I like to say I've been involved in veterinary medicine all of my life because I was born just as my father was graduating from veterinary school. My first job was cleaning kennels at 5 years of age. I have early memories of drying and stimulating the breathing of C-section puppies back in the days of ether anesthesia. I spent every hour I could at my father's hospital watching and helping as he communicated with clients and treated the animals. Interestingly, veterinary medicine back in the 50's and 60's relied more on the innate healing abilities of the animals and less on drug manipulation. There were fewer drug options then and looking back my father used a number of, what today, would be called holistic modalities. I remember him using ultrasound therapy devices and UV light therapy, nutrition and probiotics and many vitamin and mineral preparations.

As I went through veterinary school in the late 70's I found that veterinary medicine had advanced tremendously since my youth with a much wider array of drugs and procedures closely following on the coattails of human medicine. At first I found it fascinating and full of promise but several years into my own veterinary career I felt uncomfortable with the over dependence on more and more powerful and suppressive drugs. At the same time I was seeing a greater and greater number of chronic ailments and an apparent weaker general vitality in the animals. Ultimately I made the decision to leave conventional medicine for a more gentle, supportive and natural approach.