Vital Animal News: May 12, 2024
Ain't No Body but You, Babe
Bird Flu? Gaaaa!
Bird Poop + Beef Cattle?
Bird Flu Jabs: Ready and Waiting
Levity Break
Short Sightedness on Autoimmune Disease
FOIA Data from Pet Food In (“No comment”)
Tips: Vaccine Waivers
Along the Natural Path
Bird Flu: Our Next P(L)andemic?
To be sure your pulse rate doesn’t drop all the way back to normal after Covid has pretty much receded, we’re steadily getting news of HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) aka Bird Flu.
It’s a long known influenza A virus, that’s waxed and waned, mostly in birds, for decades.
This time around, called H5N1, it’s not going away so quickly.
And the news from the main stream media make it sound like its wiping out multi-thousand strong flocks of layers and broiler chickens.
Those numbers are a result of mass “culling” (read: killing) as a means of trying to control the spread of this virus.
It’s not worked well, and the fact that’s being ignored, as farmer/philosopher Joel Salatin points out in this article in Brownstone Institute [Why Are the Chickens So Sick?] is the gross overcrowding and the unsanitary conditions that accompany mass bird raising.
But, as in any epidemic, all those birds don’t succumb to the disease, and no one is being allowed to let the disease run its course, breed the survivors, and build strong natural resistance in their flock.
And, as Joel wisely asks,
“Are the experts funneling information to the public more trustworthy than those who controlled press releases during 2020’s covid outbreak?
If thinking people learned only one thing from the covid pandemic, it was that official government narratives are politically slanted and often untrue.”
Wait. GoF Again?
It’s come to light that we’ve got the same gain of function research going on with bird flu as we had with the coronavirus that leaked and ended up selling millions of doses of unsafe, non-efficacious vaccine, making several rich individuals immensely richer.
And, once again, China/US collaboration is at the center of it.
The concerning part of this gain of function research?
It’s being done in Mallard ducks, who, as the link above points out, are damn near world wide, and migrate, so a wide spread of the lab tweaked virus is highly likely.
Cow and Cats
You’ve probably heard by now this same virus has been found in dairy cattle.
And has spread among their species as the cows moved interstate.
While the cows have been only mildly ill or asymptomatic, research shows the virus concentrates in their milk and some of the farm cats who drank that milk and colostrum have died. (It’s not been ruled out that the cats had also fed on wild birds, but it seems pretty safe to assume the milk products were the culprit.)
Are raw diets safe?
The jury is out.
The beef industry and FDA is scrambling to test their product and their current advice is, as expected, cook it well.
Ditto for the conventional veterinarians.
No surprise there, right? Most have never been on board with raw feeding and some go to great lengths to glove up to even examine a raw fed pet.
I’ll opine that a healthy dog or cat, on the Natural Path I speak of, will continue to do fine eating raw food.
Those on the Dreadful Path (vaccines annually, poisons for every pest, and kibble as their mainstay)?
They probably ought to stay away from raw meat until the data is clearer. Their systems may not be healthy enough to resist infection if the virus turns up in meat.
Also, no surprise, raw milk is getting attacked. “We’re only finding fragments of dead H5N1 viruses in pasteurized milk with our PCR testing…” so ya better avoid that cursed raw.
But that’s from those who’ve never advocated fresh raw milk, so out comes your grain of salt, if you’re a thinking person.
News Consumers: Beware
In short, I’d suggest a healthy skepticism on this entire subject from any MSM (main stream media) source.
I’ve found Substack, read with a certain amount of open mindedness and caution, to be a reasonable source of trustworthy information.
It’s not censored to my knowledge and some pretty smart folks are writing worthwhile articles on the regular.
Bird flu, pandemic in the making?
Forewarned is forearmed.
Wait. What’s allowed in cow feed?
Is this a crazy coincidence?
Susan Thixton reminds us that “poultry litter,” aka chicken sh*t, has long been an allowed ingredient in cattle feed.
Take a moment to process that…
If dairy cattle are eating chicken poop, wouldn’t that be a possible source of bird flu?
I mean, they aren’t eating dead birds, right?
No dairy farmer I ever worked with in my first career as a Wisconsin dairy vet would have dreamed of feeding this, but then, they were small outfits, averaging 50 cows and knowing their bovine lineage intimately. Their cows could live till 20, raised as carefully as my clients raised them.
The California dairies, with thousands of cows, hired labor, and cows with an average life span 2.5 years?
That’s a whole ‘nother world, and I expect if poultry litter is cheap and helps their bottom line, it’d be in their feed troughs.
Susan’s concern this time is that AAFCO is weighing in on this gross ingredient, assuring us it’s likely not the source of H5N1 in cattle.
Her beef?
AAFCO is a regulatory agency.
Have they done the research to KNOW their stance is true?
Nope.
So is their bold statement likely to hold sway?
Ah, yeah. Of course it will. They are an official government alphabet outfit.
