What Makes Us So Special

Click on the links below to see how we use some holistic veterinary medical treatments and what they're all about

We're Special Because of All the Reasons We Told You on the Main Page

and

We're Special Because of the Way We Practice Medicine

We do something at our hospitals that nobody else in the area does, and that makes us very special. We are the ONLY hospitals in the greater New York area that combine high quality Western Medicine (as in surgery, antibiotics, advanced medical ttherapeutics, etc) with Eastern and Alternative Medicine (such as Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Bach Flowers, Glandular Therapy, etc). Dr. Raclyn and Dr. Kasanofsky are both trained in Veterinary Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Herbal Therapy and have deeply explored the realms of alternative medicine.

Our goal is to cure, as well as to prevent disease, and whether that means using Antibiotics or Chinese Herbs or Surgery or Homeopathy, we always try to remember that ultimate goal. If you prefer that we use only one particular mode of healing, we will be happy to do so unless we feel it is not in your pet's best interest. Both Dr. Raclyn and Dr. Kasanofsky have completed the IVAS post graduate training course and are both Certified Veterinary Acupuncturists. The International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) is the only governing body permitted to certify veterinarians to practice acupuncture. We also employ Chinese Herb combinations, Native American Herbs, Pulse Magnetic Therapy, Detox Programs, Oral Tolerization (Glandular Therapy), and Bach Flower Remedies. We are also part of the larger network of alternative veterinary practitioners, and can refer a client to other complementary therapies as needed.

Being a holistic veterinary practice means that our doctors will look at the whole problem, not just focus in on the obvious. We look for underlying causes in diet and lifestyle, and try to effect a cure in a safe and timely manner using both Conventional and Complementary therapies.

ACUPUNCTURE and TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

has been used in animals for thousands of years. The origins go back to ancient Chinese times and are recorded in Chinese history. Western scientists are still undecided how it works, although they agree that it does. According to the Chinese, when an animal is healthy, there is a circulation of energy, life force, or "chi" along well-defined channels on the skin called meridians. The meridians are connected with internal organs, muscular and joint structures, and the nervous system. Acupuncture points, which lie on the meridians, are areas of the skin (which can be shown to exist with modern electronic equipment) at which the flow of "Qi" can be influenced. In disease states, there is an imbalance of, or interference with, the flow of energy. The acupuncturist can manipulate the energy flows by stimulating the acupuncture points, thus rectifying the disorder. (Courtesy of Dr. David Gilchrist...check out his site in Australia at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gilk)

TRADITIONAL CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE

Chinese herbs are selected and combined in formulas based on principles that have no relation whatsoever to bio-chemistry. The vast majority of herbal treatments use formulas containing four or more herbs. Only a few herbs are used by themselves alone. There are several reasons for this.

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  To affect related secondary aspects of the illness.
  To prevent the formula from causing side effects or illness by balancing it’s effects.
  To strengthen the effect on the pathology.

One commonly used format or template for designing herbal formulas is based on the monarchical form of government. At the top is the king or emperor. Next are the ministers or deputies. Last are the assistants or adjutants. There is one special role assistant - that of guide or messenger herb.

Any herb can fill any of these roles. Which role depends on which herbal formula the herb is used in. They roles work together in these ways:

King Herb - The herb which is directed to and has the strongest effect on the most important imbalance/pathology

Minister Herb - This herb is directed to the main imbalance/pathology and to the secondary imbalance/pathology

Assistant Herb - there are three types:

1) Helpful Assistant - strengthens the effect of the King
2) Corrective Assistant - reduces or eliminates the harsh or toxic effects of the King and/or Minister herbs
3) Opposing Assistant - decreases the effect of the King. This role is mostly used for complex combinations of imbalances/pathologies.

