4219 Ingersoll Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50312
Call Us : (515) 277-0140
About Dr. Farr
After graduating from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980, I practiced small animal medicine in Des Moines, Iowa. I was treated by an acupuncturist in the late 1990’s, and was so impressed with the results that I enrolled in the Basic Acupuncture Course offered by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, successfully completing it in 2003.
In 2006, I completed a 220- hour course in Veterinary Chiropractic at The Healing Oasis in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, one of two recognized chiropractic programs for veterinarians in the United States. In 2012, I graduated from a three-year program in Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine through the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies, becoming the 31st veterinarian in the world certified in Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine. In June, 2016, I sat for the FAAVA exam (Fellow of the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncturists) and became the 22nd veterinarian to be honored with this distinction. I continue to be involved in improving my skills in these modalities through continuing education and studying towards further accreditation.
I live in Des Moines with my husband, Tom, and four very spoiled dogs. Also, three grown children who pop in from time to time.
My Personal Philisophy
During clinical rotations my senior year of veterinary school, I asked one of the clinicians if it was necessary to vaccinate pets every year. His answer was an unqualified, “Yes.” That reply was the beginning of my discomfort with the medicine I learned in school. While I believe allopathic, or Western, medicine can be extraordinary medicine (such as in acute medical emergencies or when surgery is needed), I believe it is only one of the many tools in the box and at times has the capacity to cause side effects that are worse than the initial symptoms.
For me, holistic medicine answers many questions my prior medical training couldn’t address. The holistic approach allows the nature of disease to be viewed from the perspective of the entire patient: his or her past medical history, emotional state, lifestyle, and spectrum of symptoms. When viewed this way, a pattern can emerge which points to a single, underlying root cause of that pet’s problems. Not only can current symptoms be successfully addressed, but future diseases can be prevented.
Holistic medicine also provides innumerable approaches to a given issue. There are hundreds of acupuncture points, and countless combinations of these points. There are myriad herbal formulas. There is chiropractic adjustment for mobility issues. As a result, my patients have more treatment options available.
Most importantly, this is a gentle medicine. My patients are treated on a couch or a rug in a home-like environment. It’s a quiet and painless medicine that feels better in my hands than allopathic medicine did. The ability to integrate this medicine with allopathic medicine gives my patients the best that all worlds have to offer.