Your Express Bird Flu Shots
This just in: GSK, nee GlaxoSmithKline, a pharma giant, has readied it’s vaccine making machinery to pump out an H5N1 vaccine should a pandemic be declared.
I wish I was making this up…
Here’s the article: Is There a Vaccine for H5N1 Influenza?
And how quickly could it be deployed should it be needed?
There’s apparently already an outfit called the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), who bands with and takes advice from
partners from the CDC, FDA, Department of Agriculture, and White House.”
And ASPR has another alphabet soup program, the National Pre-Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Stockpile (NPIVS), who claims
"Hundreds of thousands of doses could be deployed within weeks pending regulatory action, and over 100 million doses could be deployed in the coming months."
Oh oh.
We know the lies these partners all spun and the censorship they hammered down on us in covid times (Facebook’s Zuck recently revealed the White House was behind his censorship push…).
And this same company is apparently a large part of the seasonal flu jabs that seem to miss the “flu du jour” year after year (but sell tons of shots, none the less).
That alone should give you pause, right?
You likely know they’ve never hit that ever changing seasonal flu correctly, as they are always guessing from the previous year’s flu.
And I wonder if Billy Boy Gates of Depopulation Central owns shares in GSK.
Will we be smarter this time around?
Some will, some won’t.
Levity Break: We Deserve One!
Causation? Nah, Let’s Not Go There…
Clinician’s Brief, an industry publication I get in my inbox regularly, has a recent article on the top four autoimmune diseases dogs get.
In typical clinical style, they merely list the disease names and give the usual treatments (steroids) all of which suppress your dog’s immune system, so it doesn’t kill her.
The top ones are:
Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia
Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia
Immune-Mediated Polyarthritis
Pemphigus Foliaceus
I remember well in vet school, when we learned of the immune system turning on the animal itself, my stomach tightened.
What in holy hell was going on here?
How did this happen?
And what hope do we have to turn this awful illness around?
The very system Nature crafted over millennia to keep us and our animals safe, was now the enemy, and if unchecked, could kill my patient?
Dayum!
Did You Forget to Mention Cause?
Nowhere, in this erudite piece, written by a board certified internal medicine veterinarian from academia no less, is there any mention of cause.
Do you find that odd? I sure did. And I don’t recall it mentioned in vet school either, now that I think about it.
Wouldn’t you be far better off preventing these diseases than scrambling to the ER in the middle of the night, with only a 50% chance that your animal will survive, after all the heroic measures and thousands of dollars out of pocket to save her?
Chief Causes
It should come as no surprise, especially if you’ve been following along for some time, that those things that directly affect the immune system for ill would be the chief causative factors in all these nasty diseases.
The top of the heap should also be a no-brainer:
Vaccination
Long known to cause what I term “immune confusion,” vaccination seeks to stimulate the immune system (for “good.” At least that’s the intent).
It turns out to cause all sorts of mayhem as well, chief among its side effects: allergies.
That means wild over reaction to normal stuff:
A flea bite
A bite of chicken
Grasses, pollen, and all manner of things animals normally ignore.
In the allergic state, that usually shows as The Itch. A lifelong disease, modestly “controlled” by expensive, side effect laden drugs like Apoquel.
Vaccines can also cause autoimmune disease.
In that case, instead of being confused by normal environmental things, your animal’s immune system is now so confused, it’s viewing her own cells as hostile foes, worthy of destruction.
#1 in that list means the red blood cells are under attack.
#2 means the cells responsible for blood clotting, the platelets, are being gobbled up.
And guess what you can’t live long without, regardless of species?
Yep: the oxygen carrying RBCs and the cells that help clot the blood, so you don’t bleed internally at every bump to your exterior.
Heartworm “Preventatives”
In addition to paralyzing the HW larvae (that may or may not be present), this class of drugs has autoimmune disease in its list of side effects.
Check your labels to verify what I’m saying.
And see this page for more, as well as for a safe alternative to the nasties.
So, where are we?
Once again, you can’t count on Dr. WhiteCoat to give you informed consent before reaching for a syringe or a pack of Heartgard or Trifexis or any number of other HW pesticides.
And, while we weren’t schooled in the side effects inherent in vaccination, most vets have to have heard of these concerns over the past few decades.
Still, an estimated 60% still recommend annual vaccination, a baseless, non-scientific profit maker.
Once you know this, you can start to practice using Vitamin N when confronted with “Sadie is DUE for her shots” or “Heartworm is a deadly disease and only this drug can prevent it.”
Vitamin N?
A simple No.
FDA/Big Pet Food Silence
Now we’ve got FOIA info on how many pets were sickened or killed by a new batch of pet food.
Truth About Pet Food’s Susan Thixton reports that in the month of January alone, the data show 971 complaints sent to FDA, representing 1312 pets.
In that month alone, there were 103 pets who died from pet food poisoning.
FDA’s response?
Complete silence. Nada. Bupkis.
As you can see from the image above, the vast majority of the issues were with Purina brand foods.
