DR SILVER’s EDUCATION & TRAINING TAUGHT HIM THE POWERFUL HEALING TOOLS OF DIET & HERBAL THERAPIES
Dr. Robert Silver graduated from Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1982. When he graduated vet school he thought he had all the tools he needed to help animals and treat their many diseases. After about 5 years in clinical practice, Dr. Silver became frustrated with his difficulty in treating animals with complex chronic diseases using the conventional medical tools he had learned in vet school. As a result of these frustrations, Dr. Silver started searching for some new tools he could use clinically to help his patients. He found that the use of herbs, both medicinally and in tonics, and the use of home-prepared diets were two of the most powerful healing agents around. After developing expertise in diet and herbal therapies, Dr. Silver became certified in veterinary acupuncture in 1993 by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS), and shortly thereafter studied Traditional Chinese Veterinary Herbal Medicine with Dr. Huisheng Xie, DVM, PhD, who at the time was just forming his now world-famous Chi University in Gainesville, Florida.
ESTABLISHED ONE OF THE FIRST HOLISTIC AND INTEGRATIVE VETERINARY PRACTICES IN BOULDER, CO
For the entire 38+ years of his veterinary medical practice, Dr Silver concentrated his work on blending the best alternative therapies (for which there is good evidence of effectiveness) with the best standard conventional medical diagnostics and therapeutics to produce improved outcomes in his patients, especially those with hard to treat chronic and complex debilitating diseases. The veterinary hospital he established in 1993, Boulder’s Natural Animal, was one of the first integrative veterinary practices in the US, and served as a model that current integrative veterinary practices still follow.
VETERINARY MEDICAL CANNABIS EXPERTISE
Dr. Silver’s integrative and holistic practice in Boulder, Colorado, during the legalization of medical and adult-use cannabis in Colorado, gave him a first-hand understanding of how this herb works in animals. Dr. Silver has authored three chapters in two published textbooks by Springer on Veterinary Cannabis, Hemp Nutrition, and Veterinary Cannabis products and dosages. Dr. Silver has multiple peer-reviewed publications, a notable one being The Endocannabinoid System of Animals. In 2024, Dr. Silver authored the book, There's a Mushroom for That!, in which he shares his knowledge and expertise on mushrooms and cannabis for pets, providing a comprehensive guide on pet healing.
RXVITAMINS FOR PETS
In 1994, after Dr. Silver established Boulder’s Natural Animal, he was approached by a company, RxVitamins for Pets that hired him as their Chief Medical Officer to develop what are now 40 unique and innovative veterinary nutraceutical formulations that are sold exclusively through veterinarians. Many of these unique and effective formulas are available here on the Well-Pet Dispensary website to pet owners who don’t have access to veterinarians who normally carry these powerful products. Dr. Silver lectures veterinarians on behalf of RxVitamins, to teach them the science that underlies these complex formulations and to guide them in their effective use. As a result, Dr. Silver attends and teaches at many large veterinary educational conferences world-wide.
THE WELL-PET DISPENSARY ESTABLISHED
After his retirement from clinical practice in 2013, Dr. Silver established this website, the Well-Pet Dispensary, as a place people could visit to get hard to find, unique and highly potent nutraceuticals, herbs, and cannabinoid therapeutics, along with credible and scientific information to guide their safe and appropriate use of the pet supplements sold on the Well-Pet Dispensary website. Through this website Dr. Silver is able to continue his life’s work helping pets and their people lead healthier and happier lives.
CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR POST-GRADUATE VETERINARIANS
In addition to managing this website and helping pet parents find the right supplement for their pets, Dr. Silver travels extensively providing continuing education post-graduate classes to veterinarians around the country teaching them the value of an integrative approach to patients and how to use herbs, diet and nutraceuticals in their day to day practice of veterinