contents FEATURES
A VITAL ALLY DURING 8 OSHA: THE PANDEMIC
By Chery F. Kendrick, DVM, MPVM, MLT, CFS Explore the pandemic’s effects on regulatory control programs; OSHA compliance issues unique to veterinary medicine; and the agency’s role in veterinary mental health.
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NUTRITION NOOK PLANT-BASED DIETS: A SUSTAINABLE CHOICE FOR DOGS AND CATS By Marybeth Minter, DVM
Making sustainable choices means helping conserve the planet’s limited resources. Can the way we feed our companion animals be both healthful and sustainable?
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ZOOBIQUITY: THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ANIMAL AND HUMAN HEALTH Our energy and the energies that surround us can contribute to dis-ease or well-being in ourselves, our patients and pets.
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THE POWER OF COMPARATIVE ONCOLOGY By Sungwon Lim, PhD
How dog cancer treatments affect human chemotherapy.
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INNOVATIVE PRACTICE CREATING A CULTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN YOUR VETERINARY PRACTICE By Cheryl Brocki, DVM
By taking steps to nurture a culture of career sustainability for both our peers and future veterinarians, we can create much-needed positive change in our profession.
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TCVM: A MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE MEDICINE By Josie Beug, DVM, CVA
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine is a time-tested One Health paradigm that has been around for thousands of years.
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VETERINARIANS AND ONE HEALTH
By Deborah Thomson, DVM How you can help inspire clients and your community to understand and value One Health.
By Melissa Magnuson, DVM
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FAMILY DYNAMICS AND PET HEALTH By Kate Meyers, CVT
Explore how you can help your patients thrive emotionally and physically amid the challenges and changes of living with humans.
SUSTAINABILITY IN VETERINARY HERBAL MEDICINE By Susan Leopold
Factoring sustainability into herbal medicine is increasingly important to the health of our planet and its ecosystems.
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advisoryboard Dr. Richard Palmquist, DVM GDipVCHM(CIVT) CVCHM (IVAS), graduated from Colorado State University in 1983. He is chief of integrative health services at Centinela Animal Hospital in Inglewood, California, former president and research chair of the AHVMA, and an international speaker in integrative veterinary medicine. Dr. Palmquist is a consultant for the Veterinary Information Network (VIN) and a past president of the AHVM Foundation. He has published two books, one for conventional veterinarians and a second for clients discussing how integrative thinking works.
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Michelle J. Rivera, MT, VDT, is an instructor at the University of Wisconsin and The Healing Oasis Wellness Center, a post-graduate educational institution offering state-approved programs. She is co-owner of The Healing Oasis Veterinary Hospital, offering massage, rehabilitation, chiropractic and Chinese and Western Herbology. Michelle completed the Chinese Herbal Medicine program from the China Beijing International Acupuncture Training Center, and is certified in Chinese Medicine by the Wisconsin Institute of Chinese Herbology.
COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS
7 Editorial 30 From the NASC 35 From the AHVMA 36 From the AATCVM 37 Industry research 44 New study 46 Industry innovations 55 From the VMAA 56 In the news
Dr. Joyce Harman, DVM, MRCVS, graduated in 1984 from Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Her practice is 100% holistic, using acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine and homeopathy to treat horses to enhance performance and those with a variety of chronic conditions, with an emphasis on Lyme Disease. Her publications include the Pain Free Back and Saddle Fit Books, and numerous articles in lay and professional magazines. She maintains an informative website: www.harmanyequine.com. Dr. Steve Marsden, DVM, ND, MSOM, Lac. Dipl.CH, CVA, AHG lectures for IVAS, the AHVMA, the AVMA, and numerous other organizations. He is co-founder of the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies and is a director emeritus of the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland OR. He authored the Manual of Natural Veterinary Medicine (Mosby); and Essential Guide to Chinese Herbal Formulas (CIVT). Dr. Marsden is extensively trained in alternative medicine, including Chinese herbology, acupuncture and naturopathic medicine. He has holistic veterinary and naturopathic medical practices in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2010, Dr. Marsden was named Teacher of the Year by the AHVMA; and Small Animal Veterinarian of the year by the CVMA in 2009. Dr. Jean Dodds, DVM, received her veterinary degree in 1964 from the Ontario Veterinary College. In 1986, she moved to Southern California to establish Hemopet, the first non-profit national blood bank program for animals. Dr. Dodds has been a member of many national and international committees on hematology, animal models of human disease, veterinary medicine, and laboratory animal science. She received the Holistic Veterinarian of the Year Award from the AHVMA in 1994.
63 From the AVH 65 From the VBMA 66 News bites
Dr. Barbara Fougere, DVM, CVAA graduated in 1986, and was named the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association Educator for 2011. Dr. Fougere is the principal and one of the founders of the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies. She has continued studying over the last 26 years, and has three Bachelor degrees, two Masters degrees, three post Graduate Diplomas, several Certifications and numerous other courses under her belt.
Dr. Christina Chambreau, DVM, CVH, graduated from the University of Georgia Veterinary College in 1980. She is a founder of the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy, was on the faculty of the National Center for Homeopathy Summer School and has been the holistic modality adjunct faculty liaison for the Maryland Veterinary Technician Program and is the former Associate Editor of IVC Journal. Dr. Chambreau teaches classes in homeopathy for animals, lectures on many topics, speaks on Radio and TV, and is the author of the Healthy Animal’s Journal among other titles. She is now on the faculty of the Holistic Actions Academy, which empowers members to keep their animals healthy with weekly live webinars.
