Practicing Integrative Medicine

Susan Mikota

Susan Mikota, DVM

Lori Tapp

Lori Tapp, DVM

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee engages a diverse team of professional health care providers to provide a unique integrative healthcare program for the elephants residing at the Sanctuary. Integrative medicine is "practicing medicine in a way that selectively incorporates elements of complementary and alternative medicine into comprehensive treatment plans alongside solidly orthodox methods of diagnosis and treatment" (Rees 2001).

The healthcare team at The Elephant Sanctuary supports the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine and the following AVMA statement: "The foremost objective in veterinary medicine is patient welfare. Ideally, sound veterinary medicine is effective, safe, proven, and holistic in that it considers all aspects of the animal patient in the context of its environment."

Over the next few months we hope to formalize our healthcare program and develop a written document that explains its many facets.

Susan Mikota DVM
Consultant


Dr. Steven Scott, DVM

Imagine being the only large animal veterinarian in your county when you learn that an elephant sanctuary is moving into town. Dr. Steven Scott had just such an experience. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Scott admittedly knew nothing about elephants, but he was willing to learn.
Dr. Scott checks Bunny's foot
Since 1995, Dr. Scott has provided his services and has proven to be a sound medical advisor for our elephants. In addition to the routine medical procedures of blood work and fecal analysis, Dr. Scott oversees annual trunk washes required by the USDA, takes x-rays, examines feet, tusks, teeth and any other body part necessary.

When Dr. Scott was requested to assist with the trunk washes, he was silent. Once we assured him that the caregivers would do the actual procedure of pouring sterile water into the elephant's trunk and then retrieving it, he looked quite relieved. Here he examines Bunny's pad. Her progress has been nothing short of life saving. When Bunny arrived in 1999 her prognosis was bleak. She had suffered from a debilitating foot disease for over 20 years, the same disease that kills three out of every 4 elephants that die in captivity. Fortunately, Bunny was moved to the Sanctuary which provides an environment that supported her recovery. In less than one year Bunny's feet had healed completely.

Dr. Scott was on hand when Jenny arrived at the Sanctuary in 1996. Like everyone, he was concerned with her injured leg. He participated in Barbara's tooth surgery, a first for all of us, including Barbara.

Dr. Scott examines BunnyWith his portable x-ray machine, he was able to take pictures of Bunny's jaw to evaluate the condition of an old abscess.

And when he made an emergency visit to the Sanctuary to examine a strange development on Tarra's bottom, we were prepared to hear the worst. With the seriousness of a surgeon, Dr. Scott examined Tarra's bottom, paused for a moment and stated, "She has a hemorrhoid." And, without the slightest hint of a smile, he recommended Preparation H. We all broke out into laughter.

But a very sad occasion brought Dr. Scott to the Sanctuary on May 19, 2001. No one close to Barbara, including Dr. Scott, was spared from the heartbreak when she passed away. He conducted her necropsy with sensitivity and reverence, which was greatly appreciated by all. In memory of Barbara, Dr. Scott generously waived his necropsy fee in Barbara's memory stating, "You are doing a good thing out here, a really good thing."

Visit Dr. Scott's website.


Susan Mikota, DVM
Co-founder & Director of Veterinary Programs & Research
Elephant Care International
www.elephantcare.org

Susan Mikota obtained her DVM from the University of Illinois. She spent much of her career at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans where she was Director of Veterinary Services. In 2000, she resigned her position as the Director of Veterinary Research and Animal Health at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species to move to Sumatra to initiate a healthcare and conservation program for elephants, supported in part by a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is a member of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group. She just completed her second book on elephant healthcare (with co-editor Murray Fowler DVM). She created and maintains the world's largest elephant bibliographic database on elephant healthcare and with Donald C. Plumb, Pharm D. has published the first elephant formulary. 


Dr. Lori Tapp, DVM
Asheville, NC
Homeopathic Veterinarian

Dr. Lori Tapp graduated from the University of Florida in 1986 then completed a Master's Degree in Veterinary Science. For several years she practiced conventional medicine.

In 1992 she completed a year of training with the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) and was certified in veterinary acupuncture. In 1993, she attended the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy's (AVH) year-long course and continued her homeopathic education with a 2-year internship focused entirely on homeopathy for animals. She is certified by the AVH in veterinary homeopathy.

Over the years she has attended courses on homeopathy in many places, including India, and has continued to further her understanding of homeopathy, healing and health. She has also trained in small animal nutrition. Since 1996 her practice has exclusively been homeopathy and nutrition and she has had the opportunity to treat many different animal species. Currently, she is also teaching several courses in the Veterinary Technology department at Asheville- Buncombe Community College in Asheville, NC.

Years ago, when the Elephant Sanctuary began its work, Dr. Tapp was put in touch with Carol Buckley and Scott Blais and worked with them through the first several years as they grew from just a few elephants to 8 elephants. She took a hiatus from practice for several years to further other areas of study and is thrilled to be back with the Elephant Sanctuary and to be meeting all of the fortunate elephants that have joined the Sanctuary in the last few years.

Homeopathy is a healing practice based on the principle that "like cures like." This principle has been used to treatment of all sorts of medical and emotional issues since the time of Hippocrates. A German physician named Dr. Samuel Hahnemann formalized the practice in the 1700s and physicians and veterinarians around the world have been using it to treat people and animals ever since. It is particularly handy for treating elephants at the Sanctuary because the medicine can be given without restraint or discomfort, in a small amount of water administered in the mouth or trunk.

If you would like to learn more about using to homeopathy to treat animals, visit the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy website: TheAVH.org


The Elephant Sanctuary Respiratory Protection and Infection Control Plan

This protocol was developed a result of collaboration with the Tennessee State Veterinarian, Tennessee State Department of Health, and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency prior to the arrival of the Hawthorn elephants in January 2006.

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