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Interview with Iris Bell, Author of "Chew on Things"

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         Views: 1969
2008-08-04 05:07:59     
Article by Juanita Watson

Dr. Iris Bell is a psychiatrist, university professor, and has been a researcher in areas related to complementary and alternative medicine for 30 years. She was chosen as one of the Best Doctors in the Pacific region of the US in 1996 and in the entire US in 1998. Her passion is to teach people who find themselves with a chronic illness and at the start of their own difficult journey, a way back home to themselves and better health. Through her studies she has amassed a remarkable amount of information about the human psyche - she understands the physiology and psychology of worry. Bell teaches, writes, and lives in Tucson, Arizona with her three dogs -Rosie, Harry, and Charlie.

Juanita: Welcome to Reader Views Dr. Bell, and thanks for the opportunity to talk with you about your new book "Chew on Things - It Helps You Think: Words of Wisdom from a Worried Canine." Sounds intriguing, would you give readers an idea of what your book is about?

Dr. Bell: Thanks very much, Juanita, for the chance to tell you and your readers about the Chew on Things hard cover gift book. This full-color photo-essay is a humorous and inspirational explanation of how to cope with everyday life as seen through the eyes of my eccentric dog Casey, a soft-coated wheaten terrier. I called him Casey B. Worrywart, Dogtor of Philosophy, because of his combination of nervousness and soulfulness in how he behaved.

Casey was a worrier - he would hyperventilate, pace in and out of the room, chew on things like rocks, trees, flowers or vegetables - or buy time to think about what to do by diving most of his face into his water bowl and almost inhaling the water, whenever he encountered an unfamiliar situation, noise, person, or object. Most new things seemed to throw him into consternation. Yet, in spite of his fearfulness, he always found ways to enjoy life, especially through simple pleasures such as chasing tennis balls.

In photos, words "from" Casey, and relevant quotations from famous people, the book offers an entertaining perspective for us to realize that stress is in the eye of the beholder. The point is - we all can become overwhelmed, but only if we allow ourselves to perceive something as stressful.

Juanita: Would you tell us how Casey came into your life and a little bit about him? What is your favorite memory of Casey?

Dr. Bell: Casey was my first dog as an adult. When I moved to Tucson for a tenure track position at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, I was finally able to buy my own house with a large fenced-in yard - and hope that I would be able to stay put for a while.

I love dogs in general, but I wanted a "hypoallergenic" breed that didn't shed because of my own allergies. Eventually, I learned about soft-coated wheaten terriers, saw a picture of one in a dog book that made me smile (they are supposedly the clowns of the dog world), and searched around for a breeder who was expecting a new litter of puppies.

Breeders have extensive screening processes for prospective dog owners that seemed a little like what I had to go through for medical school interviews. Eventually, I got accepted as a new dog "mom" and drove up to northern Arizona to pick up my puppy, who was about 10 weeks old. My co-workers, who were also animal lovers, threw me a puppy shower before I left. It was very exciting - and anxiety-provoking for him and me. I'd say that I hyperventilated all the way up to meet him for the first time, and he hyperventilated all the way back with all of the strange new experiences he was having away from his birthplace. My car even broke down on the trip - so it added to the adventure.

Among the many great memories of Casey, one of my favorites was the day that he made a breakthrough as a puppy from playing "small" to playing "big". He had been having all sorts of fun pulling out the short, thin plastic hoses from the drip system in the backyard that watered individual groupings of flowers. Every morning, he'd come to the back patio door with a little straw-like piece of the drip system in his mouth and delight in having me chase him all around the yard trying to get it back.

One day, after he had pulled up a most of the small pieces, I glanced out the window and saw that he was playing tug of war with the huge, long main feeder hose for the whole drip system that had been buried underground and spanned across much of the backyard. Sure, I yelled at him to stop. But, at the same time, I was impressed that he had stuck with it day after day, until he had hit his jackpot - a kind of life lesson about doing the little steps that eventually add up to a big reward.

