I hope that did not seem too dry. It was a biography that was originally written to put up on America Online since I ran two alternative medicine boards for years before tiring of having the same allopathic versus homeopathic argument over and over and over again. Then I began to realize I have a finite quantity of energy and I would rather use it for cases that want true, deep healing rather than try to convert those that do not. I still work within the national political spectrum through the AVH, AHVMA, AHVMA Foundation and local associations to help keep Integrative veterinary medical Practice available and to help fund research and eduction world-wide.
There are so many ill animals and people that are seeking a better way to health and I am more than happy to teach and guide those that are truly interested and am starting to turn away from those that have already decided against and just want to debate without an open mind..
I have been giving additional though, recently, to what things about us would interest a client and help them to entrust their child (and these critters ARE our children) to our care?
I was born in February of 1952, have 2 children from a prior marriage and have been with Karen for over 35 years. I love to fix things and have built everything from houses to computers with a bit of furniture making thrown in for good measure. I am a person who hates to fail at something and will try anything I can think of to turn a bad situation around. I have trouble being patient and homeopathy has helped me learn that things need time to grow and to heal.
I spent 12 years after graduation creating a very busy, high tech practice. I did every kind of surgery including microsurgery and orthopedics. I had a fully equipped surgery and practice. I then found that I was spending way too much time on the business aspects and not enough on the patients. I had also written a commercial software package for veterinarians that was in use nationally. I sold the practice in 1990 and used the following year to work on the software, do specialty surgery and to explore other forms of healing.
In 1991 a local non-profit clinic lost their main veterinarian and I offered to fill in for a few weeks. That stretched into six years. During that time that clinic grew to five veterinarians. I found that I had to do surgery with old instruments and sometimes we did not have enough drugs or the correct supplies for a case. Since it was a “free” clinic and these patients had no one else to help them. We were constantly trying to find ways to help that depended more on the patient and less on the medication.
I trained in acupuncture, chiropractic and homeopathy during those years. I reached the point that I would only treat the surgical cases and left the vaccines and steroids to the other side of the clinic. Even with this limitation, I felt torn. Then came a pivotal event in my evolution. A puppy came in with parvovirus and I treated it homeopathically. Another puppy came in from the same litter the day I had to leave for a week of homeopathic training. When I returned I was told that the homeopathic puppy had died and they (the board) did not want this holistic medicine practiced at their clinic. I agreed to cut my hours, stay on and do surgery but also to pursue my holistic cases in a separate practice. This went well for a few months but I kept hearing about this puppy so I pulled the files and it was the OTHER puppy that had died. The homeopathic puppy went on to a full recovery!
When the “board” saw this they semi-apologized and said I could re-incorporate my holistic practice into their clinic. Things were so much easier as they were and I decided to maintain a separate practice. That slowly evolved until I had to leave Animal Welfare to deal with the patient load and my own sense of the correct way to heal. That opportunity came early in 1997 upon completion of the new clinic.
One of my long-term goals for Animal Welfare Society was the construction of a state of the art clinic for the indigent. This was sidetracked with the destruction caused by Hurricane Andrew but was finally completed in 1997. I designed and supervised the construction of a multi-million-dollar hospital and, upon its completion, left to dedicate myself 100% to holistic medicine.
I have finally reached the point where I feel I am, once again, a healer. There are people who are healers and there are many doctors who are not. To heal and to be a doctor is a great privilege and I realize how much of a blessing.
If you made it this far, thanks for letting me be self indulgent and listening.
Dr. B.
Larry A . Bernstein , VMD, CVH, CVA, PCHom.
VMD 1977 University of PA
Private Practice 1977 – 1990
Medical Director and Chief Surgeon, Animal Welfare Society of South Florida 1991-96
Private Consultation Practice – Natural Holistic Health Care 1994- 2005
Instructor in Holistic Veterinary Medicine – Miami Dade Community College 1995
Certification 1993 IVAS- International Veterinary Acupuncture Society
Certification 1995 AVH – Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy
Advanced training in Veterinary Chiropractic – American Veterinary Chiropractic Association 1995
Advanced Homeopathy Session of the AVH Orlando 1994, Eugene 1996
Graduate Advanced Homeopathy Course Tiburon 1998
Diplomate Dynamis School – Jeremy Sherr 1999-2001
Diplomate New England School of Homeopathy 2003-2004 I
instructor AVH Advanced Session at AHVMA 2003
Instructor AVH Advanced Session at AHVMA 2004
Speaker – Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy Conference 1997, 1999, 2002
Advanced Homeopathy – Jeff Levy – 1998, 1999
Advanced Homeopathic training – Robin Murphy- 1999
Advanced Homeopathy Meeting in Denver 2000 , Arizona 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
FVMA Gold Start Honoree 1991
Past President and Honorary Lifetime Member Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy
DWAA Best Series Writing Award 2012
Holistic Practitioner of the Year AHVMA 2012
Past President South Florida Veterinary Medical Association
Past President and current Treasurer – South Florida Veterinary Foundation (since 1991) Guest Lecturer National Center for Homeopathy 2005
Lifetime Member National Center for Homeopathy 2005
President-Elect of the AHVMA – 2005
President of the AHVMA – 2006
Past President of AHVMA 2007 and President *again) of the AVH 2007
Advanced Lecturer – AVH 2006, AHVMA 2006, HMSSP – March 2007, AHVMA – Oct, 2007 , AHVMA 2008, AHVMA 2009, 2010, 2012
Guest Lecturer MSU Veterinary School 2009
Co-Founder and Treasurer AHVM Foundation 2009-Present