Hi Cat,

First, I want to start off by saying you've been a tremendous help!

All of these supplements were bought from Pat McKay, Inc. (patmckay.com)
I've only been feeding the supplements for about a month and I honestly have
seen a lot of improvement in Levi's well being. Just before consulting a
nutritionist, I thought Levi was suffering and was trying to prepare myself
for the "big decision." He was having many bad nights of nausea and moments
of discomfort (he'd crouch, pull his ears back and shake) and would
sporadically refuse food. Other people who follow his health regularly
noticed in pictures I'd sent that he wasn't well. He's only 15 months, but
he looked like an aged dog with a sadness in his eyes. He is a very
well-known dog because he was born just weeks after his mother was rescued
from a puppy mill and has been fighting for his life from the minute he was
born (he was only 2 oz and not expected to live). Once he overcame the
obstacles and we didn't sit on pins and needles from hour to hour, he seemed
ready to live a normal life. Just six months later, he was diagnosed with
all of these ailments and that was after THREE months of testing by his old,
strictly conservative, conventional vet. It wasn't until we met Dr. Jean
Dodds that the ball started rolling toward a diagnosis and treatment. Dr.
Dodds didn't even have to wait for the bloodwork. She knew the minute she
met him that his kidneys were not well. She has referred us to Dr. Scanlan
who has been treating him with accupuncture and started the Sub Q process
immediately. I asked her if she thought Levi was ready just six weeks ago.
She said, "No" and explained to me how I would know. He was just having
hard times and the disease was clearly progressing, but she assured me he
was not suffering. Someone else referred me to Pat McKay. Since Levi
started her premade meals and supps, you wouldn't even know he was sick
(unless you happened to walk into my home and see the SubQ bags hanging, the
needles and ringers in my cupboard or saw the variety of supps that I have
to feed him with each meal). I don't do regular bloodwork on him (mostly
because of the Von Willebrands) so I don't have the "proof" that he's
feeling better other than his disposition and the sparkle that returned in
his eyes. I'm not looking for an easier way, just researching the products,
trying to see if there is any negative feedback to what I'm doing so that
I'm not just blindly supplementing my dogs. I take a huge leap of faith
every time that I add something new to Levi's treatment. I know that if
Levi is doing better, that means something is working. But, I don't like
the idea of feeding so many supplements, some of them seem to overlap, some
(as I know learned) are controversial, so I just wanted a non-biased opinion
(i.e. not from Pat McKay herself who has a profit motive). Just looking for
a "second opinion," I guess.

Monika


----Original Message Follows----
Monika~

I am not familiar with all of the products you mentioned, like Animal Life,
but it looks like you are managing it well. The proof is in what works for
your pet. Is it working for Levi? Are you looking for an easier way? He
is such a difficult case (having so many things wrong), I would rather refer
you to our nutritional specialist than mess with it.

You DO follow the new BARF diet, which is good. The old Billinghurst or de
Barclay Levi diets included grains, and a lot of folks' pets had a hard time
with them. The newer version of BARF is usually grainless.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Cat Donnelly
PurelyPets.com


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com