Unleashed
Dr. Paula Terifaj gives her best holistic veterinary advice: How to avoid dangerous pet food recalls; stop over vaccinating your pet; use CBD and Cannabis as medicine and more!
What is pain and needless suffering?
After I turned the corner at sixty-eight last year, whatever is ailing me makes it into most conversations with my friends. But, as we know, your canine BFF speaks a different language. As veterinarians, we are trained to recognize distress in the animal world. Sadly,...
Sleeping Dogs Don’t Lie Documentary
The year was 2015. That summer the nightmare began. After a short series of events, I was powerless to stop it. I watched in disbelief as one non-profit organization swallowed up another- only 5 miles down the road. The road ended at the gate of The Humane Society of...
Detect Early Canine Cancers With A Simple Blood Test
My first thought was – it’s too good to be true. So, I put my research hat on and read the reports. I could hear Paul McCartney singing “Maybe I’m amazed.” Yes, I am more than amazed. The year 2020 would usher in an exciting new decade to the world of veterinary...
New Canine Cancer Treatment – In a Pill!
We all know someone, amongst our friends and family, who has battled the big C – cancer. In fact, it’s the leading cause of death in dogs over 10 years of age. Early diagnosis and intervention can buy more time but offers little hope. Realistically, veterinarians...
Could it be a case of pancreatitis?
The pancreas functions as a gland, releasing powerful digestive enzymes directly into the small intestine. Without these enzymes, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats could not be absorbed by the gut. For reasons known and unknown, pancreatitis occurs when these...
Why Kibble diets are a Bad Idea
You love your dog. I know that because you have chosen to read this post. Keep reading and I will bring you up to date. There has been a paradigm shift about how to best feed the family dog. No doubt this may be confusing, knowing grocery stores dedicate several...
Get the scoop on dog poop – solving the diarrhea mystery
I cannot recall the number of times I personally needed to stay close to a toilet. These bathroom visits usually resolved in a few days. Was it a flu virus or bacteria like Salmonella – a common bug in contaminated food? Not sure – but I never ate at that restaurant...
Unleashed Book announcement
A few years ago, I found myself on the keyboard of my laptop day after day. Stories about my life and veterinary career pouring out onto white pages. It was not my decision to write about such things – it was more like an edict. Or more like a voice in my head that...
Go for annual exams, not vaccines
When I was in general practice, my office staff mailed out yearly wellness plans. So, as a client, you would not find the typical vaccine reminder postcard in your mailbox. My focus was the health and wellbeing of my patients. During these appointments, we checked the...
Itchy Skin – The Dog I Would Never Forget
Throughout my veterinary career, I often came to the aid of rescue type people low on funds. So, one afternoon, I grabbed my medical bag and made a house call. The dog in question had ‘skin problems’ that had not responded to treatment. I would soon learn that the...
Unleashed: Diary of a woman vet – chapter 16
Chapter 16 Brad Pit “Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.” – Plato If I had to guess, the rescued dog was a fifty-fifty split – half beagle and the other half spilling into the murky “pit bull” waters. And I’d probably be...
My Two Biggest Pet Peeves – Dog Treats and Training
Let’s start with the cookie jar. The benevolent use of tasty treats violates the first rule of obedience training – the reward! Pet owners need to realize that successful communication with our canine friends is not verbal....
Making a difference – lies, lies, and more lies
Chapter Twenty-two “Little thieves are hanged but great ones escape.” – 14th Century French Proverb The breaking news was viewed with suspicion from the moment we heard it. In fact, it was too good to be true. Even if it was true, we...
Help For Senior Pets Suffering Osteoarthritis Pain – Plus, Promising New Treatments!
Joint pain, Osteoarthritis (OA), is the most common senior disease of dogs and cats. It is estimated that OA affects 20% of adult dogs (dogs over 1 year of age) and a full 80 percent of senior dogs (over 8 years of age). Geriatric cats (over 10 years of age) are...
What You Need To Know About Canine Knees – An Option Other Than Surgery
Let’s talk about rear leg lameness. Most commonly, it’s the ligaments that allow the knee to bend like a hinge that are at risk for injury with active dogs. So, it’s not likely your couch potato pooch has much to worry about. Although, like humans, being overweight...
Paws Off Xylitol – It’s Dangerous for Dogs
Like many dog owners, you know that chocolate is a no-no. But what you may not know is that when your nosey pooch locates your handbag and gobbles down a pack of sugarless chewing gum or breath mints, the consequences could be deadly. The staggering number of products...
