Annual Meeting

The ANHC Education Programs Annual Meeting in Veterinary Homeopathy, March 7-10, 2013 is now scheduled at Saguaro Lake Ranch outside of Phoenix, AZ. This meeting is for veterinarians that have trained with Dr. Pitcairn, veterinarians that are experienced in homeopathy, or qualified veterinary health professionals.

Our location is a lovely guest ranch in the desert, just outside of Phoenix. There are small rustic cabins, each with their own bathroom and a large main house for meeting and meals. March should be rather nice weather and they have a swimming pool, grassy lawn for yoga, trails for hiking and optional horse riding at the stable across the road. The view is spectacular.

Meeting Schedule

The meeting is from Thursday, March 7 until Sunday, March 10.

We start on Thursday, our first day, at 8:30 AM after a hardy breakfast at the main house. The morning session each day (except Sunday) is from 8:30 AM to 12 noon. Lunch and break from 12 noon to 2:00 PM. Afternoon meeting from 2:00 to 6:00 PM. Dinner and free time after this. Sunday we go from 9 AM to 1 PM (with breaks), the meeting ending at 1 PM. Lunch is available for those not needing to leave immediately.

You should plan to arrive Wed. afternoon as there will be a dinner that evening about 6 PM or so. The meal plan includes all meals from Wed. evening through Sunday morning breakfast.

Meeting Content

This is a listing of what we will cover in our meeting. We will have presentations of  both interesting cases and very useful topics by experienced guest lecturers including:

Dee Blanco, DVM – a graduate of the first Professional Course in 1993 with a practice in Santa Fe, NM that focuses on homeopathy and nutrition. Her special interest in nutrition has taken the form of teaching clients how to prepare food themselves as well as research into the very best quality nutritional supplements for her animal patients.

• Remedies for Mental Symptoms of Dogs.  Observed behavior in dogs is difficult to interpret and very often possible understanding of that behavior comes after the fact, once the dog has responded to a curative remedy. In hindsight, study of that remedy suggests the basis for the behavior. Several cases will be presented in which this happened, in that the curative remedy could be related to previously observed behavior. 
• Skillful Use of Nutritional Supplements in Homeopathic Cases.  Many animals have inadequate nutrition and it is appropriate to correct that with supplements. How do we use this supplementation when a remedy is also being used? Is it possible to distinguish the remedy response from that of nutritional correction? We will consider this with example cases. 

Kevin Fenton, DVM – a practitioner in the CA desert area who sees a variety of animals including those native to the area. Last year’s presentation included a very interesting case of successful treatment of a chicken that was attacked by dogs with residual neck paralysis.

• Homeopathy in an Allopathic World.  Some small case examples of homeopathic work in a primarily allopathic practice will be presented for your consideration and then segue into the larger topic of how and when homeopathy can be applied within such a context. When can it be used in such a practice? Will it work even though allopathic medications are in the picture?

Barbara Fishelson, DVM – a graduate of the 1995 Professional Course brings her extensive experience as a homeopathic practitioner in both San Francisco and Mendocino, CA. Some of you will remember two cases that Barbara and Richard Pitcairn discussed in the 2011 Annual Meeting — the dog with the recurrent chest swelling and pleural effusion (presumed foxtail) and another dog with a large tumor/lump on its side. Both of these conditions were resolved with homeopathic treatment.

• Do Animals Have Characteristic Symptoms?  A very useful tool is the identification of the symptoms in a case that are characteristic to that patient and thus to the remedy needed for resolution. Can this be done with animals? Do we have sufficient detail in cases? Symptoms from case examples will be used for this consideration. 

Karen Lyons, DVM – practices in Phoenix, AZ with a mobile practice that offers homeopathy and Chinese medicine. Her experience seeing the animal in its home is a unique perspective for homeopathic work.

• Getting Stuck and Saved by the Organon Has this every happened to you? You work a case as hard as you can and get stuck, finding yourself going back to Hahnemann for instruction? We will see some notable cases in which this was the process that solved them and, additionally, will learn more about the Organon.

Lisa Melling, DVM, CVH – another practitioner with a mobile practice in Michigan. Last year she (along with Elise Radebaugh and Sarah Stieg) gave us a fascinating inside view of the process of becoming a dedicated homeopathic practitioner. She will present a case and also participate in a group dialogue on the challenges of homeopathic practice. She is a member of the Professional Course faculty, teaching Session 1.

