Welcome to my Substack!

Thank you for supporting my work. It allows me to help even more animals live happy, healthy lives.

I have recently received many new subscribers, and I wanted to thank each and every one of you, whether you are a paying subscriber or not. All of your support, especially your paid support, allows me to spend more time researching and writing on topics that help people make better decisions for their companion animals.

Photo by RIEL YE on Unsplash

Now that you have entered my world, I would love to share a few details about myself. Hopefully, this will give you an idea of how much your support really means to me.

I still see housecall patients and telehealth patients, which helps me pay my bills. I have always taken an alternative path in my veterinary practice, and it is not always the most lucrative. I initially applied to veterinary school so I could practice what we called back in the day, “alternative medicine”. I received my Reiki attunements before my year of clinics to have a tool to help myself and the suffering patients I knew I was going to be seeing while on clinical rotations.

My personal wealth lies in my integrity and honesty. I am not going to recommend something for your pet just so I can make money from it. I do not recommend herbs, supplements, foods, or treatments that I would not use on my own animals, myself, or my human family members. Period.

I like to educate and help people to understand the whys behind why something may be useful or appropriate for your specific situation, or not. Many of my articles may be wordy and require more than a few seconds of your attention, but I believe, or at least hope, that those few extra minutes will be valuable to you and your pet.

NONE OF IT IS AI-GENERATED, EVER!

I practice holistic veterinary medicine, and for me, that entails looking at the whole situation: the patient and their wants, needs, requirements, likes, and dislikes; the client; the living situation, including emotional and psychological issues surrounding the animal. All of it matters, and it determines whether a treatment or recommendation will help an animal or just add stress and strain to the system. A simple example is prescribing a supplement to a cat in a form the cat refuses to take. That will only add stress to an already stressful situation.

This is why you will not find me making blanket recommendations. The exception is if something is highly dangerous and the risks associated with it outweigh the benefits. I will make them readily known, never fear.

If you ask me, point-blank, a question about your pet, I need to sit down with you and have a conversation. I need to learn about your individual pet, their history, and the living environment: social, recreational, geographical, etc. I am available for those conversations at a very reasonable rate.

I will also let you in on a personal secret. When someone asks me a question about their pet, an empathic-intuitive reflex turns on, and I automatically begin tuning in to them. Some may call this animal communication. Some call it medical intuition. Whatever you want to call it, I begin getting information about them. This is an ability I know that we all have, but needs to be developed and fine-tuned. The more we listen, the more responses we receive.

I have been on a long healing journey myself that has led me down many paths. I have been blessed to have crossed paths with some amazing healers and teachers. They have opened me up to a whole wide world of energetic healing, much of it based on spiritual traditions such as Taoism, Buddhism, and shamanism.

My own journey informs my practice of veterinary medicine. This kind of deeper work takes awareness and mindfulness, and that runs on energy. Where energy is given, energy must be received, in turn.

Social media has created an atmosphere of entitlement and expectation that knowledge and wisdom be freely handed out. This originates from a business model that identifies a problem, then sells a product to fix it. People trying to help their pets frequently end up with a cupboard full of supplements, I know - I have looked into those cupboards on my house calls. I do not have my own supplement line. I do not sell products. I facilitate healing, guiding people in bringing their pets into a state of balance within and without.

Your subscriptions, shares, likes, and comments help me to help more animals. It helps me take time away from individual appointments to bring awareness to important issues and slow down this chronic disease epidemic we are dealing with in our pets.

To give back even more to my paid subscribers, I am opening a private chat where you can ask me and each other questions about situations you may be having with your pets, experiences with different foods, supplements, or health conditions.

You can find the CHAT:

• at the top of my homepage under CHAT

• on the left-hand side of your laptop screen under CHAT

• on the phone APP at the bottom of the screen by clicking the talk bubble.

Please be respectful and kind. I am not opposed to blocking rude or bullying people.

Read the full article before asking for advice. Many times, your answer can be found in the article. Think of it as exercising the brain to keep it functioning.

Remember, we are all humans and not a single one of us has the right answer to all of the issues.

And please, no AI or Chat-GPT answers. Let’s keep it human and heartfelt!

Things to look forward to in the future:

After this series on THE BASICS, I am going to be sharing my own preventative wellness program developed from over 25 years of practicing Chinese Medicine:

SEASONAL WELLNESS: The Path of the 5 Elements through the Year, through the Body, Reconnecting to the Earth.

It is the topic of my lectures at the upcoming American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association conference and, hopefully, an upcoming book. Your support will help to make it all possible.

And in case you missed it, watch the conversation I had with Greg Tilford, founder of one of the oldest animal herbal companies HERE. We share the philosophy of practice we both hold dear - our connection to nature and the world of plants and animals.

Go hug your dog or cat for me! Much love,

Dr. Josie

P.S. If you are in need of personalized advice, please reach out via email consultwithdrjosie@gmail.com or direct message on Substack.