Deborah Straw - The Healthy Pet Manual: A Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer

THE

Healthy Pet

MANUAL

I have given care to domestic animals for over 25 years and sadly, more than half of them have died with cancer. With The Healthy Pet Manual beside me, I feel more confident as I continue this work. I will now be better able to hopefully prevent cancer before it appears and also ease the way for those animals who already have cancer, coming into my family for quality end-of-life support. In this extraordinary volume, author Deborah Straw offers us one of the finest and most essential tools for providing optimum care to the animals we hold dear. I cant thank her enough for that.

RITA M. REYNOLDS,
AUTHOR OF BLESSING THE BRIDGE:
WHAT ANIMALS TEACH US ABOUT DEATH, DYING, AND BEYOND

The Healthy Pet Manual is a must-read for those who consider their companion animals family members. This book considers all facets of our pets health, including their emotional needs, and thus is a refreshing approach to keeping our four-legged kids healthy. If everyone showed the respect and consideration for animals that Deborah Straw demonstrates, we would not only have healthier animals, we would live in a world free of unwanted and abused animals. Two paws up!

RANDY GRIM, AUTHOR OF MIRACLE DOG,
SUBJECT OF THE BOOK THE MAN WHO TALKS TO DOGS,
AND FOUNDER OF STRAY RESCUE OF ST. LOUIS.

I have long encouraged pet owners to learn as much as they can about behavior so humans and pets can better communicate and live in harmony. The same emphasis should be on the health of your pets, including prevention and treatment. Deborahs Healthy Pet Manual deals openly with the changing world of animal healthcare including the causes of disease, amazing advances in care and treatment, and costs. Her insight is valuable for maintaining a healthy pet and provides a lot of transferable insight into human health.

MATTHEW UNCLE MATTY MARGOLIS,
WORLD-RENOWNED DOG TRAINER
AND HOST OF THE PBS SERIES WOOF! ITS A DOGS LIFE

Dedicated to Puck, Bauhaus, Annie, and Misty

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank the many people who helped me with this complex, important, and often heart-wrenching book. First, I want to thank my husband, Bruce Conklin, who read each draft of my manuscript and put up with my moods during the final weeks of the books completion and its revision. He also fixed many computer snafus and helped with the tricky endnoting process. Without his encouragement and support, I could not have taken on this task. Thanks also go to my parents, Donald and Phyllis Straw, without whom I would not have developed such a strong love for and interest in all animals. Alice Wright, my beloved sister-in-law who died of cancer in summer 2004, kept that love alive, too. Thank you to Donna Raditic, D.V.M., who graciously read the entire original manuscript for medical accuracy and clarified many issues. I want to thank Lorraine Rosenthal of Cancer Control Society, who believed in this work and helped the second edition happen. Throughout the entire process from acceptance to final print to a revised edition, I have enjoyed working with the team at Healing Arts Press who are responsive, have a sense of humor, and remain fair to writers. My special thanks to acquisitions editor Jon Graham, sales associate/marketing editor Andy Raymond, my editor for this revised edition Jamaica Burns, and to Elaine Cissi for her work on the first edition.

Finally, I could not have written this book without the help of so many veterinarians, other animal care practitioners, animal lovers, and writers. Special thanks for help with this edition go to George Glanzberg, Narda Robinson, Myrna Milani, Rita Reynolds, Marilyn Putz, Debra Theriault, Cynthia Otto, Stephanie LaFarge, W. Jean Dodds, Robert McDowell, Randy Grim, Susan Hamlin, Michael McFarland, Dale Moss, Andrea Spencer, and Charles K. Short. They were generous, kind, and instructive and were not bothered if I asked them questions that might have seemed elementary. I also thank each of them for all the continued, important work they do on behalf of animals.

Contents

Foreword

When my sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago, my wifes second trip was to the childhood home where she grew up, to spend time with her sibling. Her first trip was to the bookstore, where she bought several volumes with titles such as What To Do When A Loved One Has Cancer. There were dozens to choose from, designed to acquaint cancer patients and their families with the etiology of the disease, current treatments (with the risk of side effects), along with prognosis and survival rates. Many books also address the emotional and psychological aspects of facing serious illness: handling stress, communicating with friends and relatives, coping with depression, and maintaining hope. For many people, such books are a godsend, helping them through the initial period of shock and bewilderment as they gradually gain their bearings.

But what are your resources when the loved one you care for is a dog or cat or another animal companion? Our culture has tended to minimize the importance of the human-animal bond and to discount the stakes when a beloved pet becomes ill. The attitude that its only an animal is still all too common. There are few books in the pet section that offer the same kind of information and support that are readily available in the people section of the bookstore. The volume you are now holding, Deborah Straws The Healthy Pet Manual is one of the first and most comprehensive to address this important need.

A book such as this can be valuable in many ways. Foremost, it can help you ask more intelligent questions and become a better advocate for your pet. Youll be empowered to take charge of your animals well-being and become a more responsible consumer of veterinary and pet care services. Read in time, a book like this might even save a life.

When my office manager was told her cat needed an ultrasound, for instance, her initial reaction was a feeling of helplessness and dependency. There was only one specialist in our area who provided this particular procedure for animals. She wasnt always sure she understood or agreed with all the treatment recommended, but where else could she turn? She was at the mercy of the system. No book can offer a substitute for the training and experience of a trusted vet. But a work like this one can enable you to make more informed decisions and better understand your options.

Deborah Straw encourages readers to ask a whole range of questions they may not have considered previously. What vaccines are necessary to protect your pet, and what risks are involved in most common vaccinations? How safe are commercial or premium brand pet foods? What are the pros and cons of purchasing insurance for your animal? The glossary and appendices alone would make this book a worthwhile addition to the pet lovers bookshelf. But the wealth of data and documentation within its pages make it an essential reference.

The Healthy Pet Manual covers both conventional and more holistic approaches to coping with cancer, which is a real strength, recognizing that people spend almost as much money today on alternative therapies as they do on conventional medical care. The two paradigms are not necessarily incompatible. One woman in my church, for instance, decided to follow her doctors recommendation and go with radiation treatments after a lumpectomy, but complemented her reliance on high-tech medicine with visits to an acupuncturist (with the blessing of her physician), which she felt helped keep her energy level higher than it might have been. Most people, I think, want to consider all the possibilities when facing a potentially life-threatening situation, and this holds true whether we are concerned with people or pets.