Did I hear that bottled water especially for dogs is now on sale at some supermarkets, pet hypermarkets and veterinary shops (sorry - 'waiting rooms')?

Commercialism knows no bounds. If this makes money, it is only a comment on those that buy. What's wrong with filtered tap water or, failing that, glass-bottled spring water? (I cannot recommend plastic as a container for food or water.)

To buy water especially bottled for dogs, at an inflated price, is playing right into the hands of unbridled commercialism. I believe such stuff even comes in different flavours (sorry - 'flavors') in the USA! I hate to think what the ingredients list of that stuff would be.

I don't agree with those who say that tap water's just as good (unfiltered) as glass-bottled spring water. I suspect that argument may be based on bacteriology, not drinkability, chemical purity or flavour. I suppose no self-respecting bacteria would go near the stuff. I can't drink our tap water, unless it's filtered (a dangerous generalisation, I know - I can't vouch for other areas of the UK). I therefore only give our dogs and cats filtered water.

Of course, properly filtering tap water not only makes it drinkable, it also gets around the very valid 'food miles' argument against bottled water.

I await the 'bottled water for cats' version! Purrfect! We can't have our cats drinking dog's water, now, can we?

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org while you're here?]

Just back from a concert in the Brighton Dome, featuring Level 42 (jazz-funk), with The Mercury men as a 'new' and 'up and coming' trio, with vocals and acoustic guitars.

To tell the truth, we had only gone to see (and support) The Mercury Men, as we have a friendship connection, but Level 42 had passed me by, back in the 80s. Two such dissimilar acts would be hard to find!

I came away very impressed indeed with The Mercury Men, who put on a great show. I know they will do well and I wish them all the best. Their music was fresh, lively and very listenable. They also 'worked' the audience brilliantly, who were mostly, let's face it, there to hear Level 42 (music that is a universe apart).

I was surprised to have come away also with a great admiration for the sheer noise, confidence and musicianship of the Level 42 line-up. Mark King's guitar is some machine. Perhaps he shouldn't be so 'understated'!

Off to buy another set of ear protectors . . . . .

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org while you're here?]

Blogging has been quiet, lately, as I have had a great deal of work to do in marking examination papers and preparing for the clinical and oral sections for the South African, UK and Australian sessions of the Veterinary Membership Examination (VetMFHom), a post-graduate veterinary homeopathic qualification.

This examination is an arduous test of a candidate's ability, knowledge and understanding and those who pass can be justifiably proud of their achievement. They can then embark on a clinical career enriched by a line of development that brings ever-expanding understanding of the animal world.

I would like to wish all candidates the very best of good fortune in their coming challenges and I look forward to seeing more vets with the qualification, in those countries.

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org while you're here?]

Congratulations to those who organised the British Homeopathic Congress (biennial Faculty of Homeopathy Congress), at the Barcelo Majestic Hotel, Harrogate (Yorkshire) last weekend. Warm wishes to those whom I met there and to those with whom there was insufficient time to chat. Three days just fly by. The venue was very welcoming, too, which makes a huge difference to such an event.

Congratulations, too, to the wide array of illustrious and stimulating speakers.

It was a warm, congenial, vibrant affair, showing that homeopathy is still very much alive and evolving, despite what some might like to think.

It was great to see such a meeting of minds and hearts, from an eclectic mix of professions (medics (physicians), vets, podiatrists, dentists, non-medical homeopaths etc.), from all over the world.

Veterinary homeopathy marches on - we are currently in the throes of the VetMFHom examinations, in Australia, South Africa and the UK. I wish all the candidates good luck in their endeavours. We are looking forward to other countries taking part, where folk are nearing that point of their training. Japan and Italy are among these.

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org while you're here?]

I just love a mystery. I also love the notion that, in our modern, vain world, we hardly scratch the surface of knowledge and understanding, despite our pride in our 'scientific achievements'.

Files are being published by the MoD today, showing reports of Unidentified Flying Objects. Some may have rational explanations.

Among them, one particlar 'incident' is quite unsolved, however, and sounds very 'real'. An Alitalia passenger jet pilot, on a flight to Heathrow, reported a brown, missile-like object nearby. Great stuff. There's one in the eye for the sceptics.

As there's so much going on around Kent, one might fancifully wonder whether it mightn't have been an arrow that got Harold at Hastings, after all . . . . .

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/passenger-jets-nearmiss-with-ufo-above-kent-966925.html

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/MoD-files-record-nearmiss-between.4607607.jp

http://ufopressrelease.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org while you're here?]

In honour of National Poetry Day, whose theme this year is ‘work’:

For work to give eternal challenge

Improvement of oneself each day

Helping mind and body balance

With fun and love along the way

To work with Nature – watch its ways

To see the body’s healing pow’r

To be in Nature – every day

To learn anew with each fleet hour

One day to raise the spirits high

The next may have its moments sad

To share all this with creatures – Why!

I surely have the best life had.

Christopher Day 9^th October 2008

Throughout my career, I have had the pleasure and privilege to work with fine animals and lovely, intelligent clients. Firstly homeopathy, then a much wider palette of alternative (holistic) medicine methods and techniques*, have brought challenge, fulfilment and love. The healing power and capability of animals, thank goodness, has never ceased to amaze me. Animals don't complain, they appear grateful for what we try to do to help them and they set an example to us, on how to live life to the full, each moment. It is edifying, to share their space and time.

[*Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Herbs (Herbal Medicine), Nutrition, Chiropractic Manipulation, LASER, and Aromatherapy, to cite a few]

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org while you're here?]