All I could do at that point was laugh, take a picture, and realize that I needed professional help...from a dog trainer.

Juanita: Why did you decide to write this book?

Dr. Bell: Casey had a very eventful life of 14 ½ years. After he died, I started off wanting to share his story of courage and miracles in how he responded to alternative medicine treatment for a life-threatening autoimmune disease that he had survived for more than four years longer than what the conventional vets had predicted.

However, as I pulled out old photos of him at different points in his life to jog my memory about his life story, I felt compelled to remember the good times by putting words to what I saw in each picture, just for my own comfort and reminiscence. Eventually these photos and words formed the beginnings of the Chew on Things - It Helps You Think book.

When I attended a book marketing conference to find publishing help for my own book on alternative medicine for patients with chronic illnesses, I discovered that the publishing professionals were far more excited about the amusing little dog book that I had started than my more serious alternative medicine book proposal. So, I developed the early draft into the Chew book with their help over the next year.

Juanita: Dr. Bell, you have three dogs presently. Why do you love dogs so much? What is it about the canine species that connects with people so strongly?

Dr. Bell: Dogs are good people. I know that canine behavior experts tell us not to see them as people - they are animals, actually, pack animals. But, the unconditional love of dogs - while a cliché - is so true. And dogs don't put up all the public personas and masks that we people do. Dogs put themselves, just as they are, out there - with an authenticity and innocence that is lovable in and of itself.

Juanita: What causes a dog to be fearful? What suggestions do you have for other owners that find themselves with the similar issues?

Dr. Bell: Just as a disclaimer, I am a human psychiatrist, not an animal behaviorist. So, I only know what I have read and learned from the experts. Dogs are fearful for many different reasons - in Casey's case, there were some genetic factors from his parents. Extreme shyness can be at least partly inherited. I was doing research on human shyness at the time I got Casey as a puppy and saw some parallels there.

However, in many other cases, dogs who have suffered abuse or neglect or impoverished early lives can have difficulty coping with unfamiliar situations or strangers thereafter. It is so important for us as responsible dog owners to socialize and train our pets properly.

I'd strongly recommend that owners who find themselves with similar issues get some of the excellent books on fearful dogs and dog behavior by professionals in the field (there are helpful books listed at the back of Chew on Things - It Helps You Think) and to seek out a local experienced dog trainer to help their dog have a better life. Some owners give up on dogs who bite out of fear, for example, and surrender them to shelters, but there is hope with proper professional training.

Juanita: Do you think most pet owners take the time to listen to their dogs, and absorb what they can teach them?

Dr. Bell: Dog lovers know that their pets are each unique and special characters. Still, we often assume that we people have more answers about life than we actually do. It is worth taking the time to ponder - as Casey often did - what lessons our dogs can teach us about living, coping, and having the best life we can, challenges and all.

Juanita: How were you able to attribute human emotion/wisdom to Casey's behaviors?

Dr. Bell: Again, real animal behaviorists would appropriately question whether I could ever really know what Casey was thinking. That's fair. At the same time, he was remarkably consistent and predictable in his behaviors as certain situations arose. I felt that I did know him well enough to put words to many of his "thoughts." As a psychiatrist, I also am a professional observer of behavior. So, I'd say that I found wisdom as I myself meditated on what he was doing in these various situations.

Juanita: Would you tell readers one of Casey's favorite bits of wisdom?

Dr. Bell: On page 23 of Chew on Things - It Helps You Think, there is a picture of Casey sitting next to a pot-bellied pig on the back patio during a special training lesson. Casey's ears are back, and I can tell you that he really did look worried.

Here was this pig - whose owner was also Casey's professional dog trainer - showing off the tricks like sitting and staying better than Casey could do at the time. But, once they were allowed out of class for a break, Casey found his solution - see if the pig would play with him (the photo on page 25).

Casey's wisdom for this scene was - "...try to play well with everyone. Sometimes it's the best way to go. Everyone has his or her special place in the universe."

