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An episode of Grey’s Anatomy last season featured a story about a mother
who thought her child’s
symptoms
indicated something seriously wrong with him. She had been dismissed by
multiple doctors at multiple hospitals and appeared to be an overly
neurotic mother. However, Dr. Meredith Grey, a mother herself, believed
the mother and eventually tracked down what was wrong. It turned out the
mother was right—there was something seriously wrong with her child that
was caught just in the nick of time, before it killed him. This story
illustrates that parents know their children best and can often tell
when something is seriously wrong, even if the doctors do not believe
them.
We feel that the same is true for pet “parents,” if you have had your
pet for any length of time. By living with your pet on a day-to-day
basis, you get to know what’s normal for your pet and can learn to
recognize when something is wrong just from your pet’s behavior. We
recently experienced this with our cat, Iris. She had been very ill with
acute pancreatitis in August, but was doing better and eating again,
though her feeding tube had not yet been removed. Then her eating fell
off some and she became more lethargic. She was acting just like she did
when she had an abscess 2 years ago from our cat, Julius, attacking her.
Her feeding tube had come loose and was sliding in and out. When we
looked at it, we saw discharge and, together with her behavior,
concluded she must have an infection there. We took her to the vet, who
removed the tube, but said there was no sign of an infection. So she did
not prescribe antibiotics. In the vet's defense, she did not want to
give Iris antibiotics unnecessarily as it might cause nausea which would
hinder Iris’ recovery from a severe digestive illness.
Iris ate better the next day but we had just given her the appetite
stimulant drug that she gets every 3
days. The vet thought Iris was fine
since she was eating better. However, Iris was not fine. The next
day, her eating fell off again and late that night her neck swelled up
with a big abscess near where the tube had been. The next morning, the
abscess burst, draining pus and blood. Being a weekend, we had to go to
the emergency vet clinic, to get the abscess cleaned and antibiotics.
Iris immediately started to eat better after getting antibiotics, just
like her previous abscess. So, it turned out our instincts were right,
despite what the vet (a highly trained internist) concluded. The moral
of this story is to trust your instincts about your pet, despite what
any expert tells you. Fortunately Iris made a full recovery from the
abscess and is continuing to improve from the pancreatitis.
If you choose to help your pet holistically, you may also find yourself
in a situation where you have to
choose
whether to follow your instincts about what is right for your pet or do
what the vet tells you to do. Not all vets are open to holistic care or
raw diets. Even a holistically-oriented vet may be against those
holistic products or treatments they are not personally familiar with.
We would not suggest going against your vet’s advice, since they have
professional medical knowledge that you lack. You should always take
their advice seriously. However, your vet is a partner in your pet’s
health, not the ultimate authority. As your pet’s parent, you have the
right to make the final decision on how to treat your pet.
If our vet has a concern about something we want to give our pets, we do
research to find out if their concerns are valid. Sometimes their
concerns are justified. Not all people herbs or supplements are safe
for
dogs or cats, so it makes sense to investigate them. For example, alpha
lipoic acid, a supplement used by people, is toxic for cats. Also, herbs
or isolated supplements can have actions similar to drugs, or interfere
with drug therapy. Whole food products are generally safer than herbs or
isolated supplements. While herbs or supplements can cause side effects
or interfere with medications, whole food products do not. Obviously,
avoid toxic foods to dogs and cats, such as onions, chocolate, etc. but
if the food is safe for
animals, such as algae, fish or rice, then supplementing with it is
probably not going to pose a danger to your pet or interfere with
medications. Single ingredients extracted from food, such as fish oil,
can cause problems (such as thinning of the blood), or glucosamine
(raising blood sugar). Vets are aware of possible problems like that,
which is probably why they tend to reject all products they are not
familiar with, including whole food products. We would encourage you to
do your own research on the holistic treatments and products you want to
give your pet, and then as a responsible pet parent, make an informed
decision on what is best for your pet. You are the ultimate authority
for your furry child.
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Iris in Mikki's stroller.
Mikki is our 17 year old Chihuahua mix that is arthritic and
cannot walk far. |
I first want to introduce you to a very
special person,
Sherry Ray. Sherry was my very first business coach when we
started Optimum Choices (2002). I needed to make the transition from a 20+ year
corporate
employee
to an Internet entrepreneur. For those that have never done this before,
there is a lot of corporate baggage to let go of and lessons to learn in
order to be successful, in spite of how easy the business gurus tell you
it is to start an Internet business. With Sherry's guidance our revenues
increased by 600% over 5 years. Today Optimum Choices is the largest
independent Internet distributor in the world for both
BioPreparation and
ALPHA-G, thanks, in part, to Sherry's
business coaching. But our connection does not stop there.
Sherry was the proud pet parent of two
lovely Golden Retrievers. According to veterinary statistics the average
life span of a Golden these days is 7-8 years. As her Goldens became
seniors she asked us how she could prolong their life and give them the
best quality of life possible. We, of course, told her we give a
bio-algae concentrates
product called
BioPreparation to our pets. Sherry faithfully followed our lead
and her Goldens both lived to be 15 years old. In honor of her two
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Finding Traction: Recapture Your Drive at Work is for anyone
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Are you in one of the statistics above? Sherry
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not just for her, she gives her own clients' success stories as proof. I
can relate to many of her clients' cases as I have experienced the very
same lessons in my journey towards becoming a successful Internet
entrepreneur and "wholistic"
wellness coach. One of my often used excuses in my coaching
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Unlike the old school business coaches that
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Sherry will not let you get away with the old victim attitude (the
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For an excellent holiday gift for someone who
is stuck in their job or career, including yourself, why not order
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to order or go to her website:
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