREATER than the odds of having an adverse reaction (by far). Therefore, the benefits outweigh the costs. We have seen a massive decrease in certain infectious diseases and countless lives have been saved. Yes, there are the unfortunate few who may have an adverse reaction, but usually the reactions are mild and very rare.
• “When an animal is referred to as an 'it' as this future vet calls them, I know the mentality I'm dealing with. To these people who might have entered vet school as a vocation to help the animals they claim to love, those beings are now a commodity.” Oh my God, REALLY?!?! You can’t possibly be serious. I’m sure she said “it” because she was referring to the animal without the use of a gender pronoun. “It” is a lot easier to say than “he/she.” We DON’T refer to animals as “it” in practice – we call them by their names and use appropriate gender pronouns. However, when addressing animals in generalities, it is perfectly acceptable (and not at all callous) to call an animal “it.” Also – your claim that people who entered vet school to help animals is now a commodity? Are you kidding me?!? Why do you think we do it? For the money? Hahahaha….I’m just rolling around laughing on top of my piles of money right now. For your information, we have the SINGLE WORST debt-to-income ratio of ANY profession. We have the same amount of education and debt as a human doctor, but make a fraction of their income. Med school and vet school have the same admission criteria in terms of grades and test scores – my colleagues and I had the grades to get into med school and make a lot more money, but we chose veterinary medicine because we LOVE caring for animals. “I’m in it for the money” said no veterinarian, ever. You may THINK we make a lot of money based on the price of services, but there is so much overhead that we actually get to take home very little of that. Not to mention, it will take most of us 20+ years to pay off our loans.
Part 4/4:
ReplyDelete• “You want credentials? How about the thousands of animals Reunion Rescue has helped over the years. Let your research abilities direct you to our Reunion Rescue Facebook page with tons of pictures of healthy animals who've eaten raw meat diet and enjoyed holistic rather than pharmaceutical support over the years.” That’s not research. Research is a peer-reviewed scientific paper. You probably know nothing about scientific method, research techniques, or statistics, so it’s not surprising you refer to a facebook page as “research.”
• “You cite Merck and AVMA along with Center for Disease Control and USDA for me to examine and replace our good healthy information with? Why? These gruesome authorities have near nothing of interest to the person looking to heal animals. Why do I feel like the lady in the movie 'Coma' when she discovers a horrible medical conspiracy. If you were looking to terrify me, you've succeeded.” I just…I can’t even…there are no words for this level of stupidity.
• “I'm saddened that rather than teach healing and look for actual cures, the modern vet school is turning out students that attack the voice of reason and good health much like their prescribed antibiotics kill everything encountered like the Mucinex army.” Actually, they teach us A LOT about antibiotic resistance and the dangers of over-prescribing antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. If you ever went to vet school, you’d know that they actually do teach us about healing. They teach us preventive medicine in order to try and reduce the incidence of disease. They teach us about curative medicine in order to permanently fix an animal of a certain condition. They also teach us about palliative medicine, which is designed to make the animal more comfortable when a permanent cure is not an option.
In conclusion, your entire response is nothing more than an uneducated, ignorant, irresponsible, and dangerous dissemination of misinformation. I can tell you care a lot about animals, so please educate yourself next time, as the misinformation you are spreading can cost an animal its life.
I missed one!
ReplyDelete"The work of Reunion Rescue is not a cause. We didn't go out looking for an underdog to save. The underdog comes to me. I get something like four thousand emails and pleas per day asking for help. The bulk of these stem from pet over-production which is the life's blood of most vets who encourage breeding while shelters are killing millions of companion animals." This must be a joke. I am in a class with over 100 other vet students, and ONE breeds dogs. The rest of us do not "encourage breeding" and in fact, volunteer at many spay/neuter clinics in order to try and reduce the population of homeless animals! Very ignorant statement, just like most of the rest of your article.
Wow....you really are one misinformed person. As others have said Hills and other pet food companies CERTAINLY did not pay my way through vet school. They do not put euthanized animals in their food, and in fact spend a ton of money each year on research. I know that the word "research" and "scientific" are hard words for you to understand.
ReplyDeleteSecond, there are no veterinarians that I know of that encourage breeding. I have no idea where you are getting this information. Name a source/study that states that veterinarians encourage breeding. I know you can't.
For the love of God, DOMESTICATED dogs are NOT wolves. Repeat after me...DOMESTICATED DOGS ARE NOT wolves. Wolves in the wild do not have a very long life span, where domesticated dogs can life into their teens due to the "poisonous" vaccines and supposedly awful food we are feeding them. If you were to examine a wolf in the wild you would likely find them full of parasites with broken and abscessed teeth.
Homeopathy is crap, and has been consistently debunked by true, researched, double blinded studies. I can tell you with 100% certainty that if I treated a Parvo dog with scientifically sound, provable treatments and you treated it with homeopathy that my patient would live and yours would die.
I could go on and on but it would be wasting my breath. You see yourself as a crusader against the big bad vets. You close your eyes and ears to true science. You think that rescuing animals makes you an expert (it does not). You bash thousands of caring, dedicated veterinarians that make treatment recommendations, diet recommendations and vaccine recommendations because we CARE about the health and life of the animal. I hope nobody listens to your advice, because their pet will certainly suffer.
As of 2020, to date, no Reunion Rescue dog/cat has suffered from cancer or other terminal illness. Can you honestly state the pets you treat can boast the same good health?
Delete