Alternative Therapies
for Pets
by Deborah Straw
 As is true in human medicine, alternative therapies are
becoming more popular in veterinary health care. This is true even in the case
of large animals; acupuncture is being used increasingly in horse treatments. An
increasing number of practitioners are using alternative modalities along with
the more conventional treatments to offer a full spectrum of services to their
animal patients -- and to fill their human clients' desires and requests. Use of
the term alternative is somewhat controversial; many veterinarians prefer the
term holistic or complementary.
According to Myrna M. Milani, D.V. M., in her book
The Art of Veterinary Practice, studies have indicated that as of 1993 as much as 37
percent of the American public sought out alternative treatments. As a rule,
these people tend to be more highly educated and more affluent than average.
Dr. Milani notes that many individuals seek out alternatives for their animal
companions because they have lost faith in the treatment, not because they have
lost faith in their longtime doctor.
Based on my research, those alternative treatments most
widely accepted and used today are acupuncture; dietary changes tending toward
more natural or homemade; use of more vitamins, minerals, and herbs; and
homeopathic treatments. Western Europeans, Australians, and Canadians seem to be
more accepting of these treatments than we in the United States. In Canada, for
example, more than one hundred veterinarians belong to the American Holistic
Veterinary Medical Association; in a 1996 survey 60 percent of responding vets
believed they should be allowed to use alternative therapies on their patients.
However, acceptance in the United States is changing as well.
When I speak of alternative treatments to my friends, neighbors, and colleagues,
many of them have tried either acupuncture or dietary changes. Many of them are
cutting back on the number of vaccines they give to their dogs or cats. And
many, too, have offered their pets chemotherapy or radiation rather than just
let them go downhill after a couple of surgeries. I know that these latter
treatments are not alternative, but they are still relatively new -- and not well
known -- to the entire population of animal lovers. People are, in general, willing
to do more and spend more money on their pets' health these days. They are not
willing to accept only the options of surgery or euthanasia.
In
The Nature of Animal Healing: The Path to Your Pet's Health, Happiness, and
Longevity, Martin Goldstein, D.V M., defines holistic
medicine this way: "Holistic medicine is nothing if not a therapy of hope: until
an animal actually dies, there's hope of recovery from even the direst
condition, because when you allow for miracles by persisting with the right
natural supplements, sometimes they occur." He states that a basic principle of
alternative practices is "that there are no coincidences."'
Randy Kidd, president of the
American Holistic Veterinary
Medical Association, says that the past three to four years have seen a
tremendous increase in consumer interest. "People are seeing good results with
alternative medicine on themselves, and they want the same thing for their
pets." Membership in his group is now at eight hundred and growing. Kidd also
notes that the interest in holistic pet care has even prompted a few veterinary
schools to add short courses on such topics as acupuncture and homeopathy.'
Edward C. Boldt Jr., D.VM., executive director of the
International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS),
recently told me the group currently has approximately eleven hundred members,
and that number increases each year. Members come from around the world and
courses are taught in the U.S., Britain, Norway, Belgium, and Australia. The
majority of the certified members (now 650) also offer conventional veterinary
medicine.
Dr. Milani says that many veterinarians decide to offer
alternative treatments because they see that the old ones do not work in all
cases. If veterinarians see their purpose as helping animals regain and maintain
their health, rather than just completing the process of conventional
treatments, then it "seems that any treatment which accomplishes that purpose is
valid."
Most veterinarians choose to look to alternative therapies for two
reasons, Milani notes: The conventional approaches are not working in a
particular type of case; or the client requests an alternative therapy. Perhaps
that client has done some reading or has heard positive reports about some
therapy from friends or family. Milani believes that most veterinarians do not
use alternatives "to flout the system," but instead find themselves in
situations where they have done everything else and the animal is not improving.
She notes that, as with all treatments, "the probability of
any alternative curing an animal is fifty-fifty: it either works or it doesn't."
But she points out wisely that treatments may work in less obvious ways: For
example, sometimes a veterinarian's willingness to try new techniques may help
the client keep the animal alive a bit longer, even if the disease is not truly
cured.
One of the problems that may arise is that you, the
caregiver, may want your veterinarian to try some alternative treatments, but he
or she may not want to do so. This can happen for a number of reasons. The vet
may not believe in them, or may not have the expertise to offer them. This can
pose an ethical and moral problem for some doctors. However, as Dr. Milani notes
(and I heartily agree), veterinarians ought to at least listen to your requests
and try not to dismiss the less traditional treatments out of hand.
Milani is clear that practitioners should not do anything
that violates their belief system, but she does believe it makes sense for them
to at least recognize their clients' beliefs as different rather than wrong.
Rather than alienate their clients, they should be able to explain why they
don't believe in or trust the alternative treatments. In many cases they could
also refer owners to a veterinarian who does believe in these treatments and has
the expertise to perform them.
 This
article is excerpted from the book
Why Is Cancer Killing Our Pets, by Deborah
Straw. ?2000. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Healing Arts Press, a
division of Inner Traditions International.
www.innertraditions.com
Info/Order this book.
About The
Author
Deborah Straw is a longtime animal, health,
and lifestyle writer who is based in Vermont. She is the author of
Why Is Cancer Killing Our Pets,
as well as
Natural Wonders of the Florida Keys, an ecotourism guide. She is a
widely published essayist and book reviewer and a writing and literature instructor at Community
College of Vermont.
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