DANA POINT, Calif. — Holistic Pet Care Expert, Susan Blake Davis from Ask Ariel Your Pet Nutritionist (www.AskAriel.com) is urging pet owners to take their pets to the veterinarian BEFORE their pets act sick. Davis says that holistic and preventative veterinary care are the keys to pet health and longevity. Her statement comes as a result of hearing heart wrenching tales from pet owners over the holidays seeking miracle cures because their pets needed to be euthanized and they didn’t even know they were sick.
“Most pet owners contact me heart broken as they have just found out their pet was dying when only the week before their pet appeared perfectly normal. Pets, as a ‘survival’ instinct, often don’t show they are sick and only a routine visit to the veterinarian with laboratory work will give a pet owner the whole story.”
Apparently, many people will report that their pet was “perfectly fine” and then one day stop eating, become lethargic and/or display other signs of sickness. This will then prompt a visit to the veterinarian to determine what is wrong. However, as Davis points out, what most pet owners don’t realize is that diseases can progress slowly over time and it may be too late to correct once the actual “symptoms” appear.
For example, many forms of liver disease in cats and dogs can be successfully treated with holistic pet care (e.g. specific dietary changes and supplements), without the pet ever appearing sick at all, if detected early. The best way to know if the pet has liver disease, she mentions, is to get a routine blood test, veterinarian exam and urine analysis. Unfortunately though, most pet owners don’t do the preventative care and won’t know until the pet starts to display digestive disorders, jaundice, seizures or worse.
Davis is a veterinary nutritionist who works in conjunction with holistic veterinarian, Dr. David Gordon at VCA Arroyo Animal Hospital in Lake Forest, CA. The clinic offers state-of-the-art holistic veterinary services such as homemade diets for pets, acupuncture, herbal and vitamin supplementation in addition to conventional veterinary care. “Holistic veterinary treatments can often result in significant benefits for the pet once the underlying causes of disease can be identified using conventional veterinary laboratory testing and examination,” says Dr. David Gordon
Holistic veterinary medicine is the examination and diagnosis of an animal encompassing the entire “whole” picture of the patient including not only the symptoms and disease patterns, but the emotions, nutrition, exercise and other lifestyle factors as well. When your pet receives an examination from a holistic veterinarian, conventional laboratory testing and diagnostic techniques will be utilized, but alternative techniques such as homemade diets, nutritional supplements and acupuncture will be offered as part of the pet’s overall treatment plan. Holistic veterinary care goes hand in hand with preventative care, however, as the body needs time to best utilize the nutrients, diet changes and alternative treatments.
“Just as you take your car in for regular oil changes and tune-ups, so too must you do the same for your pet,” says Davis. “The most common remark clients make when they find our services is “I wish I had known my pet was sick earlier….” She recommends that all pets, even young pets, get an annual blood test and urine analysis-not just a check up for vaccinations. This is especially needed if the pets are taking medications for various potentially “benign” conditions such as arthritis.
For more information about holistic veterinary care, Susan Davis, Certified Clinical Nutritionist or Dr. David Gordon, holistic veterinarian, please visit http://www.askariel.com or call 949-499-9380.
Proceeds from AskAriel.com will help fund Ariel Rescue, a charity founded by Davis that saves death row dogs from high kill shelters.
[tags]Holistic Pet Expert Susan Blake Davis, Ask Ariel Your Pet Nutritionist, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Doctor David Gordon, Holistic Pet Care, holistic veterinarian[/tags]
