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The Naked Truth about Animal Health Care: The Dr. ShowMore Calendar

A group of bold veterinarians bare all (well, most of it) to draw attention to integrative treatment for animals

About once every three months, Heidi gets acupuncture for her joint problems from Dr. Gael Parks, who practices on animals in Northridge and on people in a separate Studio City practice at on Riverside Drive. 

The discussion revolved around the usual things needed to keep a 9-year-old shepherd running and playing like a puppy: Diet, exercise, glucosamine, chondroitin, Rimadyl, collagen powder -- and whether she really needs a ramp to get into the back of a station wagon, or is just being a manipulative brat when she refuses to jump in by herself.  Somehow, it always seems easier for her when we’re headed for the park with a tennis ball than to, say, t for printer paper.

(Despite living in total denial about the aging process when it comes to the dog, I think we’re almost there on getting the ramp.  Heidi tried one out in the parking lot at recently and she was tentative but generally accepting of the concept).

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At the end of the session, after Heidi had cheerfully removed most of her acupuncture needles with a good shake – luckily, not until the treatment was done – Dr. Parks presented me with something I didn’t expect: The 2011 Dr. ShowMore Calendar.

On the cover and inside, were a bunch of naked people. Well, at least one may assume that they were naked, although their private parts were discreetly covered with feathers or fur, tails or scales in the form of live animals of all varieties. 

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These were not costumes, but unique visual pairings of humans and animals. A chicken’s brown feathers seem to form the bodice of a dress. A horse nibbles at a basket of herbs a woman holds over her breasts. A tall, dark and handsome standard poodle keeps one human subject decent.  And you should see where this one guy positions his ferret. 

These are not mere exhibitionists, but an international group of veterinarians who were inspired by the 2003 movie Calendar Girls, based on the story of a group of decidedly non-glamorous Yorkshire women who posed for a nude calendar to raise money for charity.  Their first calendar is designed to introduce the general public and other vets to integrative medicine for animals, as well as to raise money for a documentary film project. 

Besides having an obvious meaning, the Dr. ShowMore Calendar is a play on words for the veterinarians involved. The calendar is produced by the Center for Integrative Veterinary Care, which also plans to produce a documentary on the subject called Dr. DoMore  (that is, do more, not Doolittle).  The vets included in the group, and the calendar, practice such alternative modalities as acupuncture, chiropractic care or other holistic techniques along with traditional Western medicine.  

“We thought about first aid kits and websites and other educational stuff,” says Dr. Margo Roman, who practices in Hopkinton, MA and was among those spearheading the project.  “[But] we wanted something to capture people’s imagination a little bit, so they’d want to know what’s on the next page and make it sort of exciting.”

Apparently, it has been – of the 5,000 calendars produced for 2011, the organizers have only about 100 left.  The doctors chose their own treatment modality, animal, and used "their own idea of how to obscure themselves," says Dr. Roman, who adds that she was "laughing hysterically" during her own revealing shoot, practicing acupuncture on a black standard poodle, the same breed as her own two dogs.

Next year’s calendar is already in the works – it includes an Israeli vet who is giving a remedy to a camel and well-known vet Michael W. Fox as the centerfold. Next year the docs hope to have a downloadable version available online.

Dr. Roman is from Hopkinton, Mass. near Boston and says she loves reading her local Patch.

People in Studio City are certifiably nuts about their pets – it seems that there are almost as many doggie day care establishments here as sushi restaurants (note to self: consider opening a dog-friendly sushi bar on Ventura).  Many of you are probably already using an integrative approach to animal care, and Heidi and I are not even going to begin to argue with you on what constitutes proper medical care, feeding or career choice for your dog/cat/parakeet. 

But you can learn a lot by watching a 34-minute sample documentary here. And, whether or not you become a convert to integrative medicine for your pet, you've got to be impressed by the fact that, after giving a lecture earlier this year to faculty members of the Chulalongkorn University School of Veterinary Medicine in Thailand, Dr. Roman received an invitation to perform acupuncture and homeopathy on a princess's cat in Bangkok (check out her blog post on giving kitty the royal treatment).

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