Our Kala
Kala was a well-bred champion Bouvier.
I know this because we bred her, and we have been breeding champion Bouviers for more than two decades.
We spent hundreds of dollars doing "health testing" on her, as well as on her mother and grandmother. Money hasn't been an object with our dogs-our family.
She was an outgoing, energetic puppy from the very beginning. She was well socialized, exercised, and we had put her through two years of obedience training.
We did our research on diets and vaccines.
At age five, she was spayed. Within that same year she developed a mass cell tumor, which we had removed by our veterinarian. After that, we watched our girl become afraid of everything. To top it off, she developed what is called "spay incontinence."
Kala was given the rabies vaccine, because it was required by law. She was on heart worm medication five to six months out of the year. She also was on Frontline for flea and tick prevention.
Kala at age ten was still gorgeous.
She was at a great body weight, no signs of arthritis. We know her insides were working fine-we had blood work and ultrasounds done. But then she started having grand mall seizures that became so horrific we had to put her down.
I kept asking myself "How could this happen?"
We did everything right.
Or did we?
After her death I started to do some research, which I wish I had done five years earlier. Kala might still be here today if I had.
I can't bring her back, but I hope this information will help someone else save their beloved friend.
Please check out the following web sites (click the paw print to visit):
The Dog Place--vaccines
Neutering.org
Wikipedia on neutering
Dr. Jean Dodds
Next, I researched heart worm medications and flea and tick preventive in books written by Dr. Pitcairn and Dr. Don Hamilton. What I found out made me very angry! They revealed the dirty secrets of some veterinarians and the pharmaceutical companies. Why aren't we being informed of the side effects of the drugs we give our dogs?
Did you ever wonder why your dog has skin problems and allergies at certain times of the year? New research is linking it to heart worm season and medication.
Yes, Wisconsin is notorious for heart worm problems, and the medicine can prevent it. But pet owners still need to know the risks of those drugs and make an informed decision. There are alternatives. Veterinarians and pharmaceutical companies need to stop using fear as their marketing technique to their clients.
We need to educate ourselves so that we can start demanding better care for our pets.
The next time your pet develops vomiting, diarrhea, nose bleeds, loss of appetite, lethargy, seizures, tremors, skin problems, or aggressive behavior . . . and your veterinarian cannot find anything wrong . . . don't let them dismiss it as bad breeding, old age, etc. It might indeed be those things. But it might also be the result of vaccines and other medicines your pet is receiving.
No drug is benign. No procedure is completely without side-effects.
Yes, I am aware there is a pet population problem. But why can't veterinarians perform vasectomies on male dogs instead of castrations? Why can't they use partial spays and leave the ovaries for hormone reasons?
We will always need veterinarians. We just need them to become better and more responsive.
I now know why some veterinarians get frustrated and walk away from traditional medicine and practices.
Why aren't veterinarians sitting down with us and discussing what is best for our pet? Maybe if a veterinarian had shared a little more information with me Kala would still be curled at my feet.
Jean
