"What She Said!"

I asked a simple question. What she said was surprising. “If the diet is balanced, supplementation is not required. It could make it unbalanced.”. It was so unexpected, this answer of wisdom. Oh so wise, I thought. The conversation ended as quickly as it had begun.

Today our Wiggler, our 11-year-old yellow retriever was receiving laser treatment for his upper body. His doctor's response to my question took only seconds to address but made so much sense. She is after all, a human encyclopedia, my human encyclopedia, our highly sought after veterinarian who has administered to our fleet of retrievers spanning decades.

Doctors are important for those times when we 're not sure. Food is medicine as the saying goes but sometimes we need to move past this and do something quickly and decisively to save a life, or simply to improve health.

Over the years lumps have been a concern. Retrievers seem to be predisposed to them. Our family veterinarian requires one extra step before extracting the fluid from these surface body invaders: the administration of Benedryl, an antihistamine. This over-the-counter drug will calm the neighbouring cells, should they be carcinogenic, thereby reducing the risk of spreading  these potentially cancerous cells within the body. I believe the term is metastasis. When aspiration is required the extra step is a must. She's the best. Not all doctors bother with this extra step. But our vet does and so do I. It's a must. The extraction of body fluid can be done immediately with no waiting or rescheduling of another appt. if benedryl is given 1 hour before the appt. when aspiration might be performed.

Then there was the the matter of the feline prescription diet, many years ago. If the animal refuses to eat the prescribed food then the point of the exercise is lost. Asking for help at the pet store is a must do next step. Even sick animals must eat. Help is on its way. Companies are making better food. Do not deceive us or we will feed them what we eat, forever. With kitty cat's overactive thyroid seafood must be avoided yet she is driven to eat it. Seafood is good choice for me, not for her. Her deadly choices are followed. She is the doctor now, loves it till she vomits. She realizes soon enough that her choices need to change.

Her prescribed diet is nearby offering her the alternative that should be followed.She does until it no longer aids in her healing. End of life is here. Difficulty swallowing has taken over. Greek yogurt fails to help with its special probiotics and high protein.To all pet food companies: if prescription diets are not palatable and yummy, go back to the drawing board. I will have to go elsewhere to find a solution to my pet's crisis. Your solution is no solution at all.

As a pet parent, I have spent most of my life asking critical questions to receive answers keeping my pet healthy and thriving. Maybe a return to table scraps might be in order though the term might have a different connotation to different people. Cats can live to 29. A portuguese dog living in Portugal is in his twenties. I know of a 19-year-old retreiver as active as ever. How incredible is that? And these pets are not eating 'dog food'.

Work on the special diets for those animals whose lives started out in hell and were rescued by caring humans who went above and beyond. Do taste tests till you get it right 'cause if they don't like it they won't eat it. Have a nice day!