Comments on 16 Most Important Questions You Need to Ask Your Holistic Vet

I stumbled across Dr. Falconer's site and this page like many others (especially in Texas) searching for a real holistic veterinarian. I have an 11-year old Pomeranian with a heart murmur and enlarged heart. So far, I have been able to reduce his heart murmur from a grade 3 last July to grade 1/2 by the end of October 2018 by feeding him a good quality raw diet, supplements and a holistic heart health herbal program from Five Leaf Botanicals as the conventional vet that diagnosed his heart disease put him on Vetmedin and Lasix and it made him terribly sick. My regular vet that I have been using for years is good with wellness but not with serious illness. She has always been good with my not vaccinating my dog but she and all other vets in the area require rabies before they will touch any dog or cat. Cody had his 3 year rabies back in 2017. I'm good for now, but since he is a senior with heart disease and collapsed trachea, I have been taking him in more often for blood work and exams. I don't know how I'm going to get those things done after his rabies expires. Anyone else in the Houston area found a holistic vet here?

Hi Will,
As usual, great page and shared, again. Thank you.
A lot of pet parents don't have a holistic vet close to them, for instance, the closest one to me is 120km one way.
I know there are other pet parents out there who are in the same boat as myself. I take my lot to a conventional vet and I hate it, but it has to do for now. This was one of the reasons I started researching over 6 years ago on nutrition and the effects of processed food, chemicals, etc etc on our pets.
Now, taking our lot to the vet is a desperate move.
Questions pet parents can ask their conventional vet. Would it be worth putting anything like this together for my Facebook group members?
I know if I was to ask a conventional vet a few questions, I'd be walking out of there pronto! lol

Hi Dr. Falconer,
My twp licensing is coming up due for my dog. He has had 2 rabies vaccines in the 4.5 yrs since he found us.
I know he is protected still. He has mild skin allergies that are well controlled right now. I would like to keep him that way.
A local holistic vet told me that a rabies exemption is only given if the animal is "severely" allergic. My boy is not.. I would like to keep it that way by not un-necessarily vaccinating him.
I am in southern NJ. Do you know of any vets in my area I could see?
I need to get a game plan in the next month as his license will be due and its been 3 yrs since his last rabies...
Thank you in advance.

I know this is kinda off topic for this article, but it does relate in not being able to find a holistic vet in my area. I had commented earlier about having trouble finding a vet to do a spay that didn't require rabies vaccine. I knew my cat was going to be coming into heat soon again, feeling like I didn't have another choice, I went ahead and got her rabies vaccine this past Monday. Perfectly.healthy. cat. Until the vaccine. This morning, less than 72 hours later, we woke up to find an almost dead cat. Even my homeopathic skills weren't enough to bring her back. I wonder if the "establishment" will use vaccines against people in the future in a similar fashion (must have "x" vaccine in order to get treatment). I am so sorry we aren't in your area Dr. Falconer and wish there were MORE LIKE YOU!

I am grateful for my holistic vet who understands my feelings on vaccinations. She just wrote an exemption letter for my 13 1/2 yo border collie mix. My county in California won't take a titers test but will accept a letter from the dog's vet saying that he "is not in adequate physical health to receive a Rabies vaccination". His health status is debatable. He doesn't like to discuss it and feels fine except for a few aches and pains. It is worth the 2+ hour drive to see her.

We have never had our dogs or cats "fixed" mainly to stay away from the required vaccines (we live in TX). However, that means we have wayyyy too many animals!
Question #1 - is there a way to keep your outdoor cat from coming into heat?
Question #2 - seems a rabies vaccine is required in TX before they will spay. Is there anyway around this? We do not have much money, though we are still able to feed good raw food to our animals, they have never been to the vet and are extremely healthy.

Great article, Dr. Falconer. Thank you.
Lucky for those of us that cannot find a good holistic vet close by, we have the option to work with you, long distance. Thanks for that!
I was wondering if you could point me to your blog post about the remedies you recommended having on hand for minor incidents or accidents. I would appreciate that. Thanks and take care.
Lori

Does anyone know of any holistic vets in the Spring/The Woodlands/Houston, TX area? I live on the north end of town and have been looking for the past 5 months. TX law requires rabies shot, I have been waiting as long as possible to do this, my puppy is 7 months old now, so he can strengthen/build his immune system. But I am going to have to board him next month and now need to look.

Thanks, Dr. Falconer, and to all the people who shared their experiences here. About to interview another doctor in the DFW area. You all have helped me prepare for it and stand firm.

Luckily my conventional vet understands don't even try any of the vaccine pressure. I have proven to him over the last nine years that raising my dogs and cats naturally is working. He understands that under no circumstances will theses "kids" get vaccinated. And he knows not to suggest steroids. Because he knows while I respect him that I will not give in. And I will not return to his practice. The staff has learned not to bring up vaccines to me. They tried it and told me I had to. I told the staff they needed to go speak with the doctor about it. I've never heard another word about vaccinations in the last nine years. And the vet sent me to anote vet for an ultra sound. Sorry folks, I lied on the paperwork and said the cat was current on everything. Once in the room alone with the vet I explained we are a no vaccine family. He never batted an eye. He asked what I fed the cat. He actually commended me for feeding raw. So my advice is stick to your guns and don't let them talk you into anything you feel is not right for your pet. If the staff cannot accept walk out and don't go back.