• Tackling the challenges of a homeopathic practice.  In a round table presentation, Lisa Melling, DVM, CVH, Elise Radebaugh, DVM, CVH, and Sarah Stieg, DVM will address the most common medical and business challenges we face as homeopathic practitioners and offer effective solutions. We invite submissions for topics to discuss — send to lisa(at)bestfriendspetwellness.com. 
• Treatment of Car Sickness.  How does one approach this common problem? Is it an acute problem due to the motion of the car or does it have deeper roots? This is a presentation of a series of cases in which homeopathy was successful at relieving car sickness in dogs and it was the constitutional remedy for these patients that relieved their illness.

Elise Radebaugh, DVM, CVH – has a practice in Eugene, Oregon that offers homeopathy, Chinese medicine, and nutrition. She too presented how she has incorporated homeopathy into her already established alternative practice. Her associate, Brooke Jacoby, is now attending the Professional Course. Elise is a member of the Professional Course faculty, teaching Session 4.

• Tackling the challenges of a homeopathic practice.  In a round table presentation, Lisa Melling, DVM, CVH, Elise Radebaugh, DVM, CVH, and Sarah Stieg, DVM will address the most common medical and business challenges we face as homeopathic practitioners and offer effective solutions. We invite submissions for topics to discuss — send to lisa@bestfriendspetwellness.com. 
• Two Challenging Cases — Feline Bronchitis & Idiopathic Seizures.  These two cured cases of serious conditions will follow their progress over a period of years. The cat with asthma and seizures presented on drugs and required four years to reach a cured and drug-free state. The bronchitis cat, also with seizures, was treated only with homeopathy. Both cases are now well and drug-free for one year. These remarkable examples of veterinary homeopathy can only encourage us in our work.

Sarah Stieg, DVM – worked with Sue Armstrong in a homeopathic practice in England and now has a house call practice of her own there. Her presentation of the development of experience as a homeopathic practitioner (last year) was especially interesting as she joined an already established practice that offered this modality. She is a member of the Professional Course faculty, teaching Session 5 and will be the new director for the Professional Course in Veterinary Homeopathy starting 2014.

• Tackling the challenges of a homeopathic practice.  In a round table presentation, Lisa Melling, DVM, CVH, Elise Radebaugh, DVM, CVH, and Sarah Stieg, DVM will address the most common medical and business challenges we face as homeopathic practitioners and offer effective solutions. We invite submissions for topics to discuss — send to lisa@bestfriendspetwellness.com. 
• Cases from Over the Pond.  Is homeopathy the same everywhere? In this presentation cases from England are offered for our consideration, example cases that pushed the limits of this homeopaths abilities but nonetheless worked out well.

Andrea Tasi, VMD – is a well-known expert on the care of cats with many years of conventional veterinary experience behind her before she moved to a completely homeopathic practice after completing the Professional Course in 2006. Last year Andrea presented two very interesting cat cases including one of vaccinosis. She will speak on the tricky process of translating cat behaviors into appropriate rubrics. She has taught in the Prof. Course in prior years.

• Cat Behavior for the Veterinary Homeopath, part 1.  A discussion of cat behavior and behavior “problems”. Emphasis will be on understanding and interpreting cat behavior and will include case examples: What is normal and what is characteristic? Which behaviors can we repertorize in commonly used repertories (Boenninghausen, Kent, Barthel and Klunker Synthetic, Complete)? How do we recognize any obstacles to cure?
• Cat Behavior for the Veterinary Homeopath, part 2.

Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD – has been in homeopathic practice 34 years. His practice in Eugene, Oregon, provided exclusively homeopathic care and nutrition. Now retired from practice and living in Sedona, AZ, he continues to teach and write. Recently, with Wendy Jensen, DVM, a repertory for veterinary use was completed and is available for MacRepertory (computer) use and is also being printed in book form by Narayana Press.

