Acacia Animal Care

05/02/2025

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history."
- George Orwell

05/02/2025

I have just had a discussion with a local business man about the sentience of animals, which although a kind man, he regards as unimportant.
All living things have their own type of sentience. SCIENCE shows they all receive and omit many types of radiation from sound to electromagnetic, that interact with our nervous systems of touch smelL hearing taste and SIGHT in ways that we are unaware of. THIS process CAN BE BOTH CREative AND DESTRUCTIve and forms the cycle of life from which we evolved. The more species die out, the closer we r to extinction. The more species from which we take life without renewal, the more we damage our own species. Engines, Computers are not alive or sentient other than that we put into them, and take only, despite the sense of power and satisfaction they can give, especially old Holden Ute's like mine.

22/01/2025

There has been a great deal of hype about how feeding a fresh food diet will give you pet bird flu, really stupid, anyone who feeds the pet meat from sick or old decaying carcasses of animals of any sort is equally stupid, or starving, poor and really hungry ( like a dog with overdeveloped scavenging habbits). Many animals of all sorts get viruses and throw them off with minimal symptoms , this is the way ( of the world). This document was written by an American vet, where they have much more intensive animal production and intensive human housing ( the site of virus strength increase) , and as so are more worried.

Bird Flu (H5N1) and Raw Food Diets The Oregon Vet
There has been a great deal of concern over Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, or “bird flu”) and the risks of pets contracting this from eating raw diets. In 2024 a cat in Washington County died of an unknown disease. Using a PCR test, H5N1 viral particles were detected in both the cat and in the opened bag of frozen Northwest Naturals cat food that had been used to feed the cat. This, along with the fact that the cat was an indoor-only cat which would limit its exposure to other potential sources of bird flu, lead the Oregon Department of Agriculture to conclude that the cat died from eating meat contaminated with the bird flu virus.
It has since been learned that the cat “went everywhere with the owner” and was not indoors-only. So did the virus come from the raw food, or was it from the outdoors, perhaps from an ingested wild bird? And even if there were bird flu viral particles in the cat, did the cat die from bird flu, or merely with bird flu viral particles present in its body? Correlation is not causation. They used an extremely sensitive PCR test that has a lot of false positives, especially at the high number of cycles they used to find these viral particles. And the PCR test cannot detect if a virus is active or not. Additionally, they tested the food sample from an already opened bag of the raw diet, which could easily have been cross contaminated from another source (testing open bags is against the rules and regulations of the Oregon Department of Agriculture). They did not test any unopened bags. The batch they tested was an older one that was on the shelves in stores last August, and no other reports of sick animals have been made. Since the single batch of affected turkey identified by the Oregon Department of Agriculture was purchased and processed in May 2023, the facility that processes Northwest Naturals’ product has processed over 40 million pounds of product containing various types of protein, including over 1 million pounds of turkey, and not a single case of bird flu has been associated with any of these batches before or since this one presumed case.
Historically, documented cases of cats contracting bird flu have been rare, with most reports stemming from isolated events rather than widespread infections. Most if not all previous cases were found to have been from eating infected wild prey.
All poultry flocks are tested for the avian flu before harvesting and cannot be harvested if that test does not come back as negative. The High-Pressure Processing process utilized by Northwest Naturals is known to eliminate major pathogens and viruses, including Avian Influenza. Consuming tiny amounts of inactivated virus would certainly not be expected to be a problem.
I believe the cause of this cat’s death was presumed to be from bird flu simply because that’s what they were looking for. No autopsies were done either on this cat or on the large wildcats that were presumed to have died recently from bird flu. They found some viral particles which may or may not have had anything to do with any of these animals’ deaths, but that is certainly not proof. Again, correlation is not causation.
In the 30 years of recommending raw food diets to my patients, I have seen tremendous benefits from raw food diets. Two years ago, my wife and I adopted two young kittens from a farm in Banks. The first kitten was adopted at about 12 weeks of age and was immediately put on a raw food diet. The second kitten was supposed to go to a different home, but when that fell through, we adopted her 2 weeks later. The difference in the coat quality in those two kittens was like night and day, with the only difference being that the second kitten remained on processed food two weeks longer than the first. I feel confident that the benefits of minimally processed diets far outweigh the potential risks, and I for one will continue to feed my pets a raw diet.

