Table of Contents
Dedication
For my mother and father,
and for Sam and Lucy,
who shared their love and chocolate with me
For more natural care tips and guidance, visit the
authors website:
www.doctordeva.com
Foreword
Deva Khalsa and I were founding doctoral spirits as the movement of holistic veterinary medicine was being born in the United States back in the 1970s. We are now referred to as The Eldersa term of which I am still proud. To me, Deva was not just one of us but someone I respected, consulted with, learned from, and truly admired as she was one of the few, even back then, who got it. There are two types of medical training: that in which medicine is learned and spit back in rote when treating a patient, or that in which medicine is learned, understood, incorporated within oneself, and ultimately applied within that same context for the betterment of the patient. Deva is an embodiment of the latter. She knows, feels, and practices healing, patient by patient. Importantly, she also has always been one of her own patients. Youve heard it countless times: practice what you preach or if you want to talk the talk, you better know how to walk the walk. Well, she damn well did, and she still does. In the decades Ive known Deva, she has barely aged. She beams. Thats called health. And, when you have it, you dont have to healbut you sure can when needed for others.
This book that she has written is nothing more than a mirror of the incredible spiritual energy of a true healer. If you want to call it holistic, then use the term to its fullest capacitynot just the whole patient but the entire picturemind, body, spirit, environment, human/animal bond, and most of all, good old common sense. Learn from this book not to simply practice its methods but to really understand its contents, make them your own, and apply them. Its not that much more complicated. It is pure and simple. Well done, Deva, and youll always have my love and admiration.
Dr. Marty Goldstein, Author of The Nature of Animal Healing: The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat
Preface
The Scottie Who Watched TV
Once upon a time there was a Scottish Terrier who lived with a bunch of other Scotties. He didnt like his canine brothers and sisters very much, but he loved to watch television. His people had a super-big-screen TV that happened to have a very large and easy-to-use button for changing the channel.
His basic routine was to lie on the couch and watch television all day long. He liked only animal shows. When an animal show ended and something else came on, such as a game show, he would leave the sofa, go over to the television, and change the channel until he found another show with animals.
His people brought him to me so that I could give him acupuncture for his stiff joints. When they returned two weeks later, I asked, Hows he doing? and they said, Well, we cant really tell. All he does is lie around all day and watch television, and he still seems stiff when he stands up and stiff when he moves around.
I gave him a couple more acupuncture treatments, asking Hows he doing? before each one. And wed have the same conversation. On his fourth visit, his people said, He doesnt seem to be getting any better at all. I thought some more and told his owners, I think his problem is television. Pull the plug out for an hour or two each day (he knew how to turn it on), put a leash on him, and take him for a good brisk walk. I also changed his diet to 70 percent vegetables with only 30 percent of his regular healthful kibble.
A month later, his people reported that he was like a new dog, moving around just fine. He liked his new diet and looked forward to his walks, and he still had a lot of time for television.
This book presents the readers with a genuine path to better health for their dogs, which can be as simple as finding the right diet and getting them some exercise. Of course, designing the right diet takes some thought and a bit of familiarity with some real data about nutrition. But it will all add up to better health for your dogs and fewer reasons to run to the veterinarian. Not that I have anything against veterinariansI happen to be one. But I became one to assist my patients to be healthier, and this book serves that purpose well.
Learning the truth about what really keeps your dog in good health will free you from any confusion and make it possible for you to have a healthier dog, one who will give you many extra years of companionship. Enjoy the journey!
Part 1
EATING FOR LIFE
Looking out upon a majestic mountain or a tranquil lake, we see the splendor of nature. As we play with our dogs, we marvel at their joy in living. The beauty and complexity of life surrounds us. Every living thing on this earth has a system that sustains that life, a complex machine bustling with activity and full of energy. How well this machine is maintained will define how healthy your dog remains and how long his life will be.
Theres no getting around the fact that the amount of attention you can lavish on your dog depends on how many other demands are being made on your time. But if youre fortunate enough to find time to devote to your canine companion, you may find that it enhances the quality of your life as well. And if youre among the growing number of people who have largely given up nutritionally deficient and additive-laden processed foods in favor of natural options, youre probably inclined to include your pets (who, after all, are members of your family) in this way of life.
Cooking is one of the ways that some people express their love for each other. While I find that our two-legged friends appreciate a great snack or meal, our four-legged friends are ecstatic over the same. Cooking for your dog, if that is what you want to do, can be an act of love, contributing in yet another way to your bond as a family.
Chapter 1
That Special Connection
For as long as I can remember, I have felt good and somehow safe in the presence of dogs. Ive always intrinsically trusted them. Dogs have seemed so dependable, sincere, and genuine. They have all of the good qualities we hope to find in people and very few of the bad qualities that we sometimes do find in people.
I marveled, like many kids, at the frogs, butterflies, and squirrels that wandered through my little world. I tried to feed abandoned baby birds and I rescued stray cats, who just happened to belong to the neighbors; however, my attraction to animals went beyond a childs natural curiosity. Even before I could put thoughts into words, I somehow realized that, in my world, animals were special. I would sit and watch the cooperation among the ants in the colony in my backyard. On the morning of my second birthday, rather than dreaming of presents and cake, I was painstakingly loading ants onto a shoebox lid and moving them to a safe location so that my mother wouldnt kill them with boiling water before the party guests arrived.
