Book Review
A fix for Fido? Books examine holistic pet care

By Ranny Green
Seattle Times desk editor

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But holistic medicine for pets is a growing area of interest for pet owners, particularly dog owners, who spend $11.6 billion per year on veterinary care for their pets.

If you're a skeptic of alternative medicine, here are three new volumes on holistic pet care that might broaden your view:

"The Last Chance Dog: And Other True Stories of Holistic Animal Healing" by Seattle veterinarian Dr. Donna Kelleher (Scribner, $14 paperback) is a delightful collection of case histories focusing on acupuncture, herbal treatments and chiropractic adjustments for pets.

Kelleher's case histories are more than entertaining accounts of her office calls. With spirit and confidence, she dispenses advice on pet-food quality, the efficacy of vaccinations and how to holistically treat an assortment of common ailments suffered by our pets.

While the focus is similar, Jan Allegretti and Dr. Katy Sommers' "The Complete Holistic Dog Book: Home Health Care for Our Canine Companions" (Celestial Arts, $24.95) serves up a spirited account of the ideas and health concepts embraced by holistic veterinary medicine, which includes addressing the harmony of mind, body and spirit of the animal. This includes lifestyle considerations such as nutrition, exercise, play and stress prevention. Chapters address homeopathy, herbs, acupuncture and acupressure; diet; alternative therapies and conventional medicine; bodywork (massage, acupressure and Tellington Touch); energy medicine (Reiki, Therapeutic Touch or prayer); plus strategies for treating injury and illness.

Another section includes options for treating the seriously ill animal, living with a dog as it ages and the need for letting go when a dog has a terminal illness. The closing part clearly defines the roles for and dosages of nutritional supplements, choices for selecting a remedy to treat injuries or acute illness and a listing of herbs and their healing properties. This basic information is presented with crispness, authority and a refreshing, open-minded approach.

But the smoking-gun volume veterinarians and dog or cat owners should peruse carefully is "Pets at Risk: From Allergies to Cancer, Remedies for an Unsuspected Epidemic," by Dr. Alfred J. Plechner with Martin Zucker (New Sage Press, $13.95).

The book is written by a 37-year practitioner who is concerned by the major increase in cancer, autoimmune diseases, severe hypersensitivity to food and insect bites, chronic bacterial, viral and fungal infections and an assortment of other illnesses in the nation's pets. The volume pinpoints a suspected culprit — endocrine and immune-system imbalances the author attributes to both genetic and environmental factors. Plechner presents a therapy program he says has shown considerable success.

The author asserts that there is an "unsuspected" — and undocumented — "epidemic" on the canine/feline landscape. Based on his 35 years treating more than 50,000 pets, Plechner believes many of these illnesses are triggered by endocrine and immune-system imbalances. The problem Plechner identifies starts with hormonal imbalances caused by a deficiency or defect in cortisol, which negatively impacts the immune system.

Plechner sees the disorder in young and old patients alike, and treats both with natural and synthetic cortisone. While highly successful, the therapy has attracted dissenters because of the long-term use of cortisone. "Cortisone has a big stigma attached to it," stemming from its negative side effects, Plechner concedes. But those, he argues, are chiefly tied to powerful pharmacological dosages. The cornerstone of his regimen is small dosages of natural cortisol or synthetic cortisone medications to be used as a form of hormone replacement, compensating for the deficit in the animal.

The author establishes the groundwork for a lifetime hormone-replacement therapy program your veterinarian must administer to your pet. It's an expensive regimen — Plechner charges between $400-$500 for the initial blood tests and laboratory results, not including an office-call fee and physical exam. In his clinic, daily cortisol replacement pills range from 10 cents daily for small dogs to $1 for larger counterparts. Thyroid pills are 10-40 cents daily. Some patients can be treated with long-acting cortisone injections monthly, for which he charges $40. He does, however, offer to instruct owners to administer the shots at home, costing them approximately $10-$15 per injection for medication and syringes.

Because most pet owners don't have a clue when an endocrine-immune imbalance is at work within their pet, a chapter titled "Prevention" cites visual clues that will tell you to get your pet to a veterinarian quickly for diagnosis and treatment, plus it details a 10-point hands-on health check you can practice while cleaning or bathing your pet.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company