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The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats |
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by Shawn Messonnier, D.V.M.
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Selecting a type of health care is very
much a personal choice. For those of
us who have chosen an integrated
approach, combining the best of conventional
medicine with the best of natural therapies, the
road began with a search for something more
that conventional medicine was not able to
offer.
Part of the journey for me involved a
search to offer better care for my patients
and one fork in this road convinced me to
share my healing discoveries with others
through a series of books. These books,
which became the Natural Vet series (published
by Prima) allowed me to share with
other doctors and pet owners around the
world everything I had learned about natural
pet care. As a result of this series, those of
us who believe in the importance of integrative
medicine are now changing the way we
care for our pets.
Why did I begin my search for “something
better” and why did I feel the need to
share this with readers around the globe?
To start with I had to admit something
that was a bit uncomfortable. Even though I
felt that I was a good doctor when I began
my search, I was forced to admit that there
had to be more than simply what I was
already doing for my patients. While I had
been trained to be a good “treater” of disease,
I had to face the facts that I was not a good
“healer.” Only when I admitted that I needed
to become a healer rather than treater
could I admit my shortcomings and search
for something better.
Once I found this great new world of
natural therapies, I started seeing positive
results in my patients, many of whom I had
not been able to help with only conventional
medicine. As a result, my motto became
“hope for the hopeless.” No longer did I
have to tell a pet owner that I couldn’t help
his pet because now I had twice as many
treatment options available.
Not wanting to be selfish with this newfound
knowledge that gave hope and healing
to many patients, I hoped to find a vehicle to
share my excitement. That’s when Prima and
I teamed up to share this exciting new information
with readers by creating the Natural
Vet series. The three books currently available
in the series, The Allergy Solution for
Dogs, The Arthritis Solution for Dogs and the
award-winning The Natural Health Bible for
Dogs & Cats, are already changing the way
pet owners and veterinarians are treating and
caring for pets. No longer are pets considered
hopeless just because conventional
medicine can’t offer help. With the wellreferenced
therapies presented in each of the
books, pet owners can learn to “just say NO
to drugs” for their pets and instead rely on
natural, healing therapies. Instead of covering
up symptoms and “treating” disease, we
can now “heal” pets and create true health.
The best-selling book in the series is the
award-winning The Natural Health Bible for
Dogs & Cats. There are over 200 therapies in
this book. Pets with various diseases such as
cancer, diabetes, cognitive disorder, allergies
and arthritis are living longer, healthier lives,
thanks to owners incorporating the natural
therapies discussed thoroughly in this book.
Some of the topics covered in The Natural
Health Bible for Dogs & Cats include:
- Choosing the best diet for your pet. After
reading the section on diet, no longer will
pets be forced to eat processed foods which
contain potentially harmful chemicals, additives
and by-products. Instead owners can
use the information in the diet section of
The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats to
learn how to read pet food labels and select
the healthiest diets for their pets or even better,
they can use the recipes in the book to
prepare nutritious, fresh diets for their pets
right at home.
- Minimizing unnecessary vaccination. Part
of my goal of changing the way we care for
our pets is to reduce the frequency of vaccinations.
Many pets receive repeated immunizations
despite the fact that most pets do
not need these shots. Instead, owners should
rely on vaccine titers (antibody levels) and
let the pets’ bodies determine which vaccines,
if any, are needed.
- Alternatives to conventional medications.
While conventional medications can be used
safely and correctly in a holistic program (as
discussed in the appendix) there are many
instances when safer and less expensive alternatives
exist. Arthritis is best treated with
glucosamine and chondroitin rather than
non-steroidal medications. Allergies are best
treated with herbs, whole food supplements,
diets and topical decontamination with minimal
need for corticosteroids. Cognitive disorder,
often called “doggie and kittie
Alzheimer’s disease,” is best treated with
choline, lecithin or ginkgo biloba, which are
much less expensive than conventional medication
(and conventional medicines are not
approved for cats with this disorder).
Using the information in The Natural
Health Bible for Dogs & Cats, pet owners and
veterinarians can begin to take a holistic
approach to pet care. By taking an holistic
approach and listening to the pet’s body, we
can fine tune any therapy needed. This truly
holistic approach allows true healing rather
than simply treating a disease. And this is
what natural pet care is all about.
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