• Understanding Mental Symptoms.  To understand animal behavior we must first understand the mental symptoms of human beings. Referring to what has been learned of the human psyche, we will look at the dynamic of mental/emotional dysfunction. Where do these symptoms come from? How do they relate to the rubrics in our repertory? Lastly, we will bring this to the animal patient and see what we can learn of the same functioning in them.
• Prescribing for One’s Self.  Do you have a “fool for a doctor”? This is the usual comment when one tries to treat one’s self but is this always correct? It is possible to take one’s own case if there is suitable discipline and honesty. It is the application of Socrate’s advice: “Know thyself— the unexamined life is not worth living.” We will discuss the obstacles that face us with this unusual patient.
•  Analysis Methods — Comparing the Human vs. the Animal Case.  Taking historical cases, from Kent and others, we will look at how the human case can be analysed to find the remedy that was curative as presented in these classic cases. Knowing this, we will compare the analysis that could be done if this was an animal patient. Is the curative remedy more difficult to find?
•  Why Did Hahnemann Not Approve of Allopathic Medicine?  Hahnemann was a vigorous critic of the medical system of his day. Why did he object? Was he overly critical? We look in detail at the practices to which he objected and why. Using the principles of homeopathy presented in the Organon we look at the differences in approach.
•  What is the Life Force?  What did Hahnemann consider to be the life force as to its actions and activity and place in the human dynamic? It was an idea of Hahnemann’s time, shared by others, but is it today an outmoded idea? Why did it fall out of favor in the scientific community? We will look at this from different angles, from Hahnemann of course, but also Georg Groddeck, MD and others.
•  How Did Hahnemann Understand the Patient?  Hahnemann made some startling statements about the patient — from saying there were no diseases, only sick patients, to a model of illness that was dynamic and not physical. Can we truly understand the view that Hahnemann had? Is it possible for us? Following this, we look at Hahnemann’s advice on the mental state of the practitioner as they sit with the patient, how in practical terms the homeopath attempts to understand the patient.
•  What was Hahnemann’s Explanation of How the Remedy Acted?  Hahnemann ventured to explain what happened in the patient, on a dynamic level, when the similimum was administered, how it affected the life force. Does his idea help us in evaluating the prescription and following the progress of the patient? Even more than this, does it give us a perspective of confidence?

Meeting Tuition

Tuition for the 4 days is $695 if by check (made out to ANHC Education Programs and sent to 7149 Lantana Terrace, Carlsbad, CA 92011). If by credit card it is $723 and after you register you will be sent an email invoice with the option of paying through PayPal. (You need not be a member of PayPal to use this service.)

If you register and then cannot make the meeting, you can receive a refund less $50 if you cancel by February 15. Cancellations after that date will be refunded less $100.

Lodging

There is a separate charge for staying at the ranch which provides both lodging and meals (on request usually providing vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.). The prices listed below includes the lodging & meals, and also the tax and gratuity, so you will not have any charges beyond this. The choices are:

• Triple rooms, price is $138/night lodging, meals & day use) or $549.12 for all 4 days.
• Double rooms, price is $156/night lodging, meals & day use) or $624.00 for all 4 days.
• Single rooms, price is $188/night lodging, meals & day use) or $748.80 for all 4 days.
• Day use only (including lunch), price is $25/day or $99.84 for all 4 days.
• Children, ages between 7 and 17, price is $88/night lodging, meals & day use or $349.44 for all 4 days.
• Children, ages 3 to 6, price is $38/night lodging, meals & day use or $149.76 for all 4 days.
• Children under age 3, no charge.

There are a limited number of single room options so the way we organize this is to get your preference for lodging recorded and then on February 15 we organize all of this and assign you to a room. At that point you will need to make payment for the lodging and for this it is necessary for you to make payment by check or credit card before the meeting. You will be sent notification of this by email invoice.

It is also an option to stay off ranch if you would rather. Closest is Fountain Hills (8-10 miles from the ranch). However, rates in March tend around $129-$159 or higher, so the rates at Saguaro Lake Ranch which include meals may be a better option. I searched in Google for “hotels in fountain hills arizona” and found about 7 hotels listed there. Phoenix is further, about 45 minutes or so, depending on traffic.

Transportation

If flying, come to the Sky Harbor Phoenix airport. The ranch is outside of Phoenix proper, about a 30-40 minute drive and one option is to rent a car. However, once at the ranch there is really no need for a car so it may be easiest to use the available taxi services.

George Transportation, (602) 509-6669, charges by number of people, so check with him on rates (last time it was about 80-100 for a group, one way). A limitation will be the amount of luggage you have so I anticipate 2-3 people sharing that ride is a practical limit. By appointment.

Onyx Express (Fountain Hills), Stephanie Czopp, (480) 837-8577. Sedan service (1-3 people, split cost) = $110. Larger vehicle (6 person) = $140. Big van (14 people) = $160. www.onyxexpress.com. By appointment.

If you are driving, the address for the ranch is 13020 Bush Highway, Mesa, AZ 85215. You can check their web site for information and a map.

Registration

The easiest way for to register for the meeting is to use this link — Annual Meeting Registration Form. You can indicate all your preferences there and it is automatically emailed to us. We will let you know we have received it.

Questions?

Contact Kathy Combs at (760) 230-4784 or Kathy’s Email.