This 2011 redesign of Homevet.com has been over 15 years in the making.

 

My initial goal for it at the end of 1994 was to help spread the word about integrative and natural therapies for pets. Effective holistic veterinary care. Not an "alternative" to modern vet care. This is still my goal.

 

Many, many people have helped towards this end over the years.  

My initial online conversations with Drs. Duncan Ferguson and Paul Pion were instrumental in helping me see the potential power of this new form of communication (they went on to develop the Veterinary Information Network).

 

Don Moffitt and his hand-coded HTML then helped me start this site.  Since that time, fantastic tools for online community-building have been developed. Tony Scott of Akira studios has worked magic in seamlessly and beautifully integrating them into this new site.

 

I never would have had the pleasure of working with Tony if it weren't for Andrew Holden of Cartanova.  I hit many bumps in the road on the way to this redesign, but Andrew's fantastic business ethic smoothed them out for me.

 

My parents and many teachers have helped me learn to observe fully and scientifically. Without their help I would never have embarked on the holistic and homeopathic path. 

 

My joy in discovery and critical thinking began in the excellent Jericho, NY school system and was then fostered by my mentors in the University Scholars program at Univ. of Penn. Penn researchers were generous enough to allow me to work in their laboratories and helped me write my first scientific publications.

 

I also owe special thank yous to Penn profs Drs. Mark Adams, Kallenbach, Manjusri Das and Peter Jezyk (among many others).  Dr. Mark Peterson at the AMC in NY helped me understand the full breadth of both clinical and research-oriented endocrinology, Drs. Keith Richter, Rhea Morgan, Allen Sisson, James Carpenter and Neil Harpster and my fellow internmates at Angell Meml in Boston all helped me survive and develop.

 

Most instrumental in nurturing my homeopathic scientific medical thinking have been my teachers of homeopathy.  Drs. Richard Pitcairn, Paul Herscu, Andre´ Saine and David Little.  

 

Thanks as well to my incredible friends and clients. I draw support and learn from them every day. I owe a special thank you to my fantastic friend Steve Gogel for many invaluable brainstorming sessions.

 

Most of all, I want to thank my ever-supportive wife Amy. Our love just continues to grow stronger.  2011 marks the year when our life partnership has taken a new turn along with the new site. Amy has become both my practice as well as the homevet.com web store manager.

 

As a small token of my appreciation to everyone in my life, I'd like to share this poem by Minx Boren. Thank you Maxine for first sharing it with me in one of your wonderful yoga classes, and thank you Minx for allowing me to share it here:

 

while we as humans have collectively
scaled the highest peaks and soared

way into the heavens
reached far into the depths
of oceans and delved into the magnificent
complexities of our own bodies
and minds not one of us
could have done any such thing
on our own
 
and so it is that we must truly be
forever and always beholden
beyond measure to those
upon whose shoulders we stand
those who came before and those
who journey with us now
 
and what is ours to do in this
and every moment
with great humility
and even greater awe
is quite simply to remember
and give thanks
 
from the heart, mind, and pen of Minx

©2011 Minx Boren.  All rights reserved.

This website exists to help educate pet owners. Both conventional veterinary information as well as the holistic and homeopathic perspective of health are represented here. I believe it is very important to be fully informed when making decisions about your pet's health.

This website is not intended to replace professional consultation, diagnosis, or treatment by a licensed veterinarian. If you require any veterinary related advice, contact your veterinarian promptly. Information at www.homevet.com is exclusively of a general reference nature. Do not disregard veterinary advice or delay treatment as a result of accessing information at this site.

You will therefore see this statement on many pages at this site. Please heed it:

 

"Please note: The information provided here is meant to supplement that provided by your veterinarian. Nothing can replace a complete history and physical examination performed by your veterinarian. - Dr. Jeff"

Why does it matter whether symptoms are considered common or normal in dogs and cats?

“Harmony in life and living, homeopathy for health and healing”sm

In order to maintain our animal companions in optimal health, it is extremely important to understand the distinction between "common" and "normal".

When the body is in a state of optimal health, all systems are in equilibrium and no external manifestations of disequilibrium (i.e., symptoms) are apparent.

Many of the subtle changes we observe in our pets are early warning signs that there is imbalance deep within the body. These are not “diseases” per se, but rather commonly observed deviations from this state of equilibrium.

Recognizing and treating these common, but abnormal, early warning signs is critical to preventing more serious problems in the future.

Some of these symptoms are as follows:

• runny or red eyes
• intermittent loose stools
• ”sensitive" stomach with vomiting, diarrhea and/or other gastrointestinal symptoms
• straining to defecate
• excess thirst
• runny nose
• red eyes
• red ears
• excess ear wax
• picky or excessive appetite
• fearfulness
• thin coat/excess shedding
• intermittent vomiting
• •eating stool/dirt/plastic
• gassiness
• gum redness
• frequent or difficult urination
• loss of pigment
• rough, dry nose or pads
• stiffness
• ear “infections”
• anxiety
• anal sac problems

If your pet has shown any of these symptoms and you would like to discuss treatment options, please submit the new patient or client questionnaire and then call me at 203.222.7979 to set up a consultation. You can also read the introduction to my practice by clicking here:

Why is Dr. Jeff Feinman's vet practice the holistic choice for pet care?


