Animal Veterinarians

How many times in interactions with our animals do we forget to invite them to be part of the equation, doing things to them, and not with them? This change alone can manifest many positive results by changing their feelings of being powerless to those of feeling empowered.

For many years prior to the age of present day medicine and its accessability to the mass population, we relied more on ourselves for our healing. Over time we came to believe that through traditional medicine, the doctor or veterinarian was all powerful in making us or our animal well. The age of addressing the symptom, and not the cause, became the norm. A prescription was written and off we went to await the outcome, we believed healing was in the hands of someone else.

Many years ago my horse became very ill from a tick born disease and endured procedures to save her life. At the time I just held her in my heart and attempted to console her. Fear,submission, and loss had found a home, replacing self trust.

I was very grateful to all the wonderful people who helped her. Yet a key component to healing remained illusive to me. It wasn’t until some time later that the answer became apparent. This Morgan had lost belief in her self. It took time for me to understand what was missing. I needed to change my perspective.

Our animals respond to all the vibrations of the body. Man in his evolution narrowed to believe that the vibration of the vocal chords was the primary means of communication, animals never embraced this concept. They never veered from using the whole of their being to give and receive information.

In modern day veterinary practice most often a diagnosis is made and the care giver embraces it. After many weeks of my horse being ill, I was told her days of being ridden were over. She had sustained permanent damage to some of her organs and was not expected to recover further, this was now her life. Traditional Medicine could do no more. The Mighty Morgan’s return to health is a story of its own, but after including her in her own healing, she went on to take second place in three 25 mile endurance rides.

When a dire prognosis is given, we feel sadness and brace against what is believed to be the inevitable. Our animals may not interpret speech as we do, but they hear and feel the vibration of hopelessness. After hearing a diagnosis of cancer for my canine companion I began to add that information to what I thought and felt about her. I now gave off a vibration she began to embrace. In my quest to find what was missing I found a holistic veterinarian who said, “stop thinking of your dog as having cancer, she is more than that, and besides you’re shortening her days.” That was a moment of revelation for me. As a healer I was caught up in doing the healing, or so I thought. After his statement it became apparent to me that if I opened to shifting how I viewed her cancer I was no longer giving off a “good bye it’s all over” energy. When I began to be only half the equation in her healing that was the first of many shifts for both of us. Moxie began to improve and we went on living together and loving each other for four more years.

Expanding the way in which we feel and understand what is going on for our animals can greatly influence the thoughts we hold to support them in their life. When we include the knowledge that the body knows how to be a part of healing itself, we take back a component of our power. When we offer that understanding to our animal, we place awareness in a supportive role.

Self empowerement and perspective are key parts in healing of the self.



By: Karen Elise Nowak

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kcratv asked:

Veterinarians at the U.C. Davis large animal hospital provide supplies and expertise to help animals displaced by the fires in Southern California.

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There was once a time where shelters for animals are just places where people can dump the animals and leave them into hands of fate, whether if they die or if someone else comes along and save them. Over the years, shelters have improved dramatically, and now, it is more than just a dumping ground for strays.

In these shelters, cats that have no homes are taken in and cared for, instead of being just left to die. They are well treated, and well cared for. Some shelters provide very good services and nutrition for these cats. Even hygiene at the shelters is well maintained, which provides a healthy living environment for the cats or dogs, which are separated to make things easier for the cats.

Numbers of strays are increasing, and shelters cannot handle too many animals, as it is a nonprofit organization. Therefore, for people who are looking for pets and yet do not fancy anything too expensive or purebreds, shelters have excellent adoption programs that enables them to bring a pet home from the shelter, most of the time for free. These programs are partnered with media channels to gain recognition, and so that the public can contact them for adoption procedures.

More and more animals are getting picked up from the shelter each year, as shelters now provide very good living standards for the animals that some people even consider the shelter before the pet store when thinking of getting a pet. There are many cases where pet owners chose their pets from shelters and bond just as well with them, and share a happy life together.

Usually, cats in shelters are not that fanciful. They may be cats of a more common breed, or even cross-breeds. If you are torn between choosing beautiful cats in the pet shop or these homeless cats, think of the fact that you will be able to provide them a good home and save them from the cruel fate of euthanasia if the shelter gets overcrowded.

Shelter animals will provide some problems, such as diseases and stress. Cats from shelter with stress are at higher risk than others of contracting respiratory infections. They are more liable to bite and scratch before you two have bonded. Therefore, if you have decided to adopt a cat from the shelter, get it to a veterinarian and test for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).



