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Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans and Animals Can Change the Way we Live Paperback – February 12, 2002
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateFebruary 12, 2002
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.65 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-109780767904315
- ISBN-13978-0767904315
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Editorial Reviews
Review
–Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine & Miracles and Prescriptions for Living
"The bond between animals and humans can improve both physical and mental health, and in Kindred Spirits, Allen Schoen explores the nature of that bond and shows how the techniques of alternative medicine can help both pets and their owners. I learned a lot from reading it." –Andrew Weil, author of Eating Well for Optimum Health
“Kindred Spirits is an eloquent, moving exploration of a belief I have long held–that animals and humans are intimately connected, and that we do ourselves and our animal friends a disservice when we underestimate the special bond that exists between us. It is a powerful prescription for life in the twenty-first century.” –Dr. Jane Goodall, author of In the Shadow of Man and Through a Window: My Life with Chimpanzees
From the Inside Flap
From the Back Cover
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Do Animals Feel Pain?
There is little that separates humans from other sentient beings--we all feel pain, we all feel joy, we all deeply crave to be alive and live freely, and we all share this planet together.
--Gandhi
Several years ago, Carol, a fifty-year-old single working mother, entered my office with her fourteen-year-old son Scott, and King, their German shepherd.
Carol was the only one of the trio in good physical shape. Tall and handsome, Scott had difficulty walking; he didn't shake my hand but limped over to a chair where he remained quiet and withdrawn throughout the visit.
Twelve-year-old King wasn't doing much better. Due to weakness in his hind legs, he had to drag himself into the office. It was hard to tell whose face looked more worried: Carol's or King's, with his heavy eyes and his tucked-back ears. Struggling to remain composed, Carol told me that King had been diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy (an atrophy of the spinal cord) and hip dysplasia (physical malformation of the hip joint).
Their veterinarian had treated the dog with conventional medicines, steroids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. Nothing had worked. The veterinarian now felt it was time to put King to sleep.
"Is there anything at all you can do?" Carol asked, despair permeating her voice. She told me about a friend whose ill cat had lived years longer than expected by taking a series of nutritional supplements that I had recommended.
Carol had brought along King's X-rays and medical records. Looking them over, I saw extensive arthritis in the back, a condition called spondylosis, as well as in the hips. After gently lifting King on the table to conduct a physical examination, I noted that the dog's eyes were still bright, with no evidence of cataracts or other signs of aging; that his teeth were solid, showing little dental tartar; and that his lymph nodes and abdominal organs were normal-sized. His heart and lungs auscultated--or sounded--normal, too. His coat was in good condition, though a bit dry.
But when I conducted my neurologic and musculoskeletal examinations, I found that the dog had significant pain in his hips and back, which correlated with the findings on the X-ray. The nerve reflexes in his hind legs were greatly diminished, and the muscles were significantly atrophied, probably from disuse. When King placed both hind feet on the ground, they knuckled under, indicating that he had little sensation in the top of his paws, suggestive of decreased feeling from the nerves in that area. Fortunately, the reflexes in his knees were still good.
The nerve damage in the hind legs could have resulted from either degenerative myelopathy (a progressive debilitating disease more prominent in German shepherds) or from the spondylosis in the back impinging on the nerves to the leg. It is not uncommon to see both of these conditions simultaneously in German shepherds, which makes differentiating between the two quite challenging.
As gently as possible, I shared with Carol and Scott my sense that King's situation was indeed serious and then went over the treatment options available via conventional Western medicine.
Next I reviewed the possible approaches with alternative medicine and how they might work, especially if the nerve damage stemmed from arthritis.
I explained how--if the damage was not due to degenerative myelopathy--acupuncture could help by increasing the circulation to both the muscles and the joints (thereby increasing the blood and oxygen supply to them) and by stimulating the nerves to the hind legs. Acupuncture might also relieve some of the pain of the arthritis by stimulating the release of endorphins, the body's own painkilling hormones. It could also relieve inflammation (without the side effects of synthetic cortisone) by stimulating the body's own cortisone release mechanism. I also suggested we try supplements of vitamins E, C, and a B-complex to improve nerve functioning, as well as King's overall health.
Moments after I finished talking, Carol broke down in tears.
