Some Things to Think About by Priscilla K. Stockner, MS, DVM, MBA

I think about "Zipper" a lot. She was my first dog. That makes her special. A purebred smooth-fox-terrier who lived next door to my aunt, on the farm in Illinois, had a litter and we came to visit when the litter was 7-8 weeks old. Our family had not had a dog since "Pal" my dad's collie got out and was killed on the road; this was an event that was very traumatic for all of us. The time seemed "right", and we came home with a loving, happy female puppy.

I think about her a lot. She was never vaccinated, it was before such procedures were ingrained into the psyche of the pet owner. She ate what we ate. Mom always made a little extra meat portion for her. Saturday, she got a fresh bone which my Grandpa, who owned the general store, brought by the house. She had a litter of pups with the three-legged male terrier next door and was spayed thereafter. This was to be her only visit to a veterinary office -- the garage of the local veterinarian. She lived to 20 years of age. We ended her life because of her frailty, not her spirit. No vaccines, no chemicals, no processed diet, no drugs, no disease.

Today the health and longevity of purebred dogs, and to some extent purebred cats, is in serious jeopardy, I think. Is it iatrogenic (describing a condition that has resulted from treatment, as either an unforeseen or inevitable side effect)? Maybe so. "Iatro", definition, doctor or medicine induced, in this case I extend to all of us who care for animals. It's a case of errors of omission and errors of commission.

In the domestication, taming to an environment, our dogs did make some changes in their behavior, but was it prudent? The dog is related to the wolf, but with great differences in physical form. It is this difference that makes it easy to forget the carnivorous nature of our family pets. In a recent headline in one of our veterinary magazines, a new organization was expounding its merits to "discover" how to provide "better" nutrition for pet dogs and cats. The make-up of the group is the manufacturers of processed pet foods. What's wrong with this picture? Why would I trust the manufacturer of pet foods to use "unclouded judgment" regarding its selection of the composition of pet food? Not in today's business climate where making a profit every quarter for the shareholders is the driving force. Yes, they say they follow the National Research Council's (a government appointed Council) recommended nutritional guidelines, but that Council hasn't met since 1981. It's data is based on laboratory animal studies, read research Beagles. I guess you can see I'm skeptical. It was a government agency that said that a rubber stabilizer (ethoxyquin) was safe if added to grains as a fat preservative. I believe that nothing can be as good and nutritious as a home-cooked meal based on fresh ingredients, meats, grains, and vegetables and the love you put into the preparation. Are we doing the right thing by following the easy path and feeding our pet commercial diets? I haven't had a family dog since "Zipper" that lived beyond 15 years of age.

I think we have to take a careful look at where the "information" we use to make decisions about what is the "right" way to care for our animals originates. When I asked the vaccine companies for data, read scientific, that confirmed the need for annual "booster" vaccinations, I was told, "there isn't any such data." The theory is that the blood titers go down after 18 months post vaccination so, we should build them back up with a booster. Despite the fact that the immuno-suppressive effects of booster vaccination might cause immune-mediated disease? Well, that's another column.