Purina’s response?
Complete denial (you can read their actual statement in the link above).
And to think I was once enamored with this company enough to apply for a lab tech job after I graduated college, in my year off before vet school.
Once again, it’s up to YOU to be the careful consumer of all things you allow in or on your pet.
You can’t count on the regulatory bodies nor the manufacturers to be there for you.
They are in bed together, and it’s Profits Before Pets, business as usual.
_______
On another note, if you feed prepared pet food, of any kind, and you haven’t yet seen Susan’s extensive list of foods she approves, you’ll sleep better when you get it and follow her recs. She’s a stickler and spells out, in great detail, what each company that made her select list does in terms of sourcing and preparation.
That kind of research is priceless if you care for pets.
(Did Purina make that list? Oh, hellll no! In case you haven’t followed it, jump over to my earlier article on Substack, Pet Food Poisoning. And scroll on down there for a working remedy if your pet falls ill after starting a new batch of food)
Tasty Tips: Your Vaccine Waiver
Perhaps the most common questions I get, whether in comments on my blog or in support emails or questions on my courses, goes like this:
I understand my pet needs no further vaccines. I’ve got titers to prove she’s immune. But I’m having trouble with my (fill in the blank: vet, apt management, groomer, kennel, trainer, etc.) who’s demanding “up to date shots.”
To that end, I’ve got some help for you this week.
First, empowering knowledge: immunity to viruses lasts a longggg time. If you’ve never wondered why you don’t need annual shots yourself for, say small pox, you’re on to something.
It’s known in immunology as “duration of immunity.” Experts (in the link above) say that’s likely lifelong duration from early life shots.
Second, if your animal has been sick with anything chronic, there’s an automatic waiver for more shots, which are all labeled Only for Use in Healthy (dogs, cats, ferrets usually).
Your vet may not agree, there’s a word for vaccinating an ill animal: Malpractice.
Third, here are some templates that you can give to a sympathetic vet to write you a waiver, if you don’t already have one.
On the same page, you’ll find waivers you can write yourself for say, a breeder to hold off on your pup’s shots while the rest of the litter gets them, or your vet’s records.
We’ve got to keep pushing against the over vaccination issue on every front.
It’s my #1 predictor of chronic disease, whether it’s in your pets, horses, or children.
This can be part of your resistance.
(You are most welcome 😉)
Along the Natural Path
We’ve caught a few glimpses of the snow capped Himalayas since I’ve been up North in their foothills. Always awe inspiring. Everest is several miles East, so that’s not visible, but it gives me chills to see these giants in the distance.
I’ve been on several trips with a brother to pick up produce for everyone here. That’s a glimpse of the market we shop most at. As it amounts to several 10’s of kilos by the time we’re done, we hire a local Nepali man, who, at 78, still hauls loads like ours for his living.
Always cheerful, this man must have neck muscles of iron and the back of an ox.
The way to the market itself is a trip. As in, “don’t trip, it’s a long ways down!”
That’s my ashram brother ahead of me, the trench is easily 40 feet deep, and that narrow ledge goes right past the backhoe, too busy to stop for pedestrians.
We have a good laugh every time we go, as we’d never in a lifetime see such a thing in the US. OSHA officials would have a heart attack, especially if they had to cross paths with oncoming foot traffic, as is often the case here. Only in India.
Macaques are very present, often with young clinging to moms’ backs or undersides.
They actually seem camera shy, but nothing compared to my favorites, the Langur.
The other day, I heard them first, crashing down through the trees as I was on my daily morning hike. Then I saw them, their 80-90 lb bodies making every branch they landed on sway wildly, before they launched for the next one. Seven or nine of the gentle giants were on the move, but none stayed still enough to catch a pic.
The one above wasn’t long for the view finder, as he explored around a huge castle like estate that I pass by every day.
This is the species “hired” as guards for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi to keep away the robber macaques, who are terrified of them.
Until next week, I’ll leave you with a recent misty morning sunrise, with a deep valley falling away from the road home.
Until next time, carry on, keep your mind open with a healthy skepticism of MSM fear tactics, and keep on making wise decisions for those innocents in your care who depend on you.
Will Falconer, DVM
Thanks so much for today's news. I listen to "thehighwire.com" and learned in one recent episode about the gain of function "research" that's being conducted. We taxpayers are funding our own destruction. With another election looming they may want to lock people up again to do their cheating. My husband and I never had a covid shot neither did we get covid. We don't get flu shots either. I feel so sorry for the average citizen who is dumb enough to get all these stupid shots thinking they are helping their immune system. We live in a time of great deception. Again, thanks for newsletter and common sense.
Thank for writing this SS! I'm glad to have found you. I am a cat lover and have never owned a dog. At this point I'm not sure I would with all the "requirements" wanted by vets, groomers, airlines, etc. Unbelievable overreach. I really enjoy seeing the pictures of where you are living. It looks amazing. 🙏