"You've just got to help," she sobbed. "King means everything to Scott." She told me that her son had suffered from Lyme disease for more than two years but that he had only recently received the correct diagnosis and proper treatment. He was now taking intravenous antibiotics because he had responded poorly to the medication orally. Scott's father, Carol's ex-husband, had only a distant relationship with the boy, and it was King who was taking round-the-clock care of him, lying by Scott's bedside during the months when he was most ill. The few times when Scott was able to move about, King limped along beside him, guarding him against falling.
"My son lives for King," Carol said, "and King lives for him. If King dies, it'll destroy him." As Carol talked, Scott glanced away, but I could see tears running down his cheeks.
I listened, fully aware of just how closely the fates of the debilitated dog and his young companion were connected. To suggest that there was nothing I could do for King seemed tantamount to sealing Scott's fate.
After showing Carol and Scott some exercises they could do at home with King, I told Carol I'd do my best, but with no guarantees. I explained that we would have to work together as a team, combining our positive energy with the physical therapy, supplements, and acupuncture. When they left the office, mother and son seemed happier knowing that they would be doing their part to help King.
We started King on acupuncture treatments, as well as nutritional and herbal supplements, and over the next eight weeks his condition improved. He was stronger, happier, and walking more. Each time he and Scott entered my office I could see his progress.
We weren't out of the woods, though, and whenever the boy's health took a downturn, so did the dog's. The opposite was also true: If the dog's symptoms worsened, so did the boy's. Still, both showed enormous resilience and determination.
As King improved, Scott relaxed around me to the point where he started helping me hold King during his acupuncture sessions, reporting King's day-to-day movements, and letting me know the specific ways in which he was doing better.
Because Scott showed genuine interest in the acupuncture, I explained to him how it worked and why I was using certain acupuncture points, such as Gall Bladder 34, located just below the knee at the common peroneal nerve, one of the most important nerves to the hind leg, or Bladder 40, near the tibial nerve, right behind the knee joint, which is also essential in stimulating nerves to the hind legs.
Scott was fascinated to learn that acupuncture had a scientific basis, that it was more than, as he put it, "just that yin and yang stuff." He observed how I chose my acupuncture points and how I attached electrodes to the acupoints on the legs. He watched intently when King responded to the electric stimulation with various groans and mumbles, and he noted how King was able to use his hind legs a little more after each treatment.
King started wagging his tail and holding his head up high. He was now barking at other dogs in the clinic, clearly showing more interest in life around him than he had just a few months earlier. Scott was also showing more interest, talking to other people in the waiting room, walking with more confidence, acting happier.
Despite his improvement, King suffered a series of setbacks. He was weakened from an attack by another dog. And he too came down with Lyme disease, but we caught it early enough to treat it successfully with antibiotic therapy. He then developed a tumor on his shoulder, but we were able to keep that under control for an extended period, too. At one point Scott told me that King was beginning to remind him of a cat, because he seemed to have nine lives.
Meanwhile, Scott's own rally was dramatic. His overall health, as well as his leg strength, returned to normal. He was able to play his favorite sport--basketball--again, as well as concentrate on his studies. Over the next few months, his work was so excellent that he won a scholarship to a well-respected boarding school, and he and his mother decided he should accept it. While Scott was overjoyed at the opportunities the school offered, he felt sad leaving his dog behind.
Less than two weeks after Scott left home for school, King finally died.
I asked Scott about this the next time I saw him, and the boy surprised me with his insight. Scott said that his parting with King had been the toughest moment in his life.
"King knew I'd gotten better," he said, "so he felt his job was done. He was telling me that I was going to be okay but that he wasn't. He let go. I could see it in his eyes."
Do animals feel pain?
Do animals have emotions?
Do animals know compassion?
Ask anyone who shares his or her life with an animal companion, and the answer to these questions will be an unambivalent yes. For example, Scott and Carol would tell you that not only do animals have feelings, these feelings can also create a wonderful life-affirming connection between the animals and the humans who love them.
But that's not the traditional view held by science.
In fact, if you care to believe many of the ethologists, animal behaviorists, and other members of the scientific world, animals are basically nonthinking, nonfeeling, nonexpressive creatures.
These scientists have a great deal of history behind their convictions. As far back in time as Plato and Aristotle, philosophers and scientists believed in a clear and precise distinction between humankind and all the other living creatures on earth. For instance, Plato felt that both humans and nonhumans had a mortal soul, which was located in the chest and belly, but that only humans had a second, immortal soul. Located in the head, it bestowed the unique ability to reason and served as the connection to the everlasting divine.