22/01/2025

Biting the air as if trying to catch a fly: This is called " Fly Catching syndrome". It can be a long term consequence of distemper virus , or brain damage due to long term low level toxins, which are still in brain tissue. It is also the consequence of genetic defects in the brain, and is described well in this well written reference.
https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952547
For testing for genetic defects, check out the Orivet website.

Syringomyelia pertains to the central nervous system: the brain and spinal cord. Anyone contemplating ownership of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel should know what it means.

22/01/2025

Cocnut oil:
After all this talk about poisoning, this oil comes to mind. A consequence of chronic poisoning in dogs is usually bad gums, where they swell and tartar builds up. Routine dental with the vet is important, where all the tartar is cleaned away and any rotten teeth extracted. However as the pets become older, routine anaesthetics become problematical. Improving food and water can greatly reduce causative toxins and bacteria, but sometimes it is not enough. Daily cleaning with coconut oil after the evening meal can be useful and easy as they like the taste. It needs to be applied all round the gums, and can be put on with a finger or a small stick with cotton wool on the end, or a soft baby's toothbrush. This alone is useful as it acts as a poultice to draw out toxins, and softens tartar, which may then fall off. Putting it in the food does not do the same thing.
The coconut oil need to be liquid when applied, so keeping the main jar in the fridge, while putting out a teaspoon of it in the morning so it is liquid is a good idea.
Additives: Peppermint oil is also good, if they like the taste!!!!. You can add a small bottle of peppermint oil , and 1 kelp capsule only, ( health food shop) to a melted 250 ml jar of cold pressed coconut oil. Avoid the kelp if you are treating a cat with hyper thyroid problems.

17/01/2025

FYI Prof Temple Grandin from Colorado and Dogs in autism

Temple Grandin is one of Adam’s biggest heroes and favorite humans. This nearly unedited interview was recorded in a cabin on Vashon Island off the coast of ...

10/01/2025

https://www.drconorbrady.com/bird-flu-and-pet-food?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0kUdoqO8Ttx1aZi66YVWmK8ru_g2S8KCpHircdT4Zn91T7eFotivHANBA_aem_cxsz6weWz8EBsSB9RZbv6g

I don''t necessarily agree with all of this, but he does have a point, and he is interesting and funny

Recurring skin (including itch), ear and gut conditions are the #1, 2 and 3 reasons for visiting the vet today. We can show you how to heal them in 5 easy steps, for free. If you want more, we have online courses and a popular membership we call The Den.

04/01/2025

This is the website of the Australian animal Poisons centre, I am posting this because of a couple of recent poisoning of a dog by eating one of the buffalo fly poison impregnated ear tags off a cow. Labradors will eat just about anything!!! Must have had a cow smell as well.
Another awful one was a sheep that ate the Brunsfelsia or "Yesterday today and tomorrow" people had planted on their dogs grave!!!

The Animal Poisons Helpline provides free advice to pet owners in Australia and can be reached on 1300 869 738 (AU), 0800 869 738 (NZ), 3106 4216 (SG) or (917) 722-5958 (US).

04/01/2025

Summer storms:
These have been truly amazing and so full of thunder and lightening I am sure all the ancient spirits are talking. The Celestial herbs "Sleepy-time" tea mix is in Coles and Woolies, and a 1/4 cup of tea in the 2 litre drinking water can give huge relief for pets which are really disturbed by this. As usual, wise to test a few drops first by mouth and wait 24 hours in case you have a herbily sensitive animal.

04/01/2025

Poisons again. I am totally fixated ON POISONS since i was diagnosed with chronic mercury poisoning from the fillings in my teeth, 32 by the age of 12, coming from tooth decay by the massive sugar my grandmother used to give me, people really thought it was the worlds biggest luxury in the forties as it used to be rare, AND NO ONE THOUGHT ABOUT THE SIDE EFFECTS, my children even ration the Xmas chocs!!! My previous post was about sugar and pets.
This is a great site, especially if you are planting a new flower garden in the hew year, and own a cat or a dog.

Our handy list contains plants that have been reported as having systemic effects on animals and/or intense effects on the gastrointestinal tract.

27/12/2024

https://ahida.sydney.edu.au/app/home This is a new data base for inherited diseases in animals, if you have a pet or suspect your pet may have one of these this hub offers recording facilities and information.

