Photo by Mike Spencer/Milford Daily News
Holistic veterinarian Margo Roman holds B.J. Honeycat at her clinic in Hopkinton.
Photo by Mike Spencer/Milford Daily News
Holistic veterinarian Margo Roman holds B.J. Honeycat at her clinic in Hopkinton.
Hopkinton - Dr. Doolittle talked to the animals. Its creators hope the documentary "Dr. DoMore" will speak for them.
"When I started practicing 30 years ago, we had cancer cases, but they were nothing like we see now," said Dr. Margo Roman of Main Street Animal Services of Hopkinton, better known as MASH. "Our biggest problem was dogs getting hit by cars. We've pretty much taken care of the car problem with leash laws, but our cancer rate is through the roof. I'm treating animals with cancer every single day."
Roman, who practices holistic medicine as well as mainstream treatment for pets, has been traveling the world interviewing veterinarians with Concord filmmaker Simone Hnilicka for the past year for the documentary "Dr. DoMore," which seeks to expose how common animal care practices, as well as the environment, are making our pets sicker.
Call it a "Sicko" for the four-legged set. Like Michael Moore, Roman and Hnilicka place a good portion of the health care blame on pharmaceutical companies and a medical model of treating the symptom rather than determining the cause of the illness itself.
The recent pet food scandal, in which Chinese suppliers were found to have used contaminated wheat gluten, highlighted the need for owners to examine what they are putting into their pets, Roman said.
"She's been the only vet in the area who hasn't been affected by the food recall, because her clients are using a raw food, whole food diet," Hnilicka said.
Roman's journey into holistic treatment began with acupuncture. As a student, she once saw a horse collapse, only to be revived with acupuncture. She became the first female veterinarian to take the international veterinary acupuncture course in 1975-76 and has been an advocate of the ancient Chinese therapy ever since.
"It's so less invasive than doing extensive surgery," said Roman. "Surgery is wonderful, and I do it when it's needed, but if I can do something without extensive side effects, that isn't invasive, why wouldn't I use it first?"
She soon added other alternative treatments - chiropractic adjustments, herbs, homeopathy, massage, raw food diets. Roman created MASH in 1983 and has lectured internationally on holistic pet care.
Hnilicka and Roman came together when Hnilicka sought alternative care for her dog, Muisje. At 13, Muisje had developed health problems and Hnilicka was skeptical when her veterinarian suggested cortisone shots.
"I wouldn't do cortisone for myself, and I couldn't do it for Muisje," Hnilicka said.
She found Roman's practice and began driving 45 minutes each way from Concord for acupuncture appointments.
"As time went on, I would bring my camera and just film there. Muisje would be running around ... running around (looking) like a little pincushion."
"Dr. DoMore" is dedicated to the memory of Muisje, who died at the age of 16, and Roman's horse, Champ, who lived to be 27. It's Champ's story that is the genesis of "Dr. DoMore."
Champ, a Morgan horse, was acquired by Roman while in his teens. Rundown and bony, she nursed him back to health and he had a successful run as a show horse with her daughter until he developed a tumor in his eye. Roman turned to the Cummings School for Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, where she had been on the faculty until 1987, and asked that the eye be removed.
Instead, she was encouraged to put the horse down after veterinarians there determined the cancer went beyond his eye. When Roman refused and suggested alternative treatments, she said she was told her therapies were useless.
"They told me his days were numbered," Roman said. Champ went on to live another three years.
"When Margot had her experience with Champ, I said look, we're going to take all this negative energy from this experience and channel it into this project," Hnilicka said.
The pair has traveled to China, Japan, Tibet, Puerto Rico and around the country talking to veterinarians about trends they have seen in their patients. The more than 150 hours of footage has been distilled to 18 minutes for a preview video, which is posted online at www.drdomore.com.
A finish date for the project has yet to be set. The pair hope the project will land on HBO or the Discovery Channel.
The high rate of pet cancer is a recurring topic. The issue of vaccination, and its ability to generate revenue for veterinary practices, is another constant theme.
In most veterinary practices, animals receive annual vaccinations for rabies and other ailments. While Roman does vaccinate, she prefers to give titer tests to already-vaccinated animals and measure the antibodies in their systems. Over-vaccination, Roman and other veterinarians interviewed in "Dr. DoMore" say, disrupts an animal's immune system and the chemical preservatives in each vaccine may also have harmful effects.
"Polio is a dangerous disease, but we don't vaccinate humans against it every year," Roman said. "We vaccinate against rabies every year. It's not even discussed ... we give them a shot every year - who knows what it's doing to them?"
Jennifer Lord can be reached at 508-626-3880 or jlord@cnc.com.