March 2, 2014, Charlottesville, VA

This is a website that was recently established, and will be constructed as time goes on.

For now, here is the Twitter-length description of what this site will do:

Shayna’s List will celebrate quality veterinarians and makers of edible dog products, and expose and hold to market account their opposites.

Some more detail:

Dog parents – especially first-timers – want to believe that they can trust their veterinarians. They want to be believe they can trust that the dog foods and treats that are sold by major retailers, and promoted as being “healthy” and “natural.”

I know this, because as I describe in my book, “Saved By Shayna: Life Lessons From A Miracle Dog,” I wanted to believe all this, too.

While I have certainly been very fortunate to have had some excellent veterinarians care for my beloved Shayna (primarily Dr. Anna Paling and Dr. Kevin Stiffler of Virginia Veterinary Specialists), I have encountered shocking ethical and possibly even legal betrayals, by others. And not about trivial things, but about the medical side of veterinary service. I’ve wanted to believe that these were isolated cases; that what I observed were not part and parcel of the profession itself.

Unfortunately, over the past twelve years (and through one recent incident), I’ve discovered that I was wrong. That there is, in fact, a shockingly ugly underbelly of the veterinary industry that only some veteran dog parents are aware of – and some courageous veterinarians are beginning to speak about (examples: 1, 2, 3). Neither are getting much traction, however, in part because (a) they are not organized, and (b) our society holds veterinarians in extremely high esteem. According to the most recent Gallup survey, 71% of Americans view veterinarians as having high or very high honesty and ethics, behind only nurses and pharmacists.

What I’ve discovered – very reluctantly – is that a growing swath of veterinarians:

• Have adopted certain practices that are demonstrably deceptive, at best – and legally questionable, at worst.

• Engage in these shameful practices for the sole purpose of padding their incomes, at the expense of dog owners’ lack of awareness of what they are doing.

Most tragically, in some cases, our dogs are paying the price for these practices, with their health and longevity.  I realize that most people, and most dog parents, find all this hard to believe.

Shayna’s List will be dedicated to exposing the truth, and arming dog parents with the knowledge to draw a clear dividing line between veterinarians who are engaged in honest, dog-focused practices – and those who appear to be doing so, but are, in fact, committed primarily to padding their income, through deception, dishonesty and manipulation.

Similarly, on the edible dog product side, there are makers of dog foods and treats who are committed to producing quality, healthful items, and labeling them accordingly. And then, there are other makers who are committed to appearing to do this, but are in fact producing items that are unhealthful or harmful to dogs, yet employ elaborate marketing and PR campaigns to disguise the reality. See a sample photo-essay I wrote about this issue here.

In a particularly insidious overlap, in some instances veterinarians themselves market these products in their clinics – not because they believe in them, but rather, because the maker pays them to do so.

Shayna’s List will also be dedicated to exposing the truth about edible dog products, and arming dog parents with the knowledge to draw a clear dividing line between those who sell healthful items, and those who, through deception and dishonesty, sell the opposite.

Shayna’s List will be dedicated to doing these things in honor of my “miracle dog,” Shayna Angele Sutz, who helped to save my spirit after 9/11, and to enable me to become a more complete, self-assured person. Through Shayna’s List, I want her name to always be associated with something positive for her dog friends – and those who, like me, become passionately dedicated to doing the best we can to ensure their health, happiness and longevity.