The Right To Choose Alternative Modalities

Be prepared, I'm about to vent!

Let me get this straight: as the parent and guardian of the amazing animals I am blessed enough to share my life with, I am not “allowed” to choose who their health care practitioners are?? I cannot, for instance, take my animals for chiropractic adjustments if the chiropractor is not a vet - unless that chiropractor is working under “direct supervision” of a veterinarian.

Let’s look at it this way; if I had the choice to take my animal to a chiropractor who is a fully trained doctor of chiropractic medicine and has taken additional courses to treat animals, has many years of experience and truly understands the body systems from his or her area of expertise OR to take my animals to any vet out there who decided to take a 6 week chiropractic course, which would I choose?

I know what my answer would be - but the answer isn't the issue. Regardless of the answer, the choice should be MINE.

The right to choose and make decisions for our animals is an essential part of animal guardianship and should not be controlled in any way.

I will tell you my story and it will explain why I am so passionate about having the RIGHT TO CHOOSE…

The Right To Choose Alternative Modalities

I had a dog, his name was Rocky and he was a Wheaten Terrier. He was truly the love of my life and my heart dog… I know that means something to many of you who are reading.

Rocky got very sick when he was 4 years old. I had a conventional vet at the time, and didn’t put much thought into what I would do or what type of treatment I would choose if a life-threatening situation ever arose for Rocky. I only went there once a year to get my “necessary vaccines booster” (that’s a whole other topic for another blog on another day!) and didn’t have much a relationship with the clinic.

Unfortunately, I was now in crisis with my dog and blindly trusted that they knew what was best and would save him. It was the most eye-opening experience I ever could have had and it started me on the path I am on today. I spent over $6000 at that clinic (and this was back in 2001!) and put Rocky through exploratory surgery, steroids and many other conventional drug treatments. The doctors couldn’t really give me an answer as to what was wrong. Rocky was still alive, but barely… he was skin and bones and the high levels of prednisone meant his quality of life was terrible. They said he had perhaps another year to live before the drugs trashed his liver. It was a grave prognosis with no cure or really any treatment that gave him an sort of quality if life. I had a horrible decision to make and my heart was broken.

Making a Positive Choice

In a moment of quiet as I sat with him, something happened. I “felt” that there was a better way… that I had to seek out someone who could help me. My research led me to Julie Anne Lee and her holistic clinic in Vancouver. My life would be forever changed from that “feeling”.

Julie Anne showed me how to use homeopathy and nutrition to improve the quality of life for Rocky. She explained to me what Inflammatory Bowel Disease was and how it affects all the systems of the body. Rocky lived to be 12 years old and he lived those years completely free of the symptoms that nearly killed him and completely free of the toxins of conventional drugs. For a condition that was supposedly “incurable” and hopeless, it sure seemed to respond to some non-conventional modalities.

Julie Anne has an extensive background in animal sciences, she was a certified veterinary technician in the province of Ontario and became a certified human homeopath in 1997. Julie trained in the United Kingdom, India and Greece with the most prolific and gifted homeopathic teachers including veterinarian homeopaths Sue Armstrong, Mark Elliot and John Saxton as well as world renowned homeopaths Rajan Sankaran and George Vilthoukas….yet it was the College of Veterinarians of BC (then the BCVMA) who had the opinion that Julie was not qualified - simply because she was not a vet! Thankfully, Julie did end up finding some pretty amazing vets she was able to work with so that she was able to help over 30,000 animals in the same manner that she helped my Rocky.

If I had not had the right to educate myself and CHOOSE holistic practices for Rocky, he would have been gone at the age of 4. The path I chose for him did not do him any harm, it is because of homeopathy and holistic practices that he lived a life free of drugs and discomfort. If one of my current companion animals falls ill to any condition, I demand the right to choose how I treat them and with whom. A veterinarian degree on an office wall does not mean that person is the right fit for me, my beliefs or my animal’s care. I have been a paying customer of veterinarians who do not truly follow the oath of “do no harm” and who lack the skills to make my animals better. It is beyond frustrating to watch how ego and finances truly control the level of care we can expect to receive from the animal healthcare industry overall. I am capable of conducting my due diligence and deciding what is best. I do not need a SELF-governing body that is made up of the veterinarians that will be directly benefited by my choice telling me whom i can choose to work with on my animals health. This doesn’t happen in human medicine - as an intellectual person with free, will our government allows me to  take my infant to whomever I choose yet the Veterinary association has taken it upon themselves that I, as a the guardian of my animal family, do not have the same right.

Am I upset? You bet I am!! This type of control does not have a place in any other medical modality and it is time for us to stand up and be the voice for our animals and not leave that voice in the hands of what is now really  A BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS!!   

I would like to leave you with a thought  I HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE MY DOG AND MAKE THE CHOICE TO EUTHANIZE HIM, YET I DO NOT HAVE THE CHOICE TO TAKE HIM FOR A MASSAGE!!

There are now Facebook groups started for the Animal Owner’s Rights in BC and Alberta if you would like to join the movement and fight for a right that should essentially be yours without question.