By: Charley Hwang

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The majority of the American public has negative views of today’s teens as a result of the actions of a few. As with anything, the negative actions of one group of teens gets most of the public attention. Teens that are making positive contributions to their community rarely get the same attention from the general public and media.

When I began volunteering at my local Humane Society, I had a significant amount of experience working with teens. There were three teens that were the children of my coworkers that showed interest in helping the animals at the shelter.

My perceptions of these three teens were as varied as their personalities. The dependability of these three girls ranged from being ready and willing to go to the shelter every Thursday evening when I got off of work to rarely going with us. Transportation was not an issue with these teens since I took them from my work place which was easy for them to get to from their school. The amount of dedication to the shelter shown by the teens was very much in line with their dedication to many areas in their lives including school work.

The assignments I gave these girls also depended upon their attendance and dependability. The two that were less dependable and showed less often typically got the jobs of cleaning cat cages and puppy kennels. Due to their lack of dedication and experience, I did not feel comfortable giving them more complex assignments. In contrast, the third teen was highly dedicated to the animals and showed much more responsibility when working with them. I felt comfortable assigning her more complex tasks such as bathing puppies and kittens. She was not afraid to undertake any new tasks and was always willing to learn more. The only assignment I did not feel comfortable giving her was walking the large dogs due to her small stature and their inexperience walking on a leash.

I have had the rare opportunity to follow these girls through their middle and high school careers and into their early adult years. The behaviors that were apparent during the time they volunteered at the shelter in middle school and early high school followed them into their early adult lives.

The least dependable girl eventually dropped out of high school, had multiple behavior problems at home and in the community, and has had difficulty holding a job. The second teen who had the potential to be a very successful adult made a turnaround half way through her high school career. Her grades dropped and behaviors changed. Very soon after graduation she got pregnant and no longer showed interest in attending college. She eventually got a job at a retail store which she seems to enjoy and is doing well. However, she is capable of much more.

The most dedicated and dependable teen has continued along a positive path. She remained willing and able to respond to emergency situations at the shelter throughout her years in high school. She worked very hard in high school and was involved in several extracurricular activities. This young lady had set her goals for college as early as middle school and has gone on to continue working toward her ultimate goal. She is now attending pre-veterinary school and is doing well. She also works with a local veterinarian as a veterinary technician during her time off from college.

These three teens, their behaviors during their middle school years and early adult lives lead me to believe that values are set in teens as early as middle school and possible earlier. After the experience I had with these three teens, I highly recommend using the talents available through this energetic age group. The results will vary but the successes make it all worthwhile.



By: Sharon Kay

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Animal wound care is extremely important for your pet. If you do not take care of their wounds immediately, they can lead to long term injury, sickness, and even death. Veterinarians get paid well to take care of these tasks because dealing with a hurt animal is nothing to take lightly.

They might not allow you to come near the wound in order to treat it, even though it needs to be attended to. If your dog or cat is this way, don’t let their temperament keep you from helping to care for their wound, even if they growl or bark or hiss at you.

Many people don’t take their animals to the clinic for the simple reason that they believe that the injury will heal itself.

Often times when this is the mentality of the pet owner, the animal sustains long term injury because the wound, or broken bone has healed improperly, and no longer functions the way it once did. In order to fix it once that has happened, you may have to pay major money to have surgery done on the animal. So what does the person who can’t afford to go to the vet do in order to properly care for their animals wounds? In the care of wounds, the two most important objectives are first to stop the bleeding, and then to prevent infection.

This is much the same as treating a human being. To stop the bleeding you simply need to apply pressure to the point of injury, but do not use a tourniquet as to prevent amputation. If a tourniquet is absolutely necessary, make sure to loosen it every twenty to thirty minutes to allow blood to flow to the limb. Otherwise, consider a tourniquet to always be a last resort.

First try to get something you can use to apply pressure with by pressing down on the wound.

Since wounds are painful to the dog, be prepared to restrain or muzzle before you treat the wound. A muzzle can be very cheap if you buy one at your local Petsmart or other pet store.

Keep one handy in case you ever need it. The last thing you would want to happen in the event that you do need to care for the wound of an animal that will bite, is to sustain an injury to yourself as well! You also may want to consider buying good animal healthcare insurance. Many new animal health care insurance providers are springing up around the country and you can possible find some car insurance companies to agree to pay for your animal health care in the event of a car accident too.

Don’t overlook these services. Surgery and other animal health care issues can be very expensive if your animal is not covered. When treating a wound, it’s always nice to be able to go to the vet/ animal clinic immediately knowing your pet will receive the proper care, and not having to worry about the cost!



By: Terry Fitzroy

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