It was raining. But worms were swamping helplessly in the rain. Little Karen was just 3 years old. Yet, she started crying when she saw the poor worms.
Her instinct was to help them. She did save the worms and returned them outside the next morning.
Then, she knew she’d love animals and protect them forever.
The Best Vet For Your Tibetan Mastiff?
Even at a tender age, right in Columbus, Ohio, Karen Shaw Becker knew she always wanted to help animals.
Today, she’s a renowned veterinarian. But not just any veterinarian — She’s an Integrative wellness and a proactive veterinarian; one who believes in holistic healing via lifestyle choices.
And she’s the most followed veterinarian in the world.
But how was Dr. Karen Becker able to achieve her dreams?
Karen Becker's Journey As A Veterinarian
Dr. Karen started helping animals even before she earned her degree in veterinary medicine. At the age of 13, she volunteered at a local humane society where she helped homeless animals.
Wildlife was really important to her and she was ready to preserve and protect it. So, at the age of 16, she was already a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
But that was just the beginning for her.
A degree is essential to have the professional skills needed in protecting the health of animals. So, she went ahead and majored in Wildlife and International Resource Management in 1989 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
In 1996, she took a certification course at the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society’s certification course in Houston. She studied veterinary medicine at the Iowa State School of Veterinary Medicine and earned her degree in 1997.
Now, as a doctor, she wanted to be the best version. So, in 1998, she took another certification course at the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy in Virginia.
A year later, she started her first proactive animal hospital in Chicago.
Opened Her Own Pet Hospital In California
But Dr. Karen wasn’t going to stop there.
Her love for animals is not just for pets. Even exotic animals need optimal health care. So, she interned in California, taking care of exotic animals. In 2001, she opened her own hospital for exotic animals.
She’s exceptional and has a fierce desire to help pets. In 2008, she got an offer to work with Dr. Mercola. Now, she’s a consulting vet and a part-time writer.
Becker's Impact On Millions Of Animals - Many of Them Dogs
More often, several pets die not because of bad health but because of the lack of information. Dr. Karen has made several informative videos regarding pet health.
She manages a website- healthypetsmercola.com, a Youtube blog, a Twitter account, and the Karen Becker Facebook account. On the website, she releases newsletters on pet health and nutrition and pet food recipes. She interviews experts too.
She has made over 600 youtube videos. Some of them are on pet nutrition and health. Others are interviews with veterinarians and experts to share their knowledge of animal health.
Dr. Karen grew up with her childhood pet, City. Unfortunately, when City was on the brink of death, he had rather a painful euthanasia.
Explored Environmental Effects On Dog Health
Then, she knew when she became a vet, animals she’d do her best to make animals live a less painful life.
And when it comes to euthanasia, they’d have a pain free one. So, in 2011, she founded her own pain management clinic.
Dr. Karen learned a lot from her pets. Her biggest lesson on how lifestyle, specifically environmental factors, contribute a lot to the health of a pet was from City.
No Neutering And No Dog Vaccination
In her YouTube video, she explains that City was fed the worst food. Besides, she wasn’t neutered and received no vaccinations. However, she commented that:
“His chemical exposure was low…so City didn’t have environmental toxicosis. City also was an avid exerciser. My mother is an avid runner and would walk that dog ten miles a day, and with that combination, I know in my heart, it certainly wasn’t food that got that dog till 19, but that dog lived an amazing life despite food. So, he really role modeled to me truly the other aspects that could be so impactful on extending the longevity of a dog’s life”.
Becker as a Proactive and Integrative Wellness Veterinarian
In rendering health care to animals, she advises pet parents on how they can improve their pet’s health through lifestyle, diet, and proactive living.
Dr. Karen helps pet parents choose the best lifestyle for their pets — One that eliminates possible future sickness cases.
Preventing Dog Cancer Using Anti-Inflammatory Diets
For instance, cancer is a common disease in dogs. So, in one of her Youtube videos, she explains that feeding an anti-inflammatory diet to pets is one of five ways of reducing the risk of cancer.
She has touched a lot of lives with her skill and knowledge. Dr. Karen has helped so many pets with her YouTube video. Currently, MercolaHealthyPets has 138,000 subscribers on Youtube.
Raw Meat Healed Her Dog?
Dr. Karen learned a different lesson from Gemini while she was in college — the importance of species appropriate diet in animal health. Gemini was a the brink of death and had euthanasia as the only possible solution.
Being a vegetarian, it was difficult for Karen to feed her pet raw meat. But she did it anyway.
And it worked. Her pet became healthy again. Even though she suffered from liver disease, Gemini lived for 13 years.
There’s no much evidence to support Species appropriate diet apart from the origin of dogs and cats as carnivorous animals.
However, a survey cited by the national library of medicine found that 98.7% of dog owners and 98.5% of cat owners indicated their pets are healthy on raw meat.
That’s why today, Dr. Karen is an advocate of a species appropriate diet. So, in 2013, she made a video on the raw food diet.
Promoting Raw Food Diets For Dogs And Other Pets
There, she clarified some truths and myths about pet food. The video’s informative and explained why dogs and cats need to be fed a raw food diet.
Unfortunately, many pet parents don’t know how to make nutritionally balanced food for their pets. Some might just buy pet food they saw on the TV. But most pet food products are unhealthy and profit-oriented.
That’s why Dr. Karen wrote her first cookbook on the “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” in 2000. It was more of a desperate act to help pet parents who needed healthy recipes for their pets.
Karen's Organic Human-Grade Dog Food
Then again, she co-authored the book “Real food for healthy pets” in 2009 with Beth Taylor. The year after, she made a video explaining the best and worst food to feed pets.
Meanwhile, Dr. Karen makes her own homemade organic human-grade pet food. Unlike most commercially produced pet foods, Dr. Karen’s pet foods are healthy and nutritionally balanced.
The Journey Continues
From the little girl who saved worms in Ohio, Karen Becker became a veterinarian saving millions of animals all over the world.
Now, she’s an integrative wellness and proactive veterinarian. She belongs to seven associations, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, Association of Wildlife Veterinarians, and National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association.
As an animal advocate, on several occasions, she worked with animal activist Rodney Habib.
Karen Becker's Raw Pet Food Project Continues As Well
Currently, she’s running a Canadian raw pet food project. The purpose of the project is to test whether the pet foods in Canada are nutritionally balanced.
Her two million followers on Facebook have felt the impact of Dr. Karen Becker one way or another on their pets’ health. On her official website, she states:
“My goal is to partner with pet parents who are seeking to improve their pet’s overall health and vitality through wise lifestyle choices.”
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