Most troubling to many animal lovers is the increasing number of health problems encountered in their pets. Across the country, veterinarians are seeing more cases of skin problems, hair loss, low energy, muscle weakness, toxicity and degenerative diseases (chronic digestive and joint problems, for example) in the animals they treat. Also, many conditions associated with old age are cropping up at much younger ages.

Even experts cannot agree on the causes. Some researchers believe that poor breeding practices (genetic selection) are to blame. Others point the finger at environmental influences, and provide compelling evidence that both animals: and their human families are being exposed to an overwhelming amount of toxins. These toxic substances can come from a multitude of different sources - the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and unfortunately, many come to us in the form of the chemicals that are in the medications we take into our bodies. While the debate goes on, pet owners are concerned when mainstream medicine cannot help their pets. One thing is clear -more and more medications seem to make things worse. Frustrated at their inability to find effective treatments for their pets' mounting health problems, pet owners more and more are turning to alternative approaches for keeping their pets healthy.

Phillip had been talking to me for weeks about magnets and this energy medicine stuff. But I was his worst skeptic. After all, I was a highly trained veterinarian. In fact, I had a sum total of 17 years of academic training under my belt, not to mention almost 20 years of clinical experience to boot. And he thought he could educate me about alternative treatment options for my patients. Not likely. In the guise of interest, I politely listened to what he had to say, not believing a word of it. Certainly, if energy medicine had any merit at all I would have been taught about it in veterinary college or graduate school or somewhere. But I had to admit, the concept was intriguing - that energy medicine technologies could restore health by enhancing or jump-starting the natural energetic processes in the body. So I decided to try Phillip's magnet stuff on a patient of mine in grave condition. After all, what harm could it do?

Brandy was a 9-year Rottweiller. She was Patty's, her owner's, first “child” and took her job as baby sitter to her 2-legged siblings, Karen and Timmy, very seriously. Brandy had begun to limp on her right fore limb. At first Patty thought Brandy had just sprained it, but the limp became more pronounced at the days and weeks passed. Concerned, Patty brought Brandy to me for an evaluation. The news was not good. I had to inform Patty that bone cancer, osteosarcoma, was suspected. A bone biopsy confirmed the diagnosis, and radiographs indicated that the cancer had already spread to the lungs and other vital organs. Brandy's cancer was inoperable.

In some cases, the limb with the primary tumor can be amputated to make the dog more comfortable, as the leg is extremely painful. Even this was not an option for Brandy. She was a large, heavy dog and needed all 4 limbs to get up and walk. As the weeks passed, Brandy's condition gradually worsened. All of her body systems were affected by the spreading cancer. Despite everything being done for her medically, Brandy's appetite waned, her breathing became labored, she became incontinent, and she could barely get up without assistance.

Devastated, Patty called the office. She had decided that she had no other option but to put Brandy to sleep. Brandy still greeted her with a loving eye and a wag in her tail (such as a Rotty has), but a 95-pound dog who cannot get up and walk on its own presents too great a burden to be carried. Without much optimism, I offered Patty the option of trying magnetic therapy on Brandy. Patty was willing to try anything. Even if it was a long shot, she hoped that the magnets could help her beloved Brandy. But Patty was concerned that Brandy would not even sleep on the bed. It was Brandy's habit to sleep on top of the air conditioning vents, sometimes moving from vent to vent several times in a night.

To make a long story short, Brandy's condition gradually improved over the next several days. The first thing Patty noticed was that Brandy no longer moved from air conditioning vent to vent to sleep. She seemed to seek out her magnetic bed and slept on it even when it was not placed in preferred location. Next, Patty noticed a change in Brandy's overall energy level. Within a week, she was able to get up and walk unassisted. Gradually her breathing improved. Ultimately, Brandy did lose her battle to cancer. But Patty and her family are grateful for more than a year's extension of quality life that magnetic therapy was able to give Brandy. Now, back to Phillip - he had my undivided attention. And I wanted to learn everything I could about energy medicine.

The short answer is - no one knows exactly how the process works. But an incredible amount of research is currently being devoted to the subject. We do know that both people and animals are energy beings. Our bodies, the magnificent creation of a master designer, are composed of 78 billion cells, each with its own specialized task to perform. Like the battery within a car, energy within each cell needs to be sufficient for that cell to perform its job. Over 300 medical research studies involved using static magnets on patients with a variety of medical conditions. Across the board, the studies found that healing was accelerated in both bone and soft tissue (that's your skin, muscle, blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue), commonly taking less than half the usual time. A NASA-funded research project showed that magnetic field therapy could not only prevent or delay bone loss, but it could also be reversed. This means that energy technologies can slow down or even reverse the process of osteoporosis, a very common problem facing many women today.

As I gain more experience with energy medicine products, I find myself using them on more and more patients with an ever-widening array of ailments. When I first started using energy medicine technologies in my practice, my main focus was integrating it with traditional medicine for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders -herniated vertebral disks, hip dysplasia, degenerative joint disease, fracture repair, etc. As my experience and research turned up no negative side effects from its usage, I thought to myself, “Why not try this on patients with problems involving other systems?” The worse thing that can happen is nothing. Not even aspirin can make that claim. A pharmaceutical agent is considered to be effective if as few as 50% of patients show improvement. Research shows that 87% of patients using magnetic therapy derive benefit. Now, I offer energy modalities (primarily magnetic and far infrared therapies) to patients with other types of conditions: after being hit by a car or being a victim of a dog attack, following surgery to ease recovery, in cancer patients, in patients with chronic gastrointestinal problems, in patients with allergies, to name a few. Every day the list grows longer.

The answer is simple. After putting a pet on magnetic and/or far infrared therapy, the owners commonly come back to me with the same query, “Do they make this stuff for people?” This question always makes me chuckle because almost all of the available products are designed for human use. I often find myself thinking of new ways to modify the human products to fit the contours of quadruped anatomy. So there was a natural evolution toward my helping people with their discomforts. At some point I wondered if I would get busted for practicing (human) medicine without a license. I was relieved and amazed to learn that these wonderful technologies require no prescription because of their lack of deleterious side effects. Therefore, you don't have to be a doctor to prescribe them.

If you, or someone you care about, be they 2-legged or 4, suffers loss of quality of life as the result of discomfort or a chronic condition, I urge you to try energy medicine technologies. You have everything to gain with no risk to your health (the only documented contraindication for its use would be someone implanted with an unshielded pacemaker). Please contact me at my office to schedule a free consultation on how to tailor the technologies to best meet your needs.

In association with Troutman Animal Hospital, P0 Box 535, Troutman, NC 28166

Date: 3/1/01 6:09:55 PM Eastern Standard Time

Dr. Barber ,

I am so glad that I found you. I saw your article in a newspaper and thought that I would send you a message. I had asked at Lake Norman about you, but was told that they didn't know where you were at. I hope you remember me (Patty XXXXXXX and Brandy). I just wanted to thank you again for being so kind to us during Brandy's illness. It's been almost 2 years and I still miss her as if it was just yesterday. I also just wanted to wish you, well on your new practice. I hope that you have great success. Also, just yesterday, a couple of us were talking about the magnetic therapy. Someone who uses the magnets said that they worked but he wasn't sure if it was just in his head. I assured him that the magnetic therapy had worked on my dog and it just was not in his head. I feel with God's help and the magnetic therapy, its what kept her alive for 15 months instead of the 4 to 6 weeks that I had been told by the specialist. Keep up the good work.

Thanks again,