(reprinted from http://www.chinesemedicinesampler.com/herbmedtheory.html)

GLANDULAR THERAPY

The medicinal use of animal glands and extracts has a long and colorful history. Glandulars are claimed to tone and heal the corresponding organs in the user, although until recently there has been little scientific evidence to support this claim. Research developments over the last two decades have provided a plausible rationale for glandular therapy. It has shown that large molecules with hormonal or potentially tissue-specific activity can be absorbed intact and can exert profound effects. Glandulars supply a range of hormones, hormone precursors and fragments, enzymes, and other factors with significant biological activity. Although whole glandulars contain only small amounts of these products, it appears that these modest amounts can be effective, and may, in some situations, be preferable to larger amounts. Studies employing stained or radioactively-tagged cells, (allowing researchers to trace movement in the body) have shown an active accumulation of the injected cells or their constituents, by the target tissues in question. Further, when the target organ is traumatized, there is a more rapid uptake of the corresponding injected cells by the traumatized organ than the normal organ. This accelerated uptake of specific cellular materials by actively healing glands may reflect an increased physiological requirement for precisely those materials supplied by the tissue supplements.

PULSE MAGNETIC THERAPY

All the cells that make up tissue or bone have a weak, natural electric current flowing through them. The currents are caused by electrically charged particles in the cells called ions. Ions affect the metabolism or the cell. PMT is a method of applying a magnetic field to the cell, which sends a weak signal, influencing the interaction of the ions. PMT signals initiate biological reactions that lead to the acceleration of the healing process. The effects of Pulse Magnetic Therapy has been double blind tested at major universities both here in the States and abroad. Pulse Magnetic Therapy has proven effective in the management of ambulatory problems including muscle and tendon sprains or tears, hip dysplasia, arthritis, generalized pain. It has also proven effective in cases of delayed wound healing. Even pets with constitutional diseases, such as heart disease and kidney disease, seek out the PMT bed to lay on.

BACH FLOWER REMEDIES

Flower remedy therapy relies on the emotional/mental component of disease. Although the contribution of mental stress to physical disease is much easier to document in humans, animal disease certainly contains an emotional component as well. Flower remedies are extracts of the flowering parts of certain plants, and work solely on the emotional plane of the patient. It is believed that these substances act in an energetic manner, similar to homeopathic remedies.

DETOXIFICATION PROGRAMS

Toxins are substances which have harmful effects on living organisms. Detoxification (or detox) is the process of breaking down the toxins and expelling them from the body. Toxic detox occurs when too many toxins circulate for too long in the bloodstream before they are eliminated. The end result is permanent organ damage.

Toxins include waste products produced by the body, breakdown by-products (e.g. hormones) bacterial endotoxins, and exotoxins from the environment, including antibiotics, insecticides, excess foods. Some are only partially processed, becoming even more toxic. Even a perfectly healthy organism which is not exposed to any noxious substance will have some toxins in the body (e.g. mercaptans, short-chained fatty acids, skatols and indoles). Toxins are processed by the body, especially by the liver. Water-soluble toxins are excreted in urine, (and to a lesser extent, by skin and lungs);fat-soluble toxins are excreted in bile. If there is an excess of toxins, they circulate long enough to be picked up and stored in the fat. If the fat stores are filled, they continue to circulate in the blood, causing damage. If the toxin levels are high enough, the damage is done to mitochondria. Because mitochondrial DNA is separate from cellular DNA, mitochondrial damage is permanent.

CLINICAL NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT

If any one thing defines Holistic medicine, it is the idea that there is an underlying energy state that determines the overall health of the individual. The Chinese call this "Qi" or "Chi" and in homeopathy it is called the "Vital Force." If this energy state is weak, the system is not able to remain balanced, and disease results. Both on this energetic level, as well as on a strictly physical level, our energetic and physical beings are built and maintained by our bodies using what we eat as the bricks and the mortar. Without good nutrition both our physical bodies and our energetics will be weak and easily diseased.

Good nutrtion should be tailored for the individual, but sometimes, simply changing diets from a supermarket brand dog or cat food to a premium all natural pet food can add years to your pet's life and start your dog or cat on the road to good health and resistance to disease.