Aristotle separated humans from animals more severely. In his hierarchy of being, male humans occupied a place just next to the top, below angels but above female humans, slaves, and children. Animals, whose existence was solely predicated on the service of humans, could feel pleasure and pain, but lacked emotion and reason. They had little or no ability to make anything but instinctual choices or adapt their behavior to new situations.
Attitudes toward animals barely changed in the centuries that followed the classical era. Judeo-Christian tradition supported the prevailing view of humankind's fundamental superiority over other living beings through various biblical teachings. In Genesis, for instance, human beings are given dominion over the earth and all living things. (There is, however, some controversy over the translation of the word "dominion." Several modern scholars feel that the more accurate word is "custodian," which puts a refreshing slant on the relationship--and one worthy of new debate.) Church leaders developed this hierarchy further by describing biblical man as a unique animal created in the image of God.
During the Renaissance, science and philosophy began to establish themselves as disciplines independent of religion, but the gulf between man and nonhuman animals was not rethought. French philosopher Rene Descartes's famous dictum, "I think, therefore I am," proposed that only the thinking mind has the ability to confer conscious existence. Descartes felt that animals, mindless and nonthinking, were no better than machines, and he limited the possibility of consciousness solely to humans. An animal's range of action was restricted to species-specific behavior, its response to stimuli strictly physiological reflex, devoid of feeling, thought, or choice.
Followers of Descartes are said to have carried out torturous physical experiments on animals with the confident conviction that the animals' cries of agony were comparable to noises from machinery, no more, no less.
In their book on animal emotions, When Elephants Weep, Susan McCarthy and Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson quote a contemporary of Descartes: "The [Cartesian] scientists administered beatings to dogs with perfect indifference and made fun of those who pitied the creatures as if they felt pain. They said the animals were clocks, that the cries they emitted when struck were only the noise of a little spring that had been touched, but that the whole body was without feeling. They nailed the poor animals up on boards by their four paws to vivisect them to see the circulation of blood. . . ."
Descartes's belief dominated the scientific world for centuries, although some great thinkers, such as Voltaire, spoke out against cruelty to animals. He was, for the most part, ignored.
In my mind, the seminal work that signaled the beginning of the erosion of the classic distinction between human and nonhuman animals was Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859), which posited a developmental continuum of physical, mental, and emotional traits among all living beings, including humans.
In his 1872 book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Darwin traced the continuity of emotions such as fear, grief, and loyalty across many species; he theorized that nonhuman animals did indeed possess the ability to reason, to use tools, to imitate behaviors, and to remember events.
Even as Darwin was still writing, England's antivivisection movement was organized to oppose the use of animals in biomedical research, eventually resulting in Britain's 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act, which imposed a system of licensing and inspection on Britain's medical scientists. On the whole, however, Darwin's hypothesis about animal thought processes was controversial and was hardly popular with those who wished to retain the age-old sense of difference between humans and lowly animals.
Darwin's writings were so powerful that they took not just many years but many decades to be understood and assimilated--and are still debated today. Even now a large number of Americans doubt Darwin's theories, as evidenced by the recent (1999) decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to equate evolution with creationism in school textbooks.
Nor has the concept of emotions in animals been resolved. When I was in graduate school, we read volumes of work by ethologists, psychologists, philosophers, and scientists, each offering different definitions and perspectives on the debate--but all basically sharing a bias against any discussion proposing that animals had feelings. The behaviorists, who dominated the scientific pecking order, felt that all animal behavior could be reduced to fixed behavior patterns based on genetic programming. Those who thought otherwise were unlikely to see their opinions published. As a result, most animal scientists studying animal behavior during that time completely avoided the subject of animal emotions.
All this perpetuated a vicious cycle: There was no interest in studying subjective behavior patterns such as emotions, because if they existed at all, they were private to the organism experiencing them and therefore inaccessible to scientific investigation. In other words, they were not relevant because there was no documentation, and there was no effort to find documentation because they were not relevant.
Product details
- ASIN : 0767904311
- Publisher : Crown; Reprint edition (February 12, 2002)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780767904315
- ISBN-13 : 978-0767904315
- Item Weight : 8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.65 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,444,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #777 in Animal & Pet Care Essays
- #2,508 in Medical Social Psychology & Interactions
- #3,442 in Popular Social Psychology & Interactions
- Customer Reviews:
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Customers find the book interesting and informative. They describe it as a thoughtful, compassionate read that articulates issues clearly. The stories are moving and enlightening.
