To clear up some misconceptions: First, comfrey does not have proven efficacy against tooth decay, either as a preventative or to reverse decay that's already underway. Safety as a mouth rinse is probably not a major concern apart from possible local irritation, if one is careful not to swallow any. Many responsible herbalists recommend against any internal use of comfrey because of the risk of pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicity, implicated in some cases of acute liver failure and a concern for possible carcinogenicity. Oral formulations are banned in most countries for this reason. Young children are especially susceptible to toxicity from comfrey (even a few days of taking comfrey internally can be fatal). Contrary to what's been stated, acute liver failure is not a significant consideration when it comes to use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Tylenol (acetominophen, which can be hepatotoxic) is not an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) like aspirin or Motrin. Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory agent - it works by a different mechanism than NSAIDS to reduce pain and fever. Used in proper dosage and not combined with other things that can damage the liver (i.e alcohol) it is a generally safe as well as effective drug. The real problem is when people take too much, which may happen when they combine or otherwise overdose on over-the-counter cold meds. The big difference between Tylenol and comfrey is that Tylenol is a proven effective drug. Comfrey may have limited value in topical pain control (when applied for limited periods on unbroken skin), but in general the claims made for it have not been backed by quality studies (something to consider when weighing a decision whether to ingest it). You cannot count on drying to significantly reduce the harmful alkaloids. Unfortunately, you also can't count on comfrey sellers to be knowledgeable and upfront about the composition of their products in our current, largely unregulated supplement market. I rarely take acetominophen, but feel a lot more confident about its safety than I do comfrey. And based on what we've seen already, if Americans began to ingest comfrey as commonly as they do acetominophen, it's extremely likely that comfrey would quickly pass acetominophen as the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S.

My DD is a vet. When someone complains about the price of a visit to the vet's office, all they are considering is the time they spend with the vet. I suggest that everyone looks around the vet office and realize that there overhead and employees that must be paid through the fees the vet charges. A vet office has employees other than the vet and vet tech. There may be an office manager, receptionist, etc. that must be paid. The exam rooms have to be cleaned between patients. The office must be kept clean. There is rent, insurance, maintenance and utilities that must be paid. Office supplies, computers, software etc are more expenses. Labs (physical space and supplies) must be paid for. Xray machines are expensive and take up space. A vet's office has more or less the same expenses as a doctor's office. There is far more to running a vet's office than just what the vet gets paid.

As a Diamond distributer we got a letter from Diamond that unknown to them American Nutrition put rice gluten in some of their products and they recalled these. UNKNOWN TO THEM! I can hardly belive that! We distribute Diamond because they told us they make their own products, they don't. boopadaboo, I was driving down the highway the other day and thought about the recall and all the animals people love and gave them the best they could give them. I thought about you and Sadie, it was as if my heart was breaking I started crying and just couldn't stop, well I did stop my truck and just sat on the side of the highway and cried. It is sad enough knowing about the cats and dogs not valued but I always thought when they get their good home they will be safe. We are so powerless. There is someway we can take our power back from the companies that are controling our food supply, by making them accountable. It is only about money for them.

Our 7 year old dog had a dental cleaning in April. Cost (with our 13% Ontario taxes) was $1,000. Three teeth were treated for gingivitis - no extractions. Had he required extractions (and I am not including a Canine tooth, because that really costs) the bill would have been closer to $1,500. Because he is 7 he required the geriatric blood panel (7 is not old for a 22 lb. American Eskimo but 7 is the magic number for "mature" dogs). He of course had to be knocked out for the procedure - had the EKG, the meds etc. etc. I agree, having a dog is very expensive these days. At the moment he has an abscessed cornea - diagnosed as Conjunctivitis May 25 (we noticed a bit of discharge night of May 24 and were at vet's next day - our guy has very clear eyes). So we used the antibiotics for 12 days, he was rechecked - needed more antiobiotics. Finally seemed to be clearing and then boom, the real culprit showed up - it was an eye ulcer. Responded well at first to the must give every 3 hours from the fridge drops but then stopped healing. We were sent to the board certified animal eye specialist and there are not that many in Ontario - who diagnosed the abscess. Regular vets do not have the major magnifying equipment that specialists do. So 4 types of drops for quite some time - they wanted to delay surgery to see if eye would scar over. It is working so for - we are now down to one set of drops - with next appointment being in Oct. We have been to the eye specialist 5 times now. I worry though because just as with people abscesses always seem to retain that bit of pus. Personally I would have wheeled him in to surgery right away (we used to have mini Dachshunds who had worst case neck/back disc disease - so in my mind why delay the inevitable). But for the moment, the eye is scarring white as opposed to yellow, but we have to keep a close watch. We have no idea what caused this. We do have pet insurance - it was a Canadian Plan - cost was reasonable, but the company wanted to expand into the U.S. - so they bought a U.S. company and now the company is American with a Canadian Branch. They do NOT cover Rechecks - and that is where the major $$$ come in. The original plan never did cover the initial consultation, but every time we go back in there is a huge bill - for the recheck. Since this has been going on since May 25 you can imagine the bills - and we have been reimbursed about $500. Our premiums used to be $32 a month - they are now closer to $80 a month for the same age group that he was when enrolled in 2005 - and until this eye issue we had no claims. The plan now offers better options to new subscribers - started in 2009 or so -not available to original clients - which has caused a lot of unhappiness. The plan was great when it started - we had planned on just having a savings account. A lot of people signed up for it and are now not happy with the changes. But when your dog is 7 1/2 years old you are afraid to drop the coverage. The complaints at the specialist's office are all the same - rechecks should be covered. Of course our plan covers only major medical/accident. We have to keep our pup in good health -so the $1,000 for the teeth was preventative, he had to be neutered (no argument there), has to have all of his shots (done). He is on Heartworm 12 months a year - the vets have found that this generally prevents stomach disorders during our so-called winter weather - and so far so good. Yes, a 12 month supply of Sentinel is expensive, but not as expensive as a vet visit in January and requiring antibiotics. He also gets the Kennel Cough shot because he goes to daycare one day a week, is occasionally home boarded and gets groomed. Also there were major outbreaks of KC in Toronto in 2007 and 2010 - with 2010 being especially bad. Vets had to stop performing regular surgeries and their waiting rooms were full of KC patients - it was a nasty strain that frequently turned into pneumonia. No, the vaccination will not prevent your pup from catching a different strain of KC but vets have found that if your pup has been vaccinated, recovery is generally quicker - certainly was for our dog in 2007. Got him in fast - in 1977 we almost lost a just adopted dog to KC so we don't wait. He also gets the Lepto shot since there was an outbreak in Toronto a few years ago and I met the sole survivor. Thank heavens his food was not on the recall list a few years ago during the China debacle. We have great vets who love dogs as do their vet techs. Running a practice in Toronto is not cheap - and owning a dog is becoming extremely costly. We are in our 60s and our guy will be our last pet - cost being one of the factors. But since an Eskie can easily live to be 18 we have several years to go. I can't imagine not having a dog (well in the cold of winter when he needs to go out I can dream) - but we won't be able to afford one. I remember our Beagle who lived to be almost 20, adopted at age 7 from the Humane Society. Except for the then require shots, he never had a health issue - barring the original KC incident. I remember when Top Choice was a quality food. What scares me more than procedures are what the blood panels can reveal - came as a shock to me a few years ago.