What state is this happening in? Where I am, veterinarians have no choice but to encourage pet owners to comply with the law regarding rabies vaccinations.

Apparently, I am blessed! I have two homeopathic vets available to me who, naturally ( pardon the pun), support and encourage my no vacs approach. My dogs have NEVER been vaccinated and were weaned to a raw diet. These docs, also have a way to "do rabies" that will cover their butts and not hurt my dogs. Rarely, have they had an antibiotic. Ticks are tacked with raw amber necklaces and an essential oil with garlic. They are 8 and 12 years old, have beautiful coats and no major health issues. What's more, they are registered therapy dogs who give to hospice, autistic children and struggling readers.

We had titers done on our horses. The vet told us that as the animal ages, their immune system becomes less functional and they will need to be vaccinated to boost immunity. We don't really agree with that statement. As I understand your article here, the immunity will always be there, just not showing high titers if there is no disease to prompt it. Am I understanding this correctly? We have found the vets really haven't dealt with titer testing and are not fully up to speed as you are. Please let me know. Thank you so much for all your information!

We are going to be building a home with a fenced back yard. I have two Westies, neither have had rabies shots. (long story...shortened)Our first Westie (sadly, now deceased) immediately developed autoimmune issues following a rabies shot. she lost the hair over one third of her body, developed malesezhia (sp?) ear infections, copper colored paws and muzzle. I swore that I would never give any vacs to any pets ever again.
My concern is now that they might be exposed to rabid "critters" in our yard. In this ( NJ) state, if your dog comes into contact with a rabid animal they quarantine the dog for 45 days and give them a "booster." If the dog has not had a rabies shot they euthanize the dog.
Any thoughts?

Wow! This one hit close to home. I also am in the DFW area and had very little luck finding a good vet (ie holistic). The closest I have come is my current vet who only requires rabies (for boarding and I have to occasionally). They will do titers and respect my wishes of no more vaccines, I just have to sign a waiver for when he boards.
And yes all the vets comment on how young my dog acts (he's 65# and 10 years old) and how good of health he is in. I must be doing something right.

Thanks for this list doc, I am printing it out since we're moving up North to find a holistic/homeopathic practice. Searched to no avail here, found some promising vets in Vermont and New Hampshire. For some reason there are lots in the snow states, while the South is deficient in holistic vets. I can't wait to say bye to the whitecoat that insisted I should put Pookie to sleep because they found a tumor. By the way, I've been giving a ground up apricot kernel in her raw food, and the tumor is half the size it was! There are no side effects...I call it "kerneltherapy" ha ha! Tastes really bad, bleck! gag! I have to give it with syringe full of pureed raw chicken, kale and minerals. She hides when she hears me get out the food processor because she knows it's kernel time! (but she's getting well.)

Regarding the Fort Worth/Dallas alternative vets...I'm using a conventional vet currently who doesn't press me when I say no, so far. We discuss all before and after each visit, and he knows I'm a minamalistic drug/vacc client, who I feel has seen my dogs and cat respond to my way many times. But I'm now scared because one of my dogs has come due for his 3 year rabies vacc and so I have begun to call around to ask about "recombinent" rabies vacc, but no one seems to have heard of it. I know Merial has taken out the mercury from its vacc, but it still has all the other poisons. So I'm trying to see if the alternative vets will talk to me about it. One in Mansfield is Dr. Nancy Bozeman at Little Animal Vet. One is Dr. Pam Montgomery in the Dallas area if she has come back into practicing. Dr. Ballard was in Carrollton but for unknown reasons (to me) has stopped practicing. If you find another that you like, I'd like to hear about it. Thanks, M.

The only additional question I would ask is that of my pet were to be treated by you for an emergency, would you require vaccinations to hospitalize my beloved, minimally vaccinated darling??? The horror stories I hear and the arm twisting, especially by the big corporate practices, which fly in the face of any teaching at veterinary schools, immunology, and just common good sense!!

My vets work for me. I tell them what I want and they either are good with it or not. I told my last vet I will walk out of her office in a heartbeat if she has a problem with my requests (no vaxs) and she has never pressured me to this day some 5 years later. And she always comments on healthy my dogs are and how clean their teeth are. To me this is a no-brainer. She is a repro vet also and has seen several litters grow up and never receive a single vaccine and weirdly....are still here, healthy and vibrant.

This week I took a new rescue cat to our conventional vet to get him checked out and micro-chipped. I saw a different vet than I usually do, so we had to do "the dance". Vaccinations, vaccinations, did I mention vaccinations? We haven't vaccinated in over 22 years, and I have stood my ground. I have to say THANK YOU to you Dr. Falconer, because this time it was so much easier for me, because I have been reading your weekly newsletters and they have really helped to strengthen my convictions. Your support is so appreciated! To the vet I just said, "We don't vaccinate our animals, and I do not want to discuss it." She pressed, and I repeated that "it was not up for discussion with me" in a firm, but polite way. I told her that I take FULL RESPONSIBILITY for my animals and my choices. She backed down.
My experience is that if you show even a slight wavering in your conviction, they will use that to wiggle in and try to change your mind...they are afterall, The Doctor. Stay firm, it's you, YOUR PET, AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY...not theirs.
My vets always comment on how soft and shiny my critters coats are...they notice. I can hardly wait until this new cat's coat is so nice.