Thank you for your interest in my practice. I offer both preventive care as well as management of chronic diseases. Homeopathic medicine, healthy lifestyle and nutritional counseling is the mainstay of my practice. I emphasize working through symptoms rather than against them (e.g. with ANTI-inflammatories) them.  Symptoms are signs that the body gives, clues that enable me to help your pet. I do not generally make use of "routine" vaccines or drugs.  In addition, species-appropriate diet and supplementation (when indicated) will help the healing process.

The best time to begin holistic preventive care is when your pet is "healthy" or is a puppy or kitten. In these cases it is usually relatively simple to treat any problems that arise.

However, since we may not start working together until later in life, problems have already arisen (and been suppressed). Although improvement can sometimes be seen quickly in these difficult situations, it can also take months and years of treatment to make significant progress.

A large part of my practice is management of such chronic and degenerative disorders as recurrent ear and skin “infections”, arthritis, allergies, metabolic/endocrine imbalances and cancer. In these cases, a diagnostic workup may be recommended because appropriate test results can sometimes help quantify the disease process.

Ascertaining the degree of structural pathology (if any) will help me determine a prognosis and treatment plan. Length of treatment will depend upon the chronicity and depth of the condition and number of and response to prior suppressions. Most acute situations can be properly resolved over a few days or weeks, whereas lifelong problems can take 1-3 years.

During treatment, we will gradually discontinue (when possible) conventional drugs such as antibiotics and steroids. This will help your pet's body heal naturally.

Using any "anti"-drug (e.g. anti-biotic or anti-inflammatory) during homeopathic treatment is like trying to drive your car with the brakes on.  If other symptoms appear during treatment (or if older, previous conditions return) you will be expected to contact me for an appropriate response, rather than use drugs that you may have used before.

How much will it cost?

If you are like most of us, one of the first things you want to know is what this is going to cost.  So, even though helping your pet is the most important thing, I want to address this question right away and as completely as I can.

My hourly rate is $205. Routine wellness visits are typically about 30 minutes in length and cost $102.50, whether in the office, via phone, or through video conferencing. 

Initial consultations, including a detailed history and evaluation of any previous records, typically take 1-2 hours. To enable more pet owners to afford this lengthy (and more costly) consultation, the hourly rate for the initial evaluation has been reduced by 25% to $165.00/hour.

All other time spent on your pet's case is based on the regular hourly rate. This includes emergency care and time spent updating on the phone (if longer than a few minutes), corresponding by e-mail, reviewing diagnostic tests done by other veterinarians, etc.

We require that a current credit card be kept on file, and payment is expected at the time services are rendered (we do not bill). We work with all of the pet insurance companies, including Pet Plan and Embrace, which are among those that cover veterinary homeopathic treatment.

There is a $25 missed appointment charge if your appointment is not canceled 24 hours in advance. Due to the length of new patient initial evaluations, there is a $50.00 non-refundable deposit that will be applied to your first visit.

Healthy-pet routine care costs the same as going to the conventional veterinary clinic. A complete healthy pet annual consultation usually lasts 20-30 minutes. I cannot emphasize enough how important these wellness visits are for your pet's quality of life and longevity. By maintaining optimal health, we are preventing serious disease later in life (and dramatically reducing future veterinary costs).

What should I bring to my first appointment?

Please sign and return the treatment authorization and questionnaire prior to your first appointment.

Fax, mail or bring with you any medical records from your previous veterinarian(s).  These should include any specialists with whom you have consulted, as well as emergency visit records.

A "diagnosis" or description of the problem as well and lab results and other diagnostics will be very helpful. Use the following suggestions to help you organize your thoughts prior to your first appointment.

To help with the diagnosis and treatment, please provide an account, in your own words, of your pet's condition and history. Include current illnesses, as well as previous conditions. For example, if you are coming in for evaluation of a metabolic condition, it would be very helpful to know about prior ear infections, allergies, skin growths, etc. Prior conditions treated with drugs or surgery are especially important.

In addition, I need to know specifics about your pet's appetite, what/when/how s/he eats, and if there is or has been diarrhea, vomiting, coughing, discharges etc. Factors such as temperature preferences, sleep patterns, favorite activities, behavior problems and any likes or dislikes are all relevant. 

In sum, I would like to know everything about your pet. Please see the current client "Observing Symptoms" article for more help. There are also personality profile examples posted in the homeopathy folder in my forum.

If you would like to do some reading before our appointment, Drs. Don Hamilton ("Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs") and Richard Pitcairn both have written excellent books. The documents at my website will also provide a wealth of information.

I look forward to meeting you and helping to improve your pet's life. Feel free to contact my office or post an "Ask Dr. Jeff" query if you have any questions.

--Dr. Jeff Feinman (bio is here)

To become a new client.

Click here for some client reviews.