Dr. Allen Schoen, DVM, a pioneer in holistic, integrative veterinary medicine, also sees energy medicine and heart-based human-animal interaction as a vital component of pet care and necessary to the sustainable existence of the large numbers of people who love and care for pets. Dr. Schoen personally practices compassion and contemplative meditation and teaches mind-body medicine to other veterinarians. He understands the calming, centering bene ts of someone who is trained in meditation and the application of subtle energies. In meeting the social wellness requirements for humans, it only stands to reason that similar requirements should be met for the animals who are considered vital to the wellbeing of those humans Dr. Schoen advises providing the most natural food available for pets and sourcing from suppliers as close to your home base as possible. For dogs and cats, this can mean acquiring fresh meat from a local abattoir or small farm for poultry, lamb, grass-fed beef, etc, as well as eggs and plant products such as speci c herbs that may be helpful to your pet's wellbeing. If pet owners adopted a "locavore" mentality, reliance on factory-farm based pet food could be reduced considerably. Find out how your community's meat products are raised, processed, and sent to market If a focus is placed on feeding pets fresher food, their overall health will remain better than on manufactured feeds. In the event of a situation that requires emergency services, dry and canned goods that would have been the primary source of food in the past can remain in storage and kept available as a secondary food source for the interim should the supply of fresh foods become temporarily unavailable. www.drschoen.com Dr. Schoen
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