Dennis W. Thomas - Whole-Pet Healing

HAY HOUSE TITLES OF RELATED INTEREST

YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, the movie,
starring Louise Hay & Friends
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
Watch the trailer at: www.LouiseHayMovie.com

THE SHIFT, the movie,
starring Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
Watch the trailer at: www.DyerMovie.com

CARE OF THE SOUL IN MEDICINE: Healing Guidance for Patients,
Families, and the People Who Care for Them, by Thomas Moore

COMMUNICATION WITH ALL LIFE: Revelations of
an Animal Communicator, by Joan Ranquet

HEALING WITH RAW FOODS: Your Guide to Unlocking
Vibrant Health Through Living Cuisine, by Jenny Ross

LIVING BLISS: Major Discoveries Along the Holistic Path,
by C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.

MIND OVER MEDICINE: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself,
by Lissa Rankin, M.D.

SECRETS FROM CHUCKLING GOAT: How a Herd of Goats
Saved My Family and Started a Business That Became a
Natural Health Phenomenon, by Shann Nix Jones

All of the above are available at your local bookstore, or may be ordered by visiting:

Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com
Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au
Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk
Hay House South Africa: info@hayhouse.co.za
Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Copyright 2015 by Dennis W. Thomas

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: info@hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast Books: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover design: Amy Rose Grigoriou Interior design: Riann Bender

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thomas, Dennis W., date.
Whole-pet healing : a heart-to-heart guide to connecting with and caring for your animal companion / Dr. Dennis W. Thomas.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4019-4764-4 (tradepaper : alk. paper) 1. Holistic veterinary medicine. I. Title.
SF745.5.T44 2015
636.08955dc23

2015008916

Tradepaper ISBN: 978-1-4019-4764-4

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1st edition, July 2015

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to all the caretakers and their pets who have allowed me to be a part of their lives throughout my careerincluding Clarence and Carol Haught, Karen Owen, Marjorie Duncan, Sue Edwards, LaVon Stuart, Barbara Campbell, Jim and Jean Yaudes, Hugh and Tekla Bear, Russ and Bonnie Haleen, Barb Christofferson, Tina Gates, Rick and Marsha Dial, Denise Morris and Mary Beth Healey, Sydney Watson, and hundreds more who have brought me to the realization that people have the ability to return the unconditional love that is given to them by their pets. They have been the inspiration for and the meaning of my career. Also, to Kathy, Tian, Bethany, Nicole, Jen, and all the many staff members whom I have had the good fortune to work with, who have dedicated their lives to assisting pets in their healing, using compassion, patience, and devotion far beyond my capabilities.

But souls that of his own good life partake,
He loves as his own self; dear as his eye
That are to Him: Hell never them forsake:
When they shall die, then God himself shall die:
They live, they live in blest eternity.

HENRY MORE (16141687)

The last thing a veterinarian wants to do is start off the day by euthanizing a pet. For a person whose career is intent on promoting healing and prolonging life, there is something paradoxical about having to reverse that state of mind. It is certainly our obligation to relieve pain, and euthanasia is the ultimate treatment for that; however, I can safely say there is not a veterinarian anywhere who doesnt wish he or she could erase that part of the job description.

I thought it was going to be that sort of day of having to put a pet to sleepbut it was far from it. It was a day that would instead remind me to remove the blinders of expectations and move forward in the awareness that all things are possible.

I opened the door to the small room that was used for euthanizing patients. It was designed for comfort. It had a small exam table, two cushioned chairs, soft lighting, and pleasant pictures on the wall that did not display pets playing with their caretakers. I didnt know the middle-aged man and woman with a small, orange Manx kitten that looked to be about four months old. I had never examined the kitten, but the coupleFred and Dorahad told my receptionist that he needed to be euthanized.

Before I could introduce myself, Freds eyes welled with tears and he asked in a desperate voice, Doc, cant you do anything?

Why dont you start by telling me what is going on? I said.

Fred composed himself and continued. Alexthats his name. He wasnt even our kitten. He was our neighbors kitten, and we would see him outside in our yard at times. Sometimes we would share our cats treats with him. We never even noticed that there was a problem.

He explained that one day the neighbor, whom they admitted they hardly knew, came to their door and told them he and his family were moving. He said that they couldnt take the kitten with them and were going to have to find him another home. The neighbor wondered if Fred and Dora might like to have Alex.

After a short discussion, the couple agreed that it wouldnt be a problem, since the kitten lived outside and seemed comfortable in their backyard. It did not take Fred and Dora long, once they started paying attention to little Alex, to realize that something was wrong. The kitten seemed to drag his rear legs behind him, and it became obvious that he could not control his bowel and urine functions.

After a thorough investigation on the Internet, the couple came to the conclusion that the kitten had a congenital disease called Manx syndrome. Manx cats have no tails because they carry a defective gene that doesnt allow proper development of the tail. Unfortunately, sometimes the defect is more extensive, and the result is an improperly developed spinal cord, above the tail. This underdevelopment often leads to the inability to walk, urinate, or defecate normally. There is no traditional Western treatment for this disease, and euthanizing the animal is usually recommended to eliminate its suffering.