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nutritionnook
PLANT-BASED a sustainable choice for companion animals BY MARYBETH MINTER, DVM
Making sustainable choices means helping conserve the planet’s limited resources. Can the way we feed our companion animals be both healthful and sustainable?
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IVC Winter 2021/2022
DIETS: I
t is no secret that our planet and its inhabitants are facing a climate crisis. In August of 2021, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest report, showing that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans, and land to unprecedented levels over the past 2,000 years.1 As a result, we are seeing daily news reports of extreme temperatures; extended droughts, fires, storms, and flooding; and planetary, human, and animal suffering.
gas (GHG) emissions. Estimates of the GHG levels (methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases) produced by animal agriculture vary, but almost all point to meat, dairy, and egg production, as well as crops grown solely for animal consumption, as major contributors to the overheating of our planet. Probably the most quoted figure, from a major study done by the United Nations several years ago, puts emissions from animal agriculture at 14% of all GHG.
It is easy to become overwhelmed and feel despair. What can be changed, and how can we even comprehend the enormity of the crisis facing our planet? And how can any of this relate to how we choose to feed our companion animals?
But now, an extensive new (2021) University of Illinois study of the entire food production system worldwide, published in Nature Food, has upped that percentage considerably. Their model-data integration approach took into account full consistency between subsectors, providing explicit estimates of production and consumption-based GHG emissions worldwide from plant- and animal-based human food in circa 2010 (mean of the 2007 to 2013 period). Researchers collected detailed data on a wide variety of both animal and plant food production from 200 countries.
The topic of a “sustainable diet” for humans, let alone our companion animals, is a deep and complicated subject, often emotionally charged and wrought with many opinions. I think we can all agree, however, that we want our animals to thrive and be healthy. I believe many of us also want our planet to heal, and to see the humane treatment of all animals, including those consumed by humans and our carnivorous dogs and cats. In this article, I will attempt to illustrate the current scientific evidence and concerns that guided me to change not only the way I am feeding my own animal companion, but what I am recommending to clients as well. Keep in mind that this is a vast topic, and it’s beyond the scope of this article to illuminate every facet of the environmental, health, and ethical concerns as they pertain to feeding our companion animals.
ANIMAL-BASED AGRICULTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY Growing, harvesting and processing food, all of agriculture, is part of the human activity that is warming the planet. To what extent does animal-based agriculture contribute to the problem? The wealth of climate science is now immense, and many reports and studies measure many parameters. One paramount contribution to global warming is greenhouse
Their conclusion is that nearly 60% of all GHG can be traced to our food supply systems, and animal products account for almost twice as many emissions as all plant-based foods combined.2 In the elapsed decade, with population growth and rising demand for animal foods, the emissions have risen higher yet, surpassing even those of the fossil fuel and transportation industries.3 Food system inputs beyond GHG emission include land use, deforestation, loss of habitat, depletion of freshwater resources, and pollution of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems through excessive nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation and use. In addition to requiring more land than plant crops to produce the equivalent protein energy, animal production has considerably greater impacts on water and fossil fuel use, erosion, greenhouse gas emission, fertilizer and pesticide use. The conversion rate of plant-based to animal calories per kg is about 2:1 for poultry, 3:1 for pigs, farmed fish, milk and eggs, and a most inefficient 7:1 for cattle. These are IVC Winter 2021/2022
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BY MELISSA MAGNUSON, DVM
exploring the connection between animal and human health “Zoobiquity”, a term created by cardiologist and author Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, MD, looks at human health through the lens of what we share with Earth’s other creatures. By examining our shared vulnerabilities, zoobiquity can lead to new solutions for mental, emotional, and social health across all species.* This article explains how zoobiquity can inform our veterinary work and help us better serve both our patients and clients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the veterinary profession showed that it is recession-proof. No one could have predicted the onslaught of appointments and increased demand for veterinary care, not only for existing patients, but many newly-acquired animals as well. Some clients were brand
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new pet owners seeking companionship during quarantine. Many were also anxiety-ridden. Veterinary teams found themselves overwhelmed and often depleted. However, as I reflect on the last 18 months, I see a different connection (see sidebar on page 24).
THE CONCEPT OF MIRRORING Perhaps you can think of cases where clients and their pets share the same disease. I call it mirroring. It happens not only with clinical signs, but also clinical findings on laboratory tests. For example, I have sometimes told a client that their dog has protein in their urine, only to have them interject, “That’s weird, I have protein in my urine.” I go on to explain that
the dog needs to be tested, and the owner often understands because they have had the same tests. Hypothyroid disease is another common condition that pets and their owners will often share. The next time you diagnose a dog with hypothyroidism, pay attention to what the owner says. Another commonly-seen shared dynamic includes behavioral concerns. Do you recall clients exhibiting anxious behavior telling you how anxious their pets are too? This mirroring phenomenon can be observed if you start to look for it. Not all the time, of course; but once you do find it, what does it mean and what should you do?
DIS-EASE AND RESISTANCE TO FLOW The word “disease” breaks down into “dis” and “ease” (disease), meaning there is a lack of ease that is causing the body to not function properly or maintain homeostasis. The origin of all disease, in the most simplistic terms, can be broken down into inflammation. Something becomes inflamed, initiating a cascade of events that then leads to a lack of homeostasis.
For example, a cat eats a mouse; the mouse has parasites that infect the cat. The parasites grow and cause inflammation in the cat’s gut. The cat stops eating and experiences episodes of vomiting and diarrhea initiated by the inflammation caused by the parasites in the gut.