While I was away, the BBC showed a documentary entitled "Pedigree Dogs Exposed". This was bound to provoke a head-on clash with the Kennel Club, the organisers of Crufts. Confrontational diplomacy is not the best way to make friends but 'reductio ad absurdum' is a time-honoured way of bringing out a point clearly and starkly. I didn't see the programme but I cannot avoid seeing the backlash.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/sep/16/animalwelfare

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rspca-pulls-out-of-crufts-over-dog-welfare-931539.html

The RSPCA, who hire a stand at the annual dog show, have now chimed in to chastise dog breeders. I do not wish to defend (or appear to defend) bad breeding practices but where has the RSPCA been until now, on this issue? Why does it only chime in when it sees the BBC flying a flag for animals? How many in the ranks of the RSPCA hierarchy have bought pedigree dogs with defects, thereby actually funding the criticised practice? Knee-jerk responses, holier-than-thou stances and worthy rhetoric will not do the job.

http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=NewsFeature&articleId=1220375309588

This is not a new problem and the massive resources of the RSPCA could have made a huge difference, over the years, for the sake of animal welfare.

There are some important points that maybe should be made, just now, in the wake of this simmering row.

Firstly, there are some lessons that the Kennel Club will no doubt take to heart. However, change cannot happen overnight.

Secondly, there is a difference between a bad breed trait (that may lead to animal welfare problems) and an accidentally bred-in breed susceptibility (which requires a trigger for expression). The article linked above cites "boxer dogs suffering from epilepsy". I would argue that they are probably not born with the disease but are prone to it if the necessary trigger is provided, which may be unsuitable diet or possible immune disturbances, such as may be created by routine vaccination. Possible ill-effects of vaccination are very poorly researched and monitored.

Thirdly, as with all arguments, there are grey areas and complexities that need unravelling. There is a positive note. Those who have dogs with a problem, who have been told that it is an inherited disease (or a genetic disorder), may be heartened to know that some of these will respond to homeopathy. Clearly, an inherited deformity will not respond (although secondary effects might) but a disease arising from a breed tendency, that has been triggered by some external factor, may well be reversible. Many so-called inherited immune and auto-immune disorders (e.g. lupus/SLE) of German Shepherds, epilepsy in many breeds and skin problems of West Highland Terriers (to name but a few) can often resolve. Even the distressing symptoms of hip dysplasia and syringomyelia in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have been seen to be ameliorated, under holistic care.

Gregor Mendel made a start on learning about inheritance, in the 19th Century. Much more yet remains to be learned. If hip dysplasia, for instance, were a simple inherited disease, the Kennel Club/BVA scheme for identifying it and eradicating it from breeding dogs would have succeeded long ago, rather than still be running 24 years on, without clear victory. I would maintain that clinical expression of the disease depends upon both genetic and environmental / managemental / nutritional factors (i.e. both pre-natal [congenital] and post-natal factors).

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/313

Hopefully, those in charge of breeding and welfare of dogs will take a grip on this issue and work together, for the benefit of future generations. Gunboat diplomacy has its place in history but may not provide the best long-term solutions. The Kennel Club and the BVA (British Veterinary Association) have a long history of cooperation on disease identification schemes. Education, not just of the dog-breeding community but also in schools and among the pet-buying public is also vital, to ensure real and lasting improvement. It is in the latter area that I see the RSPCA role, with their huge monetary resources.

The Scaly Cricket (Pseudomogoplistes vicentae), one of our rarest insects, has been rediscovered at Branscombe Beach in Devon. It had disappeared as a result of the Napoli grounding fiasco, in January 2007 and the only other UK sites where it is known are Chesil Beach (Dorset) and Marloe Sands (Pembrokeshire).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7649776.stm

http://environment.uk.msn.com/green-living/article.aspx?cp-documentid=9892831

The good old Cornish Pasty (that traditional lunch box inclusion for Cornish miners) appears to have been the bait that won the day - all other attempts had failed. The UK Scaly Cricket was first discovered in Devon and there are ugly rumours that the Cornish Pasty may have originated in Devon.

The Napoli affair was an environmental disaster that should not have been allowed to happen on the Jurassic Coast, which appears to have had no contingency plan to deal with such a disaster. The resultant invasion by looters was a revolting comment on human nature and British character but how was the intentional grounding allowed to happen on a World Heritage Site without proper protection from the environmental threat and from the dregs of society that descended on the area? I'll never understand why there were no prosecutions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6287457.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6687659.stm

Once the authorities had finally managed to secure the area, my wife and daughter among many others were not allowed to go to the beach as volunteers, to help clear up the mess! Our bureaucracy swings from one extreme to another.

Anyway, it is a relief that the furtive Scaly Cricket appears not to have been a casualty after all.

While I was away (and without internet access!), this headline appeared last week, on BBC Radio 4's website, under 'File on 4':

"Concerns over 'overzealous' RSPCA As the RSPCA looks to recruit more inspectors to implement new animal welfare law, it has been accused of overzealously prosecuting pet owners."

The programme, which was broadcast on 23rd and 28th of September and about which there's a short summary posted on their website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/file_on_4/7632082.stm

was pretty hard-hitting. It covered a few of the many and increasing criticisms of this organisation - the largest animal welfare charity in the world. The spokesmen for the RSPCA skilfully and sometimes aggressively fended off the criticism and did not seem disposed to listen.

We (and animals) need an RSPCA. We need it to be compassionate and without vested interest. We need it not to be above criticism and to be properly answerable to an overseeing body, commensurate with the powers this massive organisation assumes and wields. We need welfare to be placed above prosecutions. We need a return to its roots, when prosecutions were not the priority. We can but hope that, one day, these needs will become reality. Until then, I'm not putting a penny the RSPCA's way.