"I completed my DVM at Colorado State University in 1997. A good friend of mine had graduated a few years before and went to work for a holistic vet who did homeopathy. That was a little more than my linear scientific mind could handle, but I found that acupuncture made a lot of sense to me, and I completed the CSU Acupuncture course in 1998. It opened up amazing possibilities. There were few to no medications for arthritis in animals, so I treated a lot of OA patients with great response, including many who would have been euthanized without it. I have felt through my career that conventional medicine is limited by trying to treat every patient as the same, rather than the individuals that they are. And we have pet owners to consider, who come to us with a wide variety of philosophies and capabilities, meaning the gold standard may be inappropriate or out of reach. I never quite fit in the "one size fits all" paradigm. Over the years, I've added to my knowledge by completing the Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation (VOM) as well as courses in homotoxicology. In 2013 I received my Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner (CVPP) through the IVAPM. The Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine was the next logical step, as I had clients constantly bringing me herbs and supplements to evaluate and I didn't know what to tell them. The program was super challenging because it required another paradigm shift and that period of discomfort where you know enough to say try this but not enough to see all the possible problems with that option. And of course, I didn't plan on a pandemic or building a new clinic when I set out on this path. But it all worked out and I'm so happy I did the course. I'm able to evaluate products and I know where to go look if I don't know a particular herb. And I've had some awesome successes with my cases, including a neurologic completely incontinent dog in diapers who is now doing so well the diapers are completely off. So, it was absolutely worth the effort, and I would recommend the course to anyone who has a strong interest in herbs. I have gained confidence in both my integrative skills as well as my conventional ones - I just did my first PRP injection last week."
Dr Shelley Brown
United States of America