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Customers find the book interesting and informative. They describe it as a wonderful publication on a meaningful subject. Readers appreciate the insightful stories and consider it a treasured addition to their library. The book takes animal-human relationships to the next level.
"...It is an insight into the life of a vet, but especially for Allen having to overcome so many prejudices towards the way most of the people he was..." Read more
"read it cover to cover in a nanosecond. covers many areas of the human-animal bond and recognizes the significance and symbolism therein...." Read more
"...But this book takes animals and their persons to the next level...." Read more
"...He has alot of experience and openess to a wealth of traditional, reeeeeeally traditional, and non-traditional health information...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's pacing. They say it articulates issues clearly, and is written with compassion for both humans and animals.
"...the book, as did I. For people who already respect animals, it articulates issues...." Read more
"...Beautifully written with compassion for mankind and animals." Read more
"A thoughtful ramble through an enlightened vet's mind..." Read more
Customers enjoy the stories. They find them engaging and enlightening.
"Great story… meaningful and important🐾..." Read more
"...The stories are moving and enlightening. This is a book that is both educational and kind." Read more
"...The real-life stories were inspiring and insightful and Dr. Schoen's vast experiences give credibility to the wisdom of his beliefs and suggestions." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2022Great story… meaningful and important🐾
- Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2013We recently lost our dear cat, Oliver. I found this book on the suggested readings list at the local crematory, where we took Oliver. Dr. Schoen helped me understand the special bond I shared with Oliver and still share with our remaining cat, Olivia. The book also helped understand my grief and guilt and how to deal with it. Dr. Schoen is a truly amazing human being! I would suggest this book to any and all pet owners! I plan on reading his other books!
- Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2015Have only read part so far but really enjoying it
- Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2010I have not finished reading Allen Schoen's book, but have enjoyed it immensely so far. It is an insight into the life of a vet, but especially for Allen having to overcome so many prejudices towards the way most of the people he was working with looked at animals and showed little empathy towards them. Having read his earlier book, Love, Miracles, and Animal Healing I wanted to learn more from this amazing man. His interaction with animals he treats is amazing, and for anyone who loves animals I highly recommend this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2011read it cover to cover in a nanosecond. covers many areas of the human-animal bond and recognizes the significance and symbolism therein. lovely book and a great read, a great gift, etc. a bit sad in parts, but that is the reality of loving and losing, eh?
good seller communications and fast shipping. thank you; i enjoyed this book a lot and its a keeper! also it was in MINT condition tho i think it was advertised as 'like new' so i was pleasantly surprised.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2023safely packed, on time and as described
- Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2013His book, "Love, Miracles, and Animal Healing," was so wonderful I didn't think even he could top that. But this book takes animals and their persons to the next level. He has opened to door to all, including other veternarians, of the depth and sense of community we have with all our animals. I believe - no, I know that animals have emotions just like us - and that their unconditional love links them to us as only soul mates can!
- Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2003I wish Dr. Schoen (which means 'nice' in German) was my little collective's caretaker. He has alot of experience and openess to a wealth of traditional, reeeeeeally traditional, and non-traditional health information. I think this book serves as an excellent introduction to alternative approaches for a variety of human-animal exchanges. My pets (and when I use the term 'pet', I mean animal companion) and I are always looking for someone to tell us we're not crazy to understand each others' miscellaneous languages and other communications. Dr. Schoen, the nice vet, would understand. ;-)
Top reviews from other countries
- Patricia TimminsReviewed in Canada on September 28, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Love this book.
-
わんReviewed in Japan on June 12, 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars 動物の素晴らしさを実感
人間がアニマルコンパニオンの為に何をしてやれるのか、また彼らは私たちに何を与えてくれるのかを、たくさんの感動的な実例を通して教えてくれます。また、Dr.Schoenがそれまでの獣医学の常識とどのように取り組みながら、弊害を乗り越えて、アニマルコンパニオンの健康と幸福のために尽くしてこられたかが良く分かります。愛するペット達の為には、あきらめずに、更に健康で幸福な生活を与えてやれるよう、努力し続けようと思いました。多くの動物愛好家と獣医さんに読んで頂きたい本です。