Juanita: Dr. Bell, what was the writing process like for you, reliving the precious moments with Casey, and pondering the depth of your human/animal relationship?

Dr. Bell: I smiled a lot. And it all came together with very little angst. When writing just flows, it comes from a source beyond the writer. Those are often the times when I know that there is a message that needs to get out to some as yet unknown reader(s), and it is my responsibility to shepherd it into the world for them.

Juanita: Throughout his life, Casey benefited from alternative medical help including surviving a series of health crises. Alternative medicine is a strong interest of yours Dr. Bell. Would you elaborate, and tell us how it benefited Casey?

Dr. Bell: Casey had vets who are skilled in both conventional and alternative medicine for dogs. The type of alternative medicine that helped him the most was homeopathy. When he was around 10 years old, I brought Casey to his local vet because of gradual weight loss and poor appetite. It didn't take long for them to diagnose a very serious and advanced autoimmune disease called autoimmune hemolytic anemia. He was making antibodies against his own red blood cells and his bone marrow was not replacing the lost blood.

He was gasping for air because of his lack of ability to deliver oxygen to his body. The hematology specialist told me that he had only a couple more days to live, untreated. She recommended steroids and antibiotics but admitted that, even if they helped, there were side effects and no certainty of saving him for any length of time with much quality of life. Having studied various types of alternative medicine in humans, I was open to trying vitamins and herbs, but he either couldn't take them because of his poor appetite or they just hadn't worked. I turned to his homeopathic veterinarian, who patiently interviewed me about Casey's symptoms and behaviors, tried a series of carefully-selected homeopathic remedies, and followed his progress with his local vet using blood tests.

Homeopathy is a very controversial form of alternative medicine in which the remedies, made from animal, mineral, or plant sources, are prepared by serial dilution and succussion (a type of vigorous shaking that probably activates the healing properties of the medicines). The homeopath chooses one remedy at a time to match the complex individual pattern of physical, emotional, and mental symptoms that the animal or person exhibits. The behaviors of the animal or person are key to finding the right remedy.

In Casey's case, one acute remedy helped with his physical collapse and appetite, the next stimulated his bone marrow to begin making new red blood cells, and once we had rescued him from imminent death, we determined that he needed a constitutional remedy for his basic fearfulness and autoimmune disease. The last remedy stopped the autoimmune process enough so that Casey lived 4 ½ years longer than predicted, and he died of old age and paralysis from a back problem - but with a normal blood count.

He never received the conventional steroids and antibiotics and he never required ongoing medicines to maintain his recovery from the autoimmune anemia. That is the remarkable thing about homeopathy in its ability to stimulate self-healing at a deep and, yes, mysterious, level. Many times, the healing carries on its own, without continued treatment, once set into motion, for months to years.

Juanita: As mentioned earlier, you have an extensive professional background working with the human psyche - pointedly, the physiology and psychology of worry. This is an interesting concept, would you explain?

Dr. Bell: Worry is one expression of anxiety, with the fear that something bad may happen. The body and mind are quite integrated with one another, even though some people think of them as separate. Worrying is a kind of dress rehearsal for the bad things that may or may not ever occur.

But we send unhealthy signals to our bodies during those frequent dress rehearsals. Our bodies experience the imagined future events as "real." It is the repeated experiences that can shift how our physiology works. In technical terms, worrying can end up shifting the allostatic set-point for how our bodies function, out of the healthy range and into the range where conventional physicians diagnose disease.

When we get anxious, we activate our well-known fight or flight physiological systems in our body. We release increased amounts of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, and drive our sympathetic nervous system to increase breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, shut down digestion, increase perspiration, and prime our muscles for action. If we repeatedly mobilize for fight or flight, we can end up with insomnia and chronic health problems or make existing conditions worse than they otherwise would be.

Juanita: Do you see similar effects of worry in both humans and their pet companions?

