...will not be written by me.
It has already been written by a veterinarian named Allen Schoen.
Its not an accident that my practice is named Kindred Spirits....Dr. Schoen's book was an inspiration to me at a turning point in my own career.
Nearly 10 years ago, I was working at Veazie Veterinary Clinic. I have enormous respect for the other vets and staff that worked together to make Veazie Veterinary Clinic a state of the art practice. All 3 other veterinarians had found an area of interest (or several) that they excelled at. The practice was founded by Chris Miles, later adding Dave Cloutier, then me, then Stephanie Monk. Chris did minimally invasive surgery with endoscopy and laparoscopy, Dave brought cardiology and orthopedic surgery to the next level, I focused on ophthalmology (get it?...focused on ophthalmology?) and acupuncture and Stephanie was starting ultrasound and chemotherapy. Together, we provided next level care to many pets. We had a laser. The whole thing was kind of cool...and I still think that it is.
One winter Mary and I went away to a camp in New Brunswick. We took off a week, and snowshoed, cross country skiied, but mainly watched the snow and read. The book I brought was Kindred Spirits by Allen Schoen. I had seen the book at Borders and his name caught my eye because he had written my Veterinary Acupuncture textbook.
The fact is, my connection to him was even earlier than that textbook.
I had a patient who responded extremely well to acupuncture when I first moved to Maine. The only person who was certified in our area at the time was in Bar Harbor. I couldn't deny that this patient that I had treated for a year with antiinflammtories did way better with acupuncture. I decided to look into it. The next year there was a conference sponsored by the Maine Veterinary Medical Association.
It was in Portland.
The speaker was Allen Schoen DVM... I had never heard of him. At the end of that day, I at least felt like there was enough scientific validation that acupuncture aided the healing process to look into it a bit more deeply. In the back of the room he had brought a few books and I bought one. He offered to sign anyone's book, I declined.
Stupid me.
So a few years later I saw this book :
Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans and Animals Can Change the Way we Liveand I bought it. In New Brunswick I read how he felt so connected to his patients. How he cried when he lost a dog with heartworm. How his connection with his pets when he was a boy was always so strong...he had written a letter to his mother when he was a child saying that when he grew up, he wanted to help animals that could not be helped in any other way.
Tears ran down my own face as I felt a Kindred Spirit in him. Freezing my butt off in New Brunswick, but totally inspired to find my own individual way of being a veterianarian. I came back from that trip feeling less connected with the technology of healing and more connected with the heart of healing. Mary totally believed in me, and she still does.
With my colleagues and Mary's support, I struck out on my own and decided to start a smaller clinic. We talked about names...but there was only one....Kindred Spirits. I would control the growth by limiting the number of clients. I would not try to be a hospital, I wanted to have a small heartful clinic. Mary and I found a building. I passed it every day. I called the town office. They gave me the name of the owner.
I called him and asked him if he wanted to sell it. He didn't. But his wife did. Eventually we came to a deal that worked. Two friends of ours (Dick and Troy) made our design a reality. We opened 5 years ago last March. You know the rest of the story.
I have a clear memory of Dick and Troy working on the building, everything covered in drywall dust. In the center of the clinic (where the door to the back is now) sat an upside down drywall compound bucket with the book Kindred Spirits sitting on top covered with dust. I brushed it off.
When we got the Hoosier that sits in the waiting area, I put the book in the door next to the flour sifter. For the first 2 years the book sat in the waiting area. Some of you asked about it. If you did, I told you this story already.
About 2 years ago we took the doors off the Hoosier because people kept smacking their head on them on the way to the bathroom. I put the book and the doors in my upstairs closet.
When I came back from the writing conference, I googled Kindred Spirits and Allen Schoen. Turns out he has been a busy bee since he last inspired me. He started a website called the Kindred Spirits Project.
I stole his name for the clinic, but he stole our font. I have proof. The people at the sign place now call it the Mary Jude font.
Dr. Schoen has continued to push the boundaries of integrative/complementary healing way past where I practice. I think it is amazing and highly recommend you surf his site. There is a ton of information on the human animal bond, integrative healing techniques, mind/body medicine, the list is endless. I am reminded as I read his articles why it was that he was such an inspiration to me to begin with.
We all need spiritual guides. I have told you guys before about Cheryl Richardson and how much of an inspiration she is to me. Similarly, I think Andrew Weil and Thich nhat Hanh are very cool. But I never told you about Allen Schoen, and as I think about it, his influence as a guide for me has been huge. By writing from his heart, he touched me at a time that took my career in a different direction. The weird part is that I met him and didn't even know that he would one day make a difference in my life.
You'll notice the book is back in a place of honor in the practice.
Thank you Dr. Schoen....sorry about the stealing-the-name thing. I'll make it up to you by sending you my favorite clip of the week.
