Since this dis-ease is so common now among our animal companions (esp. but not limited to felines) and there are often many of you on LS dealing with it at any given time, I thought I should post this notice. Final registrations are being taken now for this teleclass, and the cost is only $37. It will take place (via phone) Mon., Nov.17/08, at 8-9:30pm, Central time.

From the Nutrition Education Teleclass Series with Dr. Julie Mayer, DVM, on the ASN [Animal Spirit Healing & Education Network] online network by Carol Shultz, this is a one-night teleclass where you can "Learn How to Holistically Address Kidney & Bladder Disease Concerns for your Animal Companion."

Anyone interested in getting nutritional expertise for these issues can register for the teleclass here.

A brief description of it is as follows:
Dr. Mayer will be discussing kidney and bladder disease.

The disease definitions will be reviewed, as well as the physiological impacts, and food therapies to address the concerns. Insights on Traditional Chinese Medicine and the energetics of food will be incorporated, as well as supplement options and additional resources.

Note: Upon registration, you have an opportunity to submit a question or topic that you would like to discuss. Additional topics from those submitted will be covered in the last portion of the live teleclass.

Please register sufficiently in advance to allow time to review the handouts prior to the class.


Dr. Mayer's Bio

In practice in the Chicago area since 1991, Dr. Mayer has been named by Chicago Magazine as one of "Chicago 's Best Vets."

Dr. Mayer combines alternative treatments such as veterinary acupuncture, veterinary chiropractic and Chinese herbal medicine and nutrition with 16 years of expertise in traditional veterinary medicine, offering patients an integrative healing experience.

She is a member of the American and Chicago Veterinary Medical Associations and a certified member of the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, the American Veterinary Acupuncture Association, the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association, the American Canine Sports Medicine Association, the American Veterinary Nutrition Association, the American Veterinary Botanical Association and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.

She is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Mayer's personal buddies are Ashi the mixed breed dog, Hopper the three-legged Chihuahua, Terry, Milton and Radar the turtles and two cats: Tora and Butch.

Her clinic's website is: Integrative Pet Care



You only have 3 days now to register for this class.

Well, I decided to take this teleclass myself, even though my girl is gone now....from kidney disease and its related high blood pressure at the last. I knew it it would be very difficult for me to sit and listen to it all, but something inside urged me to do it regardless. And I'm glad I did.

Not only did I discover that Dr. Mayer is a very well-informed vet. (were I living in Chicago, I know who I'D be going to with any animal companion!), but her class hand-outs (pdf files) were very thorough, well-organized, pretty VAST (106 pages), and jibed with pretty much everything I'd already learned through the years with Nissa's own two holistic vets.

This class ended up helping me on a few levels:
- getting even more confirmation that because of our own vets' guidance and knowledge, I honestly, really DID employ the majority of the best of natural protocols on behalf of my darling girl's health and happiness, despite some things just not sitting right with her (& so abandoned out of necessity for different protocols)
- I really DID learn an awful lot about both kidney & bladder disease in cats (and much of same for dogs), including related dis-ease that can arise from those, or that, conversely, cause the former, AND about the best diets, from all sorts of perspectives and modalities
- that I've even retained a pretty good % of this info., despite my memory loss from the grief!
- that it truly IS, or can be, a terribly challenging thing to balance the different and oftentimes contradictory issues in these conditions, and deal with all that effectively.....BUT, that I did indeed do that and much more than most people/clients do....all for my girl's sake
- that there was very little I/we missed doing for her (given her personal preferences/tolerances), to keep her quality of life much higher than many other animals with these dis-eases have
- that we were really very fortunate and blessed to have had the wonderful overall vet. help I found for her
- receiving confirmation, upon reflection, that her energy WAS pretty darn incredible(!!) right up to her last 2 months or so, despite BOTH her age and her kidney dysfunction
- and most importantly to me....that despite how challenging it all was through the years since her first diagnosis, I really WAS a heckuva good Mom to my girl BECAUSE I made all these efforts to get her great care, and do whatever needed doing for her, no matter how 'inconvenient' or emotionally upsetting it may have been for me....to me, this is pure GOLD to hold on to.

Of course, as soon as I got off the call, I fell right apart and bawled, having had to relive so many of the stressful details of her illness in my mind, all over again, and also just from missing her stalwart and steady presence, her cheerful and delightfully demanding good spirits and atti*tude all throughout the long course of her dis-ease, and naturally, her immense and ever-expanding and highly-demonstrative love for me.

So in one way, my heart's been ripped out yet again, and yet....there was definite and immediate benefit in me joining this teleclass tonight. And I have an intuition that it was my Nissa herself who urged me to sign up for it, as I was suspecting beforehand, but not able to imagine WHY that might be. Now I think I know. Here, I'd originally thought, with my rational left brain, that I should sign up to get the solid, holistic info. to keep, in a nice compiled file, just in case I ever needed it again. But maybe I was really meant to take this class to BRING ME ADDED PEACE. And THAT would be just like my Little Nis', to prod me into doing something so I'd FEEL BETTER. I guess that means I was now ready to absorb this message, and so a means was provided. Bless my little girl and all she still does for me. I love her so and always will.....



So, if you need solid and reliable information on holistically & nutritionally managing animal diseases/conditions, I'd give two thumbs up to Dr. Mayer's seminars through the ASN network. We got an audio recording of the 1.5 hr. call, the extensive handout and great info., Q&A periods throughout the call....all for a mere $37 U.S., whereas if you spent that long with many vets, even those who DON'T know squat about nutrition or other natural modalities, it would cost substantially more. Dr. Mayer has done several other teleclasses through ASN and some of them may be available "on demand" (less $$ usually, and with hand-outs alone as there's no call). I'll be checking that out myself, too. Apparently, there was another one where she gave the actual formula for figuring out what the real food an*alysis breakdown is by "dry weight" for ANY homemade diet you may be feeding....not info. that's easy to find. I like her LOTS!