Dr. Bell: Again, I am not a veterinarian, so I can't say for sure. I am struck that pets live much more in the moment than people do. So, worrying for a dog like Casey is happening now. He isn't necessarily fretting in his mind as much about what catastrophic future event might result from the present situation in the same way a person might. Still, the present moment was often a frightening experience for him. Both people and animals can suffer the physical toll of repeated, frequent worrying and activating the stress system.

Juanita: What is the underlying message of your book?

Dr. Bell: The book is actually a message of hope and encouragement - to owners of fearful dogs and especially to people who worry a lot. Casey had lots of problems with his fears of the unfamiliar. But he also knew how to play and balance his life. He managed to have a good life in spite of the fearfulness that was part of his personality style. Yes, he needed help, and he got it. He didn't do it all on his own.

So often, we are impressed with amazing feats of accomplishment that other people achieve and we think that we could never aspire to similar levels because our circumstances, our lack of self-esteem, or fear of failure hold us back.

Casey never allowed any of that to stop him. Certainly, he pondered a lot and he watched and hung back - but eventually, he did get out there into his world. As he said in the Chew book: "Even if you're afraid of the world, at least explore your neighborhood."

He did, and his life was so much richer for taking the chance.

Juanita: I understand that you have a line of Casey B. Worrywart products available, and a portion of the profits from your book/product sales is donated to local animal rescue organizations. Would you tell us more about your products and why you've decided to make this generous donation?

Dr. Bell: As I got into writing the book, I realized that there were other ways to communicate some of Casey's points. We developed various items, including a Chew on Things Workbook for Fellow Worriers, mugs, tote bags, and t-shirts as well as an amusing poster on his Woe-Is-Me Coping System for rating the severity of your worries. The products serve to entertain, but also to remind people to get some perspective on their worries, laugh and get through the tough times in everyday life.

After I lost Casey, I discovered the whole world of adopting rescue dogs and found two of my current pets, Harry, a terri-poo and Charlie, a schnoodle, through a wonderful resource on the internet called www.PetFinder.com. This website is one of several that make it possible for rescue groups and humane societies from all over the country to post pictures and information about dogs, cats, and other animals who are adoptable, but homeless.

It allows people and pets to find their way to one another with the kind of information that can make it a better and lasting match.

Rescue groups perform a huge and noble service to save thousands of homeless pets from euthanania in shelters where there is simply no room for them. I want to do my small part to support this remarkable network of volunteers and professionals who save innocent pets from death every day and help them find foster and adoptive homes. We have also been working with the national Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier network to raise funds for their non-profit Genetic Research Fund and help find answers to some of the breed-related health problems.

Juanita: How can readers find out more about you and your book?

Dr. Bell: People are welcome to visit our websites where they can download a free copy of a Chew book excerpt, watch the upbeat book trailer preview video with scenes from the book and - hopefully - order the book and other Casey B. Worrywart, Dogtor of Philosophy products.

The websites are: www.ChewOnThings.com or our publisher site at www.CreativeBookworm.com .

Thanks again for talking with me today.

Juanita: And thank you Dr. Bell, we have certainly enjoyed hearing about Casey and your new book "Chew on Things." Readers are encouraged to go to your website and look for your book at local and online bookstores. Once again, thanks for the opportunity to talk with you today.

Today, Juanita Watson, Assistant Editor of Reader Views talks with author Iris Bell MD, PhD., about her new inspirational book for animal lovers "Chew on Things - It Helps You Think: Words of Wisdom from a Worried Canine."

Interview with Iris Bell
author of Chew on Things - It Helps You Think: Words of Wisdom from a Worried Canine
Creative Bookworm Press (2007)
ISNB 9780979165320
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (4/07)

http://www.readerviews.com/

Specialized in: Book Reviews - Reviews Of Books - Reader Views - Author Interviews - Book Awards - Literary Awards - Book Proposal - Book Videos - Book Trailer - Book Publicity
URL: http://www.readerviews.com
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