To every one of you who loves an animal like family — this letter is for you. Whether you have human kids or just pet kids or both, whether you became a mom in the traditional way or by quietly choosing to care for a creature who needed you — you are the kind of mother this world is built on.
I want to share something with you this week.
I was recording a conversation with my friend and colleague Dr. Loren Nations, and toward the end he shared a Buddhist idea that has not left me since.
One flame can light the entire world.
Not by burning brighter. Not by fighting harder. Just by lighting one more flame. And then that flame lights another. And that one lights another.
You don’t lose your light by sharing it.
You multiply it.
I sat with that for a long time after we finished recording. Because I think that’s exactly what mothers do.
You see, every mother I’ve ever known — and especially the pet moms I’m lucky to care for at IPWC — has been quietly lighting flames her whole life. She just doesn’t always realize it.
The flame you light when you choose to drive an hour to find care that actually listens.
The flame you light at midnight when you’re researching one more thing because something in your gut tells you there has to be another answer.
The flame you light when you tell another pet parent at the dog park about a treatment that helped your pup.
The flame you light when you sit on the exam room floor and refuse to give up on the dog who was supposed to have only six months left.
The flame you light when you ask the question that feels almost too quiet to ask out loud — is there something else we could try?
You may not feel like a change agent. But you absolutely are.
Every time you advocate for your animal, you are showing other pet parents that advocating is allowed.
Every time you ask a better question, you are giving someone else permission to ask theirs. Every time you choose root-cause healing over a quick fix, you are quietly pulling the entire conversation forward.
You are lighting flames you don’t even know you’re lighting.
That’s what mothers do.
We were never meant to do this work loudly. We were meant to do it consistently. With heart. With patience.
With the steady, unglamorous love that doesn’t make headlines but quietly changes the trajectory of the lives we touch.
Your animal is luckier than they will ever know.
And the world is genuinely brighter because of how you choose to love.
This week’s episode of My Dog Is Better Than Your Dog is my full conversation with Dr. Loren Nations — about metabolic health, the gut microbiome, and the future of veterinary medicine. It’s a beautiful, hopeful conversation and I think you’ll love it.
And if something in this newsletter is making you wonder about your own pet’s health — please reach out.
Email us at info@integrativepet.com We are always happy to sit down and look at the whole picture with you.
You don’t have to figure any of this out alone.
Happy Mother’s Day to every human who has ever loved an animal so much it changed who they are.
You are the flame.
And the world is brighter because of you. 💜
— Dr. Lily Chen Integrative Pet Wellness Center
