"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." — Arthur Schopenhauer, German Philosopher (1788-1860)
I put it a different way: If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.
Enemies Around Every Corner
It is a sad testament that when you are able with your knowledge and skill to bring a paralyzed dog back to full function at a cost of hundreds of dollars – and by doing so prevent upwards of $13,000 going into the coffer of the local veterinary neurologist or veterinary orthopedic specialist, who has insisted to the desperate client that an MRI followed by back surgery is their only hope at saving their beloved companion – you make enemies.
This is the essential embodiment of Clayton M. Christensen's definition of a "disruptive technology." Like Uber or AirBnB, what I do is a disruptive technology. So, despite doing my best to keep a low profile here in California, I have subsequently been on the receiving end of board investigations.
During one "donnybrook" with the board of chiropractic examiners, I was told by an enforcement officer that it is illegal to describe yourself as an animal chiropractor here in California. I was merely writing about interesting cases on an obscure animal chiropractic forum; yet I was investigated and accused of a variety of ultimately unfounded violations.
I have received many phone calls over the years that I strongly suspect were board investigators posing as potential new clients and attempting to "set me up" by asking if I treat clearly non-chiropractic conditions; or asking if they could bring their pets to my chiropractic office or my home for care. Some were quite creative. One caller told me they were a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and were excited to present what I do in a special edition. When I told them they would need to come to one of the veterinary clinics I work with, they made a hasty, if inarticulate retreat.
I was raked over the legal coals for months a while back, merely because my name appeared in an article in the San Jose Mercury News in which I was described as an animal chiropractor. There is nothing like being greeted by your friendly neighborhood postal person and signing for a certified, return-receipt-requested envelope from the veterinary medical board or the board of chiropractic examiners to add a heaping helping of dread to your daily routine.
This judicial "Sword of Damocles," can hang above you sometimes for months, with interrogatories going back and forth as your future as a chiropractor hangs in the balance. I can assure you the process of resolving the "misunderstanding" is always very long, very stressful, and very expensive. Having been on the receiving end of these "Kafkaesque" inquisitions I am reminded of the days of ancient Sparta where, "troublesome helots, who aspired to push beyond the boundaries of their state enforced servitude were made examples of by summary execution!" So, consider yourself warned.
Good Intentions Gone Bad
To drive the point home, let's mock up a very real and familiar scenario in which a patient of yours asks you to take a look at their pet, who has apparently been suffering from some sort of ongoing back pain despite the best efforts of their veterinarian.
Being a kind and caring chiropractor, you oblige the pet owner by examining and then adjusting their companion. You don't even charge them. That's just the kind of caring doctor you are. What could possibly go wrong?
Let's say that you did an amazing job and their pet makes a miraculous recovery. Later on, during a previously scheduled follow-up appointment with their veterinarian, the pet owner expresses how wonderful you are as a chiropractor, their dog's problem was resolved by your amazing skill ... and it only took one treatment.
Now, in a "perfect, make-believe world" in which professional jealousies don't exist, that vet would call you up and thank you for going out of your way to help their patient. Unfortunately, in the real world, the vet will likely call the veterinary board instead,and file a formal complaint against you. Your world will be changed from that moment forward, and not in a good way!
You're Not the One in Control
Another ugly aspect of working in many veterinary clinics is the fact that you are there as their invited guest. So, as not to be unceremoniously invited to leave, you have to be mindful of keeping your mouth shut despite frequent bouts of "teeth-gritting frustration."
In untold numbers of cases that cross the veterinary clinic's threshold, you may be the ideal clinician to quickly resolve the pain and suffering, but are forced to watch helplessly as the attending veterinarian offers ongoing, noneffective meds, or recommends spinal surgery as the only alternative. Sadly, I know how many of these cases turn out. Heart-stricken pet owners leave the clinic "misty eyed" many days to weeks later with the box of their loved one's ashes because their companion showed no improvement or became significantly worse as a result of surgical intervention.
Having spent more than three decades helping paralyzed dogs to walk again, I can tell you spinal surgery is successful at bringing a dog back to normal function in only about a third of these cases. (If you are interested, I have a website based on my own research, that explains why dogs can so easily become paralyzed without apparent provocation or injury.)
I'm not sure if the following "contagion of clinical aberration" has spread beyond California yet, but I've seen recurrent, routine neck or back pain cases treated with seemingly endless rounds of NSAIDs and muscle relaxers. Eventually, after X-ray series and blood tests fail to bring the veterinarian and the worried pet owners any closer to an answer or a solution, they are off to the veterinary neurologist.
After viewing the MRI, the specialist declares, without a shred of diagnostic evidence, that it has to be MUE (meningioencephalitis of unknown etiology). Never underestimate the appeal of making a reputation--burnishing "discovery" by turning the pathomechanics of vertebral subluxations into a freshly discovered autoimmune disease of unknown cause! Consequently, these pets endure months of immunosuppressive chemotherapy injections with meager improvement and the attendant and sometimes fatal adverse effects.
Can you begin to appreciate the frustration that accrues with knowing untold numbers of pets have perished because a dangerous, chemical "sledgehammer" of a "cure" is being applied to suppress the chronic inflammation induced by vertebral subluxations? Oh, the tragic tales I could tell you!
Cause for Optimism
Fortunately, as the song goes, "The times they are a changing," and the things I find "ugly" will eventually change for the better as public awareness and public pressure propel the paradigm shift. Just look at what has happened in the pet food industry. Not too many years ago, there were few choices in pet food. The pet food industry got away with using dead or dying animals in dog food, even cancer-ridden animals. Ground up chicken feathers and sawdust were once staples and fillers in the most popular dog food.
But fast forward: Seemingly countless companies have sprung up to fill the demand for healthy, high-quality food for our animal companions. It is therefore no surprise that interest in complementary and alternative approaches to treating animals is currently exploding in the veterinary field. Having provided care to animals for more than 36 years, I can personally attest to the growing public demand. If you want to be part of this explosion and are willing to learn, take up the mantle and apply your skills, you too can be part of this rewarding adventure in healing.
Author's Note: Parts 1 and 2 of this article appeared in the May and June digital editions, respectively.
Dr. Kelly Thompson is a 1981 graduate of Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. He treated his first animal patient in 1983 and currently sees upwards of 40-plus animal patients daily in select veterinary clinics in the Silcon Valley (California). For additional information, visit www.kellythompsondc.com.