AHIDA aims to collect data about inherited diseases in animals, from vets, breeders, and members of the public

27/12/2024

Poisons Again:
A Christmas special. We are all now taught that sugar in large quantities is toxic for us humans.
However, this has only been something emphasised by health professionals for the last 45 years. In my younger years, we were still recovering from the War and the great depression and sugar was expensive, highly prized, coke a cola was heavily advertised and every tin contained at least 2 teaspoons of sugar. It was not thought to do any harm at all, and to be a source of much needed energy, shearers and working men had 3-4 teaspoons in their cup of tea, Children ate lettuce tomatoes and vegetables and pudding full of sugar routinely, and dogs and cats were encouraged to eat the sugary scraps, like donuts, puddings, left over sugary veg. Starvation was more a problem than overweight and malnutirion, there were no Macas, Kentucky fried or any fast food outlets, and dried and tin food for pets was just starting.
Cats and dogs should not eat sugar in in any quantity, a very small mouthful of cake or biscuit a day they may get away with, if they are have a really good diet. If they are eating lots of carbs , e.g. cheap dry food, even this will be too much. Chocolate is poisonous as it causes heart disease in cats and dogs, the saddest day for me was when my toy poodle client Fifi ate 10 easter eggs hidden in the back cupboard, she died of liver failure and heart collapse with the sugar and theobromine on the way to see us, her mate who only ate one, ( she was the boss), was saved. Another sad one was a dog with a really bad stomach infection with campylobacter ( contagious to humans)m and pancreatitis, whose owner fed him boiled lollies every day ( 1 kg a week), sadly my loving client did not believe this was a problem as he had eaten them all his life, despite me telling him, and went to another vet , who couldn't find the cause of the matter as he wouldn't tell them, and the precious dog died a few months later.' A bright one was the big bull terrier who aye half a box of roses, had a worried owner who brought him in the next day as he looked sick, he sat happily on the drip, and sedatives, and IV vitamin c, and the next day it was as if nothing
had happened. This owner vowed never to let his Lordship ( his name) eat another choc, even the good Swiss kind. It is fortunate for him that the roses have more sugar than chocolate, he ate an excellent normal fresh food diet, he would not have done so well on easter eggs.
The following is a link to a vet website with a really good scientific presentation of the causes of this poisoning.

Can dogs to eat sugar? And what should you do if they do eat it? Here's everything to know about dogs and sugar.

02/12/2024

For all those who have been ringing me, I only treat friends and family and old clients now. There is Kirstin Doust, Darling downs, Dr Donna Mcsweeney, mixed practice, Lockyer and scenic rim, Dr Elaine Cebuliak Animal Wellness Central Brisbane , small animals.

14/11/2024

Follow on from Copper poisoning below, Dr Dodds has just released a great chart of copper levels in different foods:

Copper content in foods, DNA testing for dog breeds susceptible to copper accumulation (copper toxicosis), and restricting foods high in copper.

01/11/2024

Copper poisoning:
The signs of acute poisoning are sever gastroenteritis . If the animal gets a sudden load, weakness and anaemia if there is long term lower grade poisoning.
They get it from some insecticides and antifungal poisonings, eating concentrated garden fertiliser, too much copper sulphate in the water, corroding copper pipes.
The worst one I ever saw had a copper penny stuck to the inside of its stomach, it had had low grade vomiting and diarrhoea for a year, it was treated homeopathically and suddenly started really acute vomiting , It was x rayed and there was the penny, taken out surgically as it was actually embedded in the stomach lining. Another one was a bull that had had masses of copper sulphate placed in the dam for liver fluke, it must have drunk the water straight afterwards and imbibed a huge dose, altering its calcium metabolism. Herbal blood tonics and cleansing, and keeping right away from that dam it came good in 6 months. Another was a Lab which liked to eat a copper rich Osmocoat, and lie where it was placed on plants, it was actually addicted to it. Removing it from access to this , it slowly improved. The most difficult are those such a Miniature Schnauzers who can be born with copper storage disease, where the liver picks up every bit and stores it. These have to have very low or copper free diets. If diagnosed once symptoms appear, it can be treated herbily, and chelated, but takes a long time to recover.
The trouble with all these metals that the animals can have quite high tissue and bone marrow levels, which do not show up in the blood. Hair and tissue analysis is useful.

