Nature vs Medical Science

I saw a client who is into homeopathy. I'd seen her before, but she usually sees an "all natural" vet in town, who was not available until mid-November. So, she settled for me again.

Now, I believe in Western medicine, but I also believe in "do no harm," and I don't prescribe antibiotics for viral infections, or just in case, or just to give the client something to walk out the door with.

What I believe more is my job more than anything else is to relieve animal suffering. So, I recommend lots of preventative stuff, and prescribe lots of pain relief.

This client is nice enough, and she loves her dog, but she is convinced everything not "natural" is going to harm her dog. She feeds a homemade diet. I have no problem with people feeding a homemade diet as long as they have done the research and take the time to make it balanced. And, you have got to cook all the meat.

She doesn't cook the meat. The protein sources she uses are mostly ground turkey, but sometimes tofu, eggs, and beef. She says, "We just want to make it as natural as possible, and so far we've been lucky and haven't had any problems."

I smiled and said, "Boy, I wish that was my experience. I have seen cases of salmonella, e. coli, and campylobacter from dogs fed raw meat diets. In fact, there was a puppy this spring that died of campylobacter; I couldn't save him."

I continued, "I know you want to feed your dog a natural food, but in the wild your dog would kill a deer or a turkey and eat it immediately. The turkey that you are buying was grown on a mass farm and processed with hundreds of other turkeys. The chance of contamination is high. You can feed a homemade diet, but please cook the turkey."

Then we discussed heartworm prevention. The owner claims everytime she gives a heartgard, her dog gets sick. She gave it last Sunday, and on Monday he wouldn't eat, on Tuesday he had diarrhea. I suggested trying a different kind of prevention, either a different drug orally or a topical drug. She said, "You know, we haven't had many mosquitoes this year, and we keep him inside during the high mosquito times, you know - dusk and dawn, and he just reacts so severely I'd rather wait."

I took a deep breath and said, "Unfortunately, we see lots of heartworm disease here. This summer, we treated 1-2 cases per week. It only takes one mosquito getting into your house and biting your dog, and he'll be infected."

She said she wanted to wait on bloodwork results. She was paying about $200 for a complete blood work up, as well as titers for distemper and parvo (to see if he needed vaccination or if she could skip it). Obviously, it was not saving money that was motivating her.

Then we came to the dog's skin. He was suffering from allergies, and had thin hair, pink skin, and scabs on his legs and chest. "Why don't we try a topical cortisone spray?" I suggested. "It will just work locally on the skin, won't be absorbed systemically, and would make him feel a lot better." Her eyes grew wide with fear. She refused any antihistamines, also, and preferred to just give fatty acids in the food.

I know she is just motivated to do what's best for her dog. But nature isn't benign. In nature, its a claws-and-teeth selfish fight for survival. Chemicals don't just come in a plastic bottle of pesticide. Organisms use chemicals (called toxins) to subdue and conquer other organisms, whether they are rattlesnakes or staphylococcus bacteria. Our own bodies use chemicals (hormones) to regulate all our processes, from reproduction to digestion to locomotion. Natural chemicals can get out of balance, by natural causes, causing disease (allergies, cancer, diabetes, etc). If we can intervene with proven chemicals to improve quality of life, for people or pets, I'm all for it. Not medicating for the sake of medicating, but for a specific proved benefit.

I called her with her bloodwork results. Everything was normal except for a high eosinophil count, a white blood cell that is elevated during allergic reactions. They have lots of histamine in them, causing lots of itchy misery. "I'd really like you to think about trying another heartworm prevention," I said. "I just want to protect his heart."

"OK, I know you are a good doctor and have his best interests in mind," she said, "I'll think about it."