VETERINARIAN: MICHEL A. SELMER, DVM, MS, CTCVMP
Meet The Caring Vet: Integrative Veterinarian. One of only a short list of Veterinarians that have a Masters Degree in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine as well as a Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine Practitioner in the United States. Long Island Native. Published author. Athlete. Dad. Husband. Pet Parent. Holistic health enthusiast.
Dr. Michel Selmer attended Long Island University and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. Following his undergraduate studies, he was admitted to Michigan State University School of Veterinary Medicine and earned his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1995. Following his Traditional Veterinary studies, he was admitted to the Chi Institute where he graduated with the top honor of being a Master Certified Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine Practitioner (MS, CTCVMP). As a MS, CTCVMP, Dr. Selmer also holds certifications in Veterinary Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Food Therapy and Tui-na. After practicing as an associate veterinarian at an animal hospital on Long Island, Dr. Selmer opened Advanced Animal Care Center. Known as "The Caring Vet," Selmer is a published author and consults with other veterinarians as well as pet parents around the globe. In 2018 and then in 2020, Dr. Selmer made the exciting decision to join the Long Island Veterinary Specialists team and the East End Veterinary Centers team as the Lead Veterinarian of their Integrative Medicine Department.
Emphasizing Holistic or Integrative Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Selmer focuses on the examination and diagnosis of an animal, considering all aspects of the animal’s life and employing all of his senses, as well as the combination of conventional and alternative (or complementary) modalities of treatment. When Dr. Selmer sees a pet, besides giving it a comprehensive physical examination, he wants to find out all about its behaviors, distant medical and dietary history, and its environment including diet, emotional stresses, and other factors.
Holistic medicine, by its very nature, is humane at the core. The wholeness of its scope will set up a lifestyle for the animal that is most appropriate. Dr. Selmer's approach is gentle and minimally invasive, incorporating the patient's well-being and striving for stress reduction. His thinking centers on love, empathy, and respect.
This mixture of healing arts and skill is as natural as life itself. At the core of this issue lies the very essence of the word “(w)holistic.” It means taking in the whole picture of the patient—the environment, the disease pattern, the relationship of pet with owner—and developing a treatment protocol using a wide range of therapies for healing.
A holistic practitioner, Dr. Selmer is interested in genetics, nutrition, family relationships, hygiene, and stress factors. Many patients present in a state of “disease.” At this point the holistic challenge lies in the question “why?” By a series of analytic observations and appropriate testing the goal becomes finding the true root source of the pathology. A simple-appearing symptom may have several layers of causation. Only when the true cause of the ailment has been found is there the possibility for a lasting recovery.
It is at this point that the most efficacious, least invasive, least expensive, and least harmful path to cure is selected by Dr. Selmer.
In many acute situations, treatment may involve aspects of surgery and drug therapy from conventional western technology, along with alternative techniques to provide a complementary whole. This form of treatment has great value for severe trauma and certain infections, often outperforming other methodologies. Once the symptoms have been treated, his task is not complete until the underlying disease patterns have been redirected. The patient, as well as the client, will be guided to a new level of health.
Dr. Selmer is an accredited member of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, Long Island Veterinary Medical Association, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture, and International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, and a former vice-president of the Long Island Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Selmer taught full time as an Associate Professor in the Veterinary Science program at Suffolk Community College where he taught Comparative Anatomy, Comparative Physiology, Radiology, Imaging, Cardiology, Surgical Nursing, and Clinical Laboratory Techniques and Pathology until 2016. The passion Dr. Selmer has for his profession -- and his love for all animals-- has attributed to the high quality medicine that he practices. In 2010 and 2011 he was awarded Long Island's Best Veterinarian by The Long Island Press. He was also cited as one of America's top veterinarians by Consumer's Research Council of America for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
We take pride in keeping your pet happy and healthy! We thank you for trusting us with the care of your pet. As a member of The Caring Vet family, we promise to provide loving, compassionate care to every pet through our professional care and extraordinary service.