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"In the veterinarian practice, people are told that their only choices are chemotherapy, surgery and euthanasia," said Roman, who runs Main Street Animal Services of Hopkinton (MASH), which offers the alternative therapies.
"But the fact remains animals can remain alive for years after a conventional vet would tell their owners to put them to sleep. Is it fair that the owners are never given a choice?"
She said that acupuncture, herbs and other forms of natural remedies can be used in tandem with conventional medicines. "They are more tools in the tool box to get the animal well."
Roman is an outspoken and controversial figure in veterinary circles, and she admits to some heated arguments with more traditional veterinarians at Tufts, where she once taught.
She said that when she brought Champ to Tufts for eye surgery in early 2004, doctors accused her of malpractice for not agreeing to euthanize the horse. "Your horse is dying and you are blind," she said she was told. "We don’t believe in what you do."
A spokeswoman for Tufts would not comment on that incident or the school’s attitudes toward holistic medicine, but she pointed out that Tufts offers many specialized therapies, including chiropractic and acupuncture, for all kinds of animals. The veterinary school also offers courses in traditional Chinese medicine.
Susan Weinstein, executive director of the Marlborough-based Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association, said she respects Roman but her medicine is unproven. She estimates that only a few dozen Massachusetts vets offer some kind of alternative medicine.
"Acupuncture and chiropractic medicine are the most accepted," said Weinstein, "but for the most part, the average vet is holding out for more scientific evidence of effectiveness. This is a very timely issue, and it would be refreshing to get something more than anecdotal evidence that these therapies work."
Yet, as in human medicine, alternative therapies also have passionate followers. Cassie Sammons, an Ashland selectman who also runs a rescue program for springer spaniels, said she kept her dog alive for more than two years longer thanks to Roman. The dog, Buddha, had contracted mouth cancer and an oncologist recommended radiation.
"I put Buddha on an herbal remedy and switched her over to raw food," said Sammons. "I also chose to finish the radiation. She was fine for two years."
"The oncologist had told me that she’d be gone in six months, and we ended up with 2 1/2 more wonderful years," she added. "My husband, who never liked dogs, always said that pound for pound, Buddha was the world’s sweetest dog."
And Roman maintains that Champ’s additional years -- which she attributes to her unconventional medicine -- brought great happiness to her family and to Champ himself.
"If I had not tried these other things, he would have been killed," Roman said. "The consensus was that he was dying, but he went on to have more than two more years of a wonderful life. I would tell him every day that, ’If you die tomorrow, at least I had you another day.’"
Those seeking more information about alternative medicine for pets should check Roman’s new Web site -- www.drdomore.com -- which is expected be up and running by the end of next week.
(Cathy Flynn can be reached at
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