A book written by an OLD COUNTRY VET,
Dr. James L Busby DVM.

You might be interested in my new pet care book How to Afford Veterinary Care without Mortgaging the Kids. I'm 68 and am still in very active practice,
but am disgruntled over the way my profession is pricing routine (and often unjustified) procedures beyond the reach of middle- and lower-class pet
owners. Many of these are not only unnecessary, but some even border on being unethical in my opinion.

Here are some examples of what my book is about:

* There has been much teeth gnashing in the profession in recent years over relinquishing annual vaccinations for distemper/hepatitis/parvo virus (DHPPV) for dogs and three-way distemper (PCT) for cats.

Think about this: People receive one vaccination early in life and it lasts a lifetime. Why are animals any different? They apparently aren't. Dog DHPPV and cat PCT if given after six months of age are in all probability good for life. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) should be commended because they led the way. They felt vaccinations given after about six months were good for many, many years but had to compromise with the money hungry hardliners and agree to ONLY three years officially. How's that for caring doctors? Even the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) reluctantly admitted that there were no studies showing these vaccinations needed to be repeated on adult animals. Most vets still INSIST on doing them at least every one to three years and for the life of the animal. This is not only apparently unnecessary but can be a health risk to your pet (and your pocket book). Rabies and leukemia shots are serious cancer threats to cats. In California, they are classed as carcinogens. 22,000 cats are reported to die annually from vaccination induced sarcomas. You are not benefiting your animal by over vaccinating!!

* Rabies vaccine after 6 months of age is good for THREE years for BOTH dogs and cats.

How often does your vet recommend them?

* There is a vaccine for corona virus for dogs and there has NEVER been a recorded case of the disease (possibly one) in animals past 8 weeks of age.

Some vets recommend this yearly!!!!! FIV vaccine for cats contains the wrong serotypes. The serotype that causes aids in cats in this country is B. The two serotypes in the vaccine are A & D. There is no cross-immunity. The vaccine is worthless!! Both should never have been licensed by the FDA, but were. Think about that.

* Insisting that dogs have to be tested annually for heartworm before
administering preventative:

Ivermectin, the active ingredient in Heartguard, is used as part of the treatment a vet gives to an infected dog to remove the microfilaria (heartworm babies that circulate in the blood stream) at doses many times higher than in the monthly preventative. In fact it has been found that if Heartguard (Ivermectin) is given monthly to an infected animal for 12 to 18 months, it will actually cure the infection. I know of no monthly preventative that will harm an infected dog (short of an allergy) and the labels state as much. Pre-testing is totally unnecessary.

* Testing for Lymes disease:

No less an astute body than the AVMA itself states that 25% to 85% of normal animals in Lymes areas will routinely test positive and, since these animals don't come down with symptoms any more often that those that test negative, the test obviously is NOT a diagnosis of Lymes disease and is NOT an indication for treatment. The test is basically worthless as a diagnosis of the disease. Thousands of tests are run daily and positive animals are treated. A total waste of your money! Five day treatment with inexpensive tetracycline to an animal showing symptoms (acute, multiple leg arthritis) will give a dramatic response in just a couple of days. If symptoms reoccur in a few days after stopping and a repeat treatment gives another dramatic improvement -- that's as close to positive as you are probably going to get and continuing treatment for 30 days should then be all that's needed.

* Vaccination for Lymes disease: None of the 27 veterinary colleges in the U.S. recommend vaccinating for Lymes disease and only 8 will even do it if the pet owner insists.

The other 19 refuse to even vaccinate for it according to a recent survey. Minnesota is an endemic state (where the disease is found) but the University of Minnesota diagnostic lab told me they see only about one case a year. It is very easily treated. I haven't seen a case in over a decade. Why would you vaccinate for this or test for it?

* Testing an animal's titer (level of antibodies in the blood stream) in place of annual vaccinations is the new rage.

It is done to supposedly determine if the animal is protected. It is in my opinion a monetary replacement for loss of vaccination revenue due to decreased frequency of vaccinations. When did your doctor ever suggest drawing blood to check your titer for a vaccination you might have received decades ago??? They may draw blood, but not for that. It's never routinely done for two-legged animals -- why is it pushed for four-legged?? The AVMA says that in theory it has merit, but in actuality it is NOT an accurate indication of an animal's degree of immunity. Animals with no discernible titer can still have ample protection because this test totally disregards cellular immunity, which is much longer lasting and very difficult to measure. This is basically another unjustified/make work procedure.

These are just a small number of examples of ways the modern day veterinarian is hyping the costs of owning pets. The book explains and highlights MANY more money-saving suggestions and gives the reader the knowledge to know when to incur medical expenses and when not to. Some of this is so unjustified it could be considered fraud or at least unethical in my opinion. What do you think?

I guarantee the book will be enlightening, and I bet you can't put it down once you start reading it. It will even bring out a laugh or two.
Dr. James L. Busby