Expert: Dr. Christina Chambreau - 12/14/2010

Question
Hi,

I am writing a paper for my college English class and need a few minutes of your time to answer some simple questions if possible.  I really appreciate your help.

1)  Please state your name, where you went to veterinarian school and when you graduated.

2) What was your major prior to veterinary school?

3) Out of your vet experience, what do you enjoy the most?

4) What part of the field to you work in? I.E. private practice, rural health, pharmaceutical research, etc.

5) What made you choose that type of practice?

6)what type of communication skills do you need for this job?

7) Are the work hours demanding?

8)What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction?

9)What do you think are the most pressing issues in veterinary medicine today?

10)How do you feel about the use of animals in research?

11) How much time did you devote to studying in veterinary school? What about during clinicals?

12) Is being a veterinarian everything you thought it would be?

13) Have You Ever Euthanized an Animal? How did You Feel About It?

14)Did you find many job opportunities any time you have searched?

15) What do you like least about your career field?

16) Are you required to take continuing education?

17) How long was veterinary school?

18)What is the worst aspect of veterinary medicine?

19)Why is it important for animals to get regular preventive care?

20)What are some of the misconceptions you’ve heard about veterinarians and vet care, and how would you respond to those?

Thank you so much in advance for all of your help, I am very grateful.

Answer
1. christina Chambreau, U Georgia, 1980
2. Pre vet
3.  I have seen a huge improvement in health when people follow basic holistic principles - only vaccinate for Rabies after the puppy or kitten shots, feed a raw meat diet, use holistic treatments from the beginning. I know a cat who lived to 35 and a border collie still alive at 24.
4. This question is not an accurate one for a veterinarian. I will answer what my practice is like. I am the owner of a homeopathic and holistic veterinary practice that includes speaking at veterinary conferences around the world, health food stores, breed clubs, dog and cat clubs, and many other groups. I also teach teleseminars and 2-7 day classes on holistic health for animals and homeopathy for animals. I teach veterinary technicians. I did not even know about homeopathy, so I did not expect this.
5. My job fulfills my mission - to empower people to heal themselves and their animals in ways that heal the planet.
6. Good ones.
7. Totally variable - I can work 5 hours a week or 100 hours a week. I love it.
8. Getting veterinarians and animal guardians following the holistic/integrative path.
9. Expense. Cancer. Brainwashing from the pet industry so people and veterinarians vaccinate too much and feed processed foods.
10. do not think animals are needed in research except very rarely.
11. Lots
12. yes
13. yes. When approached as helping a suffering being move on to their next phase in "life" it is fine. As a holistic practitioner, fewer than 5% of my old animals need that help - the rest die on their own when the time is correct.
14. have not searched
15. Brainwashing from the pet industry so people and veterinarians vaccinate too much and feed processed foods. Many are closed to learning holistic approaches.
16. yes
17. 4 years once accepted.  You, know, when you do a survey, you really should not include question that you can find the answer to on any veterinary college web site. Waste of my time. Poor preparation by you. Many of your questions did not need my input. Of course we need CE.
18. What is different between this and 15?
19. "regular preventative (you misspelled that word - not good for an English paper)care" is actually a misnomer. Conventional check ups are important, but much more needs to be done to assure the longevity and health of animals: 7 KEYS TO HEALTHY ANIMALS
1. Know the current level of health. Most health problems are the result of an underlying energy imbalance.  As we cure animals of "disease", we find that other things we thought were normal go away, so we can use these clues to know that animals are not healthy yet.  Your goal is for your animal to have great energy, no doggy odor, no hairball vomiting, little shedding, a glowing coat and many more. Below is a complete list of these signs (Early Warning Signs of Illness). In young animals, these apparently "normal" problems may be the only indications to start exploring new options for lifestyle or treatment.  Buy the Healthy Animal's Journal (www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com) so you can see how these early warning symptoms and obvious ill symptoms change over time.  

2. Feed the best. What are the best diets for people or animals -- the most processed or the freshest, most organic?  The best ingredients should be the most consciously raised - local, organic vegetables, free ranging protein sources. Dogs and cats have ripping and tearing teeth, bone crunching teeth, no digestive juices in the mouth, jaws that do not chew, a stomach full of acid where the food sits for 4-12 hours and a very short transit time in the intestines. Dogs and cats do not pull out a knife to de-bone their prey and do not pull out matches to light a fire to cook their meat and vegetables. Therefore the best diet for dogs and cats is raw meat including raw bones, pureed raw and cooked vegetables and a few supplements (Calcium if no bones are eaten is critical). Grains are not good for most animals, but if there are none of the early warning signs (see below) and no illnesses, you can feed some grains, preferably the higher protein ones. Start as young kittens and puppies or at whatever age you read this (Brighthaven.org, a cat sanctuary switches 16 years old and older cats to raw meat diet and some have lived to 27 and 30, and now one to 35). Second best is same quality, but cooked.  Even grocery store quality meat and vegetables are much better than most processed foods. Processed foods are an effort for the food industry to use up its waste products except for a few companies with great motives (and even they sometimes get bad or inferior ingredients). Processed foods are also a problem for the environment - they are not sustainable. Many dogs and cats need probiotics, especially if fed processed, dead foods. My current favorite is Mitomax. I have had many animals' minor health problems clear up while using this. Unlike other probiotics, it is very stable and is ok at the low stomach pH. (Order at www.ChristinaChambreau.com/products.php - click on Pets Max City)Every animal needs and wants a different combination of foods and supplements at different times in their lives depending on different stressors and health challenges, just as we do. With any food, observe each of your animals for the effect that food has on them and change if decreased energy or poor coat or other Early Warning Signs. NEVER feed DRY food to cats - even as treats. It causes most cats to drink more water resulting in stress to the kidneys and also can trigger bladder problems in cats. You can now buy many commercial raw meat diets. You must research them as well. Ask where the ingredients are raised? Are chemicals used? Are the chickens, beef, pork, etc raised in humane ways, out in the sun to get the Vitamin D in the meat, etc?

3. Vaccinate the least. In my opinion, vaccines have caused more harm to animals than anything else we have done. Do you get measles, mumps and polio every year of your life? Researchers in conventional veterinary medicine agree that we vaccinate too often, in too many combinations, and that this level of vaccination, while preventing epidemics, is harmful to the health of susceptible animals.  On-going studies show that antibodies are high 10 and 16 years later for dog and cat distemper and dog Parvo so I recommend just a few baby shots and NO more. While Rabies is also a viral disease, you must follow the law and vaccinate every 3 years. You can help fund research to allow the vaccine to be given less frequently, which will help dogs and cats become healthier. Go to: THE RABIES CHALLENGE FUND www.RabiesChallengeFund.org.

To help prevent damage from the Rabies vaccine, or any others that are accidentally given, do the following. First, learn Reiki (see Below) and hold the vaccine syringe in your hand until the "draw" is gone, then Reiki the injection site once you are in car, then Reiki the whole animals daily until they do not "draw". If you have not yet learned Reiki, use the contacts below to have it done for your animal after the vaccine. For two weeks before and two weeks after, give the totally safe Vaccine Detox, a flower essence from Spirit Essences (get a discount at www.ChristinaChambreau.com/products.php). Give triple the dose of calcium (or add some calcium) for 3 days before and 5 days after the vaccines. Dr. Peck is finding a drop in calcium at vaccination time. Then use the Early Warning signs, below, to see if further holistic treatment is needed if any of them appear or worsen.

The AVMA, veterinary colleges, AAHA, FPA and other leaders say 3 years is the best for all other vaccines, so certainly do not do yearly for anything (unless there is a Leptospirosis outbreak in your area, then email me for guidance). Please do not let the need to put your dog in a kennel force you to poison your dog with extra vaccines unless it is an emergency. The insert in vaccine packages says “Give only to healthy animals”, so if your animal is ill in any way, or undergoing treatment, they should not be vaccinated. Vaccinated animals often develop many chronic conditions including diabetes, cushings disease, addisons, allergies and even cancer. A wonderful list serve on vaccines, their harm and alternatives is at yahoo groups. To register, go to jstsayno2vaccs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com A great web site is http://vaccines.dogsadversereactions.com/

If your animal has any type of reaction to vaccines, please report it to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/cvb/html/adverseeventreport.html

4. Use the fewest chemicals, remembering that there are chemicals in vaccines. Each animal is an individual and will respond differently to heartworm, flea and tick preventatives. Some are very sensitive to chemicals used in the yard or the house and in vaccines - they will become profoundly ill. Others will be triggered by these chemicals to just not have full health.  Chemicals in foods can cause allergic type reactions, so again feeding a fresh diet from local ingredients will be best. Healthy yards have lots of weeds. House cleaners can be made from foods and microfibril cloths clean like a charm. Healthy animals never get fleas and ticks

5. Understand how animals become ill and how they heal. First there is an energetic imbalance (they are just not right), then functional (the dog is itchy), then inflamed (skin is red, infected, swollen and hot) and finally tissue changes (thick, black skin). Results of any treatment can be no change, amelioration (current symptoms disappear with no other improvements, then return), suppression (current symptoms disappear and they become more ill) or a cure (everything about the animal to begins to improve, especially the overall energy level.)  
Keeping a journal is critical to determine what treatments are helping problems to become less frequent and less severe. You can stand firm with what you feel is working even if your professional disagrees and change approaches when needed.
Www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com is a great one to use and e-version will soon be available.  

6. Learn different healing approaches. There are so many different ways to stimulate your healing that you never need to give up trying. Flower essences, essential oils, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, Reiki and chiropractic are a few. Classes are found through your health food store, by phone or on-line. I teach many classes around the country and my web site lists classes taught by others as well.

7. Select the best healers for each animal's health team. Most people want a veterinarian (preferably integrative) and an energy healer. You decide what needs to be tried next for your animal. When you realize the animal is not improving – seek different care. Use conventional veterinarians for diagnosis and emergency treatment, or if other methods are not working. Again, integrative veterinarians (see below) will be able to do both, and have the philosophical understanding of the vibrational causes of illness.

20. a. We are rich cause we charge so much - we run a whole hospital. Most are middle income.
b. We offer too many tests that cost too much - there is some truth to this in conventional practices, but the guardian is always in charge of what is needed.
c. There are a lot of things done for people that cannot be done for animals - no - everything done for people from brain scans to kidney transplants to homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic and more can be done for animals.