This month Dr. Doug Interviews Dr. Katie Kangas. She describes herself here:

"I am an integrative veterinarian, which means that I focus on  preventative health and supporting natural healing or wellness through many holistic options in combination with traditional veterinary medicine.

Preventative wellness and holistic care options include diet/food choices, nutritional supplements, acupuncture, herbal medicines, homeopathic remedies, essential oils and more.

Conventional medicine (for both animals & people) tends to focus more on the  treatment of disease and the symptoms of disease, after the condition or illness presents itself. While this type of health care can have value, it also has limitations.

Preventative  and integrative veterinary medicine aim to support the animal’s health through diet, nutrition and lifestyle practices that allow our pets to  be more resilient to disease and live better quality lives. In other words, providing our pets with  the tools to thrive, rather than to just survive.

In my opinion, the most balanced health care uses a combination of both conventional and holistic options. This is called Integrative Medicine. It is my goal to empower pet parents to make better choices and take a more active role in promoting health and quality of life for their pets."