VETERINARIAN WRITES BOOK ON ANIMAL BEHAVIOR APPROACHES
When somebody sees a dog or other animal acting out, one assumes they cannot be treated, which has led to many otherwise healthy animals getting surrendered to shelters or even euthanized. In most cases, these bad behaviors can be treated through special bonds and knowledge.
Dr. Sue Chan, a Vacaville veterinarian and owner of the Phoenix Ranch on Midway Road, recently published her first book, “The Whisperers' Way: The Essential Elements For Teaching and Healing Children and Animals Through Knowledge, Wisdom, and Heart,” which explores ways to deal with the behaviors of not only animals but also children through basic knowledge, bonding and relationship-building, among other things.
“I thought maybe this book will provide some interest in what I was doing and then help people with some information that isn't available out there,” she said.
Chan graduated from the University of California, Davis with a master's degree in preventative veterinary medicine, and her goal has always been to help people understand animals, including how to care for them and how to interact with them.
“I try to come from a practical background,” she said. “I did the food animal track, so I understand that (agricultural) aspect of animals, but then I also understand the bond people have with animals and how therapeutic it actually is as well as if you understand the animals and have that bond, it's easier to work with the animals.”
In 2002, when working part-time as a vet and single mother, Chan bought the property that became Phoenix Ranch which also became a home for her herd of miniature horses and a colony of parrots. Now she
has a mix of horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, parrots and a cat.
In 2007, Chan founded the nonprofit California Education Through Animals (CETA) Foundation, which was used to further the bond between people and animals. She hosted educational events, lowcost spay and neuter programs, animal therapy and an annual sheep-shearing open house.
However, the public events came to an end after Chan was informed by Solano County that she was not zoned for rural residential uses and was told she needed conditional use permits.
“I just didn't have the funds available,” she said. “I had to stop doing the on-site programs, and taking care of the animals was too much. I needed to stay home and take care of the animals.”
CETA ended up halting its public visits and has primarily been used for UC Davis internships until Chan can get the programs running again.
In the meantime, Chan has written “The Whisperers' Way” to promote the same concepts and techniques that CETA teaches. She was also inspired by her work with special needs children and feels a lot of the same strategies used for them can be applied to animals.
“In general, the strategies work for everyday parenting and dog owners,” she said. “This is how you build a good, solid, healthy relationship so you don't have the rebellion issues and things that come along with general parenthood.”
Chan said this can be evident in classrooms where kids may act out and then are either put on medication or placed in special education classes. Similarly, she said animals are often euthanized because of behavioral issues.
“A lot of that's just not necessary if you understand how to work with the dynamics,” she said. “If pet owners were able to use the strategies I use… this would help everybody in general.”
Chan outlines various concepts through the three components of whispering: knowledge — including information on psychology and biology that affects behavior; wisdom — the ability to apply that knowledge appropriately and develop new knowledge; and heart — which allows people to build strong relationships and apply the appropriate responses. The book also has a chapter dedicated to metaphysics.
“This book is a lot deeper than most people would expect,” she said. “We delve into a lot of the spirituality nature and alternative healing concepts as well as the whole concept of unconditional love.”
Chan also relates stories, including one about her daughter's dog who barked incessantly, prompting Chan to teach her a trick she used on her own dog where she picked the pooch up and hugged it.
“It works, and it's so simple,” she said. “I have a lot of simple tricks like that which save a lot of grief for people.”
One of the biggest challenges for Chan was getting the book published. She took a course on selfpublishing, but feeling overworked as the book grew over time, she hired a company to do the formatting, publishing and promotion. The company turned out to be a scam.
“I ended up having to take it back myself and doing it on Amazon,” she said. “I'm kind of a `do it yourselfer,' so I sort of muscled through, but it was a terrible experience. I learned a lot, so the next book should be a lot easier.”
Chan hopes pet owners and parents alike will take away that there is always hope.
“I know that these are effective because I use them all the time,” she said. “People that are dedicated teachers or horse trainers who work with horses that are problems, they understand the concepts and they go, `Oh yeah, that's right!' I just try to explain it in a way that people understand.”
“The Whisperers' Way is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats. The book sells at a wholesale price of $2.99 for Kindle purchases and $10.99 for paperback, but starting Sunday will go to $24.99 for paperback. Proceeds will go toward supporting the mission of the CETA Foundation.