29/10/2024

This is an excerpt from Dr Jean Dodds' latest article on bowel disease and the importance of food. Note re my latest input on environmental poisons, if your pet is getting one of these, the bowel disease will be worse, and not respond to normal cures.

"Research has shown that the following breeds predominantly suffer from certain types of Inflammatory bowel disease, this describes the actual situation going on in the body.

Boxers – Histiocytic ulcerative colitis. This is a severe form of IBD and it causes ulcers in the lining of the colon.
Basenjis, German Shepherds, Chinese Shar-Peis, and also many cats – Lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis. Lymphocytes and plasmacytes are inflammatory cells and are responsible for the body’s immune response. They infiltrate the stomach and/or small intestine causing diffuse mucosal inflammation.
Rottweilers – Eosinophilic gastroenteritis. Eosinophils are also inflammatory cells but are white blood cells commonly increased in allergies or the presence of internal or external parasites.
Irish Setters, Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, and Samoyeds – Gluten-sensitive enteropathy. This is often known as Celiac Disease in humans. One of the components is that the Zonulin protein – which is found in glutens – increases the permeability of the gastrointestinal lining causing a “leaky gut” so that all sorts of bacteria and other matter to freely enter the digestive tract.
Wheat-sensitive enteropathy is a heritable trait in Irish Setters. Gluten foods cause immunological reactions which lead to atrophy of the intestinal villi of the inflamed small intestine. This, in turn, results in diarrhea and weight loss due to malabsorption of fluid, electrolytes, and dietary nutrients. Even though chronic or intermittent diarrhea and intermittent vomiting are the most common symptoms of this food sensitivity, there have been only a few studies of the prevalence of this condition in animals being presented to veterinarians with chronic diarrhea, vomiting or other common bowel symptoms. The result was typically either no diagnosis or a missed diagnosis of their immunologic food sensitivity.
Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers (SCWTs) – This breed also has protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), which is an abnormal loss of protein from the bowel. Normal functioning intestines cause ingested proteins to be reabsorbed into the blood to allow for the production of more protein. This is not the case for people and pets that suffer from PLE; they simply excrete the protein from the leaky gut. SCWTs can also suffer from protein-losing nephropathy (kidney dysfunction), where excessive amounts of protein are lost in the urine.
Yorkshire Terriers – Lymphangiectasia is considered a chronic form of PLE. The medical community distinguishes the two because lymphangiectasia specifically results from dilations of the lymphatic vessels."

23/10/2024

Poisoning :Mercury
Common neurologic manifestations include blindness, ataxia, incoordination, tremors, abnormal behavior, hypermetria, nystagmus (cats), and tonic-clonic convulsions. Advanced cases may be characterized by depression, anorexia, proprioceptive defects, total blindness, paralysis, with high mortality.
This has become less commonly diagnosed recently, however whether this is due to reduced testing or reduced prevalence is debateable. The source is usually contaminated fish
, which have taken it from the water.
Diagnosis is by tissue sample or urinalysis ( which picks up some unbound metal), this means blood tests will not show it. It is difficult to treat and can be aggravated possibly by small amounts given by injection e.g. thiomersal in vaccine. Treatment is difficult, is very individual and needs to be discussed with your vet. I think that some unresponsive cases of seizures , where the pet is not tested for mercury , have this origin. Mercury fillings in people can cause this.
https://www.msdvetmanual.com/toxicology/mercury-poisoning/mercury-poisoning-in-animals -Findings_v3354083

21/10/2024

I recently vieiwed an interesting webinar by Bioconcepts, the people who produce the human range called Orthoplex. It concerned environmental toxicity in the home and covered air , electric , heavy metal, mould, water and pesticide contamination. These things affect our pets even more than us as the toxins tend to accumulate in the lower parts of the house, and are part of the immune mediated disease cycle that has become so prevalent. If your pet is experiencing these things, this are a warning to the family that they are also exposed. The recent TV news studies on fire extinguishing chemicals and water supply contamination are a warning.
I am going to do a series of small articles on this, and the first one is Heavy metals: I am starting with putting a link to Dr Jean Dodds description of what is happening with Lead poisoning in USA, and will continue with local experiences if you like the idea... you might like to add some of your experiences with this.

The contaminated water crisis in Flint, MI became a beacon of failure putting thousands of lives (dogs and cats included) at risk for lead toxicity.