Deadly Dog and Cat Food Recall Expands: More Common Brands
The list goes on and on. We kick off 2021 with this massive recall by Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc. Many are common brands familiar to pet owners. Now, seemingly harmless pet treats have made the list! It’s important to understand these recalls are ‘an after the fact’...
How Covid May Have Triggered Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety
After enduring more than a year of travel restrictions, we seem to be turning the corner on the pandemic. Good for us, but that’s not music to the ears of that devoted canine resting at your feet while you tap away on your laptop for hours. And by your side again...
Clues Your Senior Pet May Be Suffering Signs of Dog Dementia – Start Early Treatment for Best Results!
It is estimated that 30% of dogs over the age of 11 years will begin to show one or more signs of Dog Dementia, otherwise known as cognitive decline. When talking with pet owners, many commonly refer to their senior dogs’ odd behaviors as “doggy Alzheimer’s”. In fact,...
RIP – Pet Euthanasia My Veterinary Oath Ending Needless Animal Suffering
When I graduated from veterinary school, the year was 1986. At our graduation ceremony, one of the pledges really stood out for me: “I will use my veterinary knowledge and skills for the prevention and relief of needless animal suffering”. Of course, I wanted to do...
Hemp Oil, CBD Oil, Or Hemp CBD Oil? Why Health Seekers Are So Confused And How To Avoid Being Ripped Off
If you have asked your doctor or veterinarian about the medicinal benefits of CBD (CannaBiDiol), chances are you did not get much advice – or worse – you got the look. You see, the White Coats don’t like questions they cannot answer and are even less likely to...
Hemp and Marijuana – both plants are Cannabis sativa. Don’t be fooled by a name!
Hemp and marijuana are popular names for what is technically the same plant as described in the scientific nomenclature. Belonging to the same family of flowering plants known as Cannabises. Further classification reveals that both plants are the same genus and...
Grain-Free Diets Linked to Cardiac Deaths in Dogs
On June 27, 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an update to two previous advisories regarding grain free diets and dogs who had developed dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) linked to cardiac deaths. The release made a splash in the...
Why Finding the Cannabis Sweet Spot for your Dog is Experimental
Cannabis as a treatment for dogs has alot of pet owners wondering if their dog might benefit? Fortunately, some curious openminded veterinarians are dipping their toes into the cannabis medicine chest. Embracing pot for pets for its medical benefits makes these docs...
Death of the Beloved Non-profit – Save A Pet
Here’s another chapter out of my life. It’s a tell all story that has haunted me for years. Be prepared to be outraged! Chapter Twenty-One An activist is someone who cannot help but fight for something. That person is not usually motivated by a need for power or money...
Vets Fooled by the Pet Food Industry – why pets get sick eating commercial diets
It was sometime in the year 2000 when I discovered a newly published book by Donald R. Strombeck, DVM, PhD – my favorite professor at UC Davis. I never had an innate interest in the rather gross subject of gastroenterology. Not really. It was how this particular...
How Pet Food Companies and AAFCO Mislead Consumers Making Pets Sick
In vet school, the conventional wisdom bestowed upon students was the mantra that formulated pet food diets – anything certified by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials)– was the only way to go. This was reinforced by another seemingly popular belief...
Starving Cancer with High Fat Diets
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates The best cancer diet for dogs: ketogenic. This amazing diet will work for humans and our pets. Let’s get started! Most of us believe that what we eat, the choices we make every day, can look like...
Connecting the Cancer Dots …
“The problem lies not so much in developing new ideas, but in escaping from old ones.” – John Maynard Keynes In 2012, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease was published by Dr. Thomas Seyfried, PhD.[1] Hired by a drug company ten years earlier, Seyfried stopped dead in his...
Know Thy Enemy
For science to advance in making important discoveries, it must first humble itself to a troubled past – admit how our best minds got it wrong and praise the mavericks that persisted. Let me briefly borrow a day from 1971. On this day, December 23rd, President Nixon...
I’m Back!
Several years ago, while still in private practice, I authored a popular blog called DogBreath. I discussed important issues surrounding pet health care: Does my pet really need a prescription diet? Controversy over vaccinations – does my pet really need all these...
Unleashed – Diary of A Woman Vet – Chapter 8 – Lucy
Years ago, when I played an active role in running my veterinary practice, something odd tried to get my attention on multiple occasions. I don’t hear voices or see ghosts, so I don’t really know how to explain it. Perhaps it was an awareness or something my...