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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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The Right Vet for Your Pet

Animals Thrive with Gentle, Safe and Natural Approaches

Pet parents have many criteria to consider when choosing a healthcare provider for their prized pet, and among the most vital is trying to find a doctor that uses holistic therapies, because the advantages are many.

Wellness care is more than vaccines. While many conventional vets consider giving vaccines and flea medications to all of their patients to be their best form of wellness care, holistic vets know these aren’t always necessary and can potentially be harmful. Instead, true wellness care involves careful consideration of proper diet, blood titer testing instead of vaccines, natural parasite control when appropriate and a heavy dose of diagnostic testing (blood, urine, fecal) to monitor organ function, check for parasites, screen for disorders of the urogenital system, liver and pancreas and early screening for cancer and other inflammatory conditions. There’s also a full physical check for common diseases like dental and heart disease and tumors.

Individualized prescriptions for a proper diet and supplements to maintain health are big reasons many owners prefer a holistic vet.

Natural treatments include disease prevention. Many pets treated via a more natural approach have an easier experience with occasional illness than those that don’t enjoy this specialized care. Natural therapies can quickly restore an ill pet to his homeostatic balance without the side effects often associated with multiple drug doses.

A team approach is expected. A holistic practice is a team effort, and the family doctor will suggest options for care, helping an owner decide on the best therapies for each pet.

A fuller range of options is available. While holistic vets prefer a more natural approach, they know that if necessary, conventional therapies can sometimes be an appropriate complement if they follow holistic principles, which means infrequent use of low-dose medications and only when absolutely needed. In general, most conditions can be treated successfully without drug therapy, extending the health and life of the patient and reducing medical costs.

Gentler anesthesia means quicker recovery. A naturally balanced and gentler approach means less drugging if anesthesia becomes necessary, close monitoring of an anesthetized pet, a smooth and quick recovery for prompt discharge from the hospital and natural forms of follow-up treatment to control post-operative pain and inflammation.

New hope rises for the hopeless. Many pets are brought to holistic doctors after conventional care has failed to help them. Some have been turned away by practitioners of conventional medicine because their cases are diagnosed as “hopeless”. Holistic vets and pet parents alike experience considerable satisfaction in helping to give a joyful pet a whole new lease on life.

Shawn Messonnier, a doctor of veterinary medicine practicing in Plano, TX, is the award-winning author of The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats and Unexpected Miracles: Hope and Holistic Healing for Pets. For more information, visit PetCareNaturally.com.

Natural Pet
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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