Killing us, Not so Softly

If you read my blog regularly, you would know that I spend a lot of time reading about dog/cat health, disease, and nutrition. I also spend a lot of time reading about dogs and cats dying. This is a topic that I have many times wanted to write about but couldn't seem to do it. I know most people think I've gone overboard with this whole pet health thing and I try to keep things in perspective. I've generally tried to keep to the rule not to offer too much advice unless specifically asked. But it is hard not to offer information. I think I own it to my furkids to be an educated consumer and responsible pet-parent. Shouldn't I also inform my friends? I am frequently caught between wanting to offer information or advice to a pet-owner and keeping my mouth shut. Good thing I have this blog and several yahoogroups as an outlet. There are like-minded people out there for me!
When we were kids, dogs and cats rarely died of cancer, or had irritable bowel syndrome, or needed to have their teeth cleaned, or had allergies. They died of old age or were hit by a car. And pets lived way past 12 years of age. Today, you can't have a conversation with another pet owner without hearing about one ailment, or disease, or death of a pet. On my two Berner lists (NaturalBerner and BMDCNV) I read about cancers killing our dogs practically EVERYDAY. What is killing our pets?

Vaccines
"Over the past decade or so, many veterinarians have become increasingly convinced that a number of vaccines are doing more harm than good for our animal companions.  Some remain necessary, even mandated by law, such as rabies.  But not all the annual boosters that have been traditionally given now appear to be necessary and they may be leading to several diseases." (Courtesy of 'New Living' Newspaper, March 2001)
Riley suffers from over-vaccination, also known as vaccinosis. That is not the sole culprit of his health problems, but it has played a big role. God help me if I can protect him from being vaccinated again for the rest of his life. I continue to see the damaging affects of his vaccinations today.

Pet Food
Haven't I talked about this topic enough? If you don't believe me, read Ann Martin's "Food Pet's Die For", published in 1997. It'll be enough. Just in case you don't get around to reading this book, Martin spent seven years investigating the commercial pet food industry and what she uncovered isn't pretty. There are several reasons you really do not want to feed your dog or cat commercial foods.  Perhaps the most compelling moral reason is that there are rendered, euthanized pets in much of this food. These pets have been mixed with other materials, including some condemned for human consumption: "rotten meat from supermarket shelves, restaurant grease..'4-D' (dead, diseased, dying and disabled) animals and roadkill." Don't believe me? Do your own homework. In both the United States and Quebec, this rendering of pets is not illegal. That's not to say that there isn't "better" commercial pet foods out there. But I'd dare to guess that 99% of pet owners feed this garbage.

Breeding
Did you know that a study has found vaccinations to alter DNA? Wow. Damaged genes as well as poor health is passed down generation after generation. No wonder Riley's got the whole deck of cards stacked up against him.

Our environment
"Cancer is a breakdown of the immune system, pure and simple. Our immune systems identify and destroy foreign, mutant and imperfect cells found in the body as its main function. It does so quietly and efficiently from day one and, it only when this system is compromised, that cancers can develop." (Steve M. Dudley). Whatever is causing more and more cancers in people is also causing cancers in our pets. Whether it's the cleaning products we use in our home, the pesticides on our foods, the pesticides in the parks, or the pollution in the air, our pets are getting the same cancers we are.

Well, I've finally gotten some of this off my chest and onto my blog, as I have intended to do for some time now. I hope people will read this and re-evaluate their pets' health. It is not easy to question veterinarians. But if you knew how much money they make off of annual vaccination boosters, promoting pet food, and cleaning your pets' teeth, you may start realizing that they are a business. Their education includes very little animal immunology and nutrition. Their educations are largely funded by the pet food industry! Duh!

My final message:
Strong immune systems promote good health. Not vaccines, not medication, and certainly not kibble!
Okay, I'm done for today.