preview

Cavm Research Paper

Decent Essays

In the last couple of decades, a new form of veterinary medicine called CAVM has become increasingly popular. CAVM, or, complementary and alternative veterinary medicine refers to any practice that could be used in combination with regular western veterinary medicine. Other terms for this practice include holistic veterinary medicine, integrative veterinary medicine, or alternative veterinary medicine. While the origins of it are unclear, this form of veterinary medicine has become popular for a variety of reasons. In part, it could be accredited to the study of ancient Chinese holistic medicine that occurred for thousands of years, or purely because of the want to treat animals in a different way than ever been done before. CAVM and the different …show more content…

Dr. Richard Palmquist, a prominent veterinarian had previously declared a nearly paralyzed German Shepherd neurologically incurable (Crotta). Dr. Palmquist had believed that nothing compared to normal Western medicine and was skeptical when he referred the owner of the German Shepherd to an animal chiropractor. Referrals from traditional vets to nontraditional typically involve an animal who has pretty much exhausted the traditional courses of treatment (Crotta). Palmquist recalls, “after observing the holistic doctor's practice, I saw miracle after miracle (Crotta)." Palmquist experienced an epiphany when the dog stood up after treatment and walked to his owner. Today, as chief of integrative health services at Centinela Animal Hospital in Inglewood, the wait for Palmquist's services is long (Crotta). Dr. Linda Hamilton, a veterinarian in Manitoba, Canada, had previously been a skeptic as well. According to Carnevale, “[Hamilton] attended a veterinarians' conference several years ago about acupuncture so she could tell her clients that it was nonsense. Instead, she fell passionately in love with it.” Hamilton admits that her work doesn’t always solve the problems her patients walk in with.(Carnevale). She is quoted saying, “when I treat patients with cancer, I tell animal owners, 'I'm not curing cancer, I'm doing palliative care. What I'm focused on is helping them have the best quality of life while they're here.’" CAVM helps what traditional can’t and because of this, it should be considered more as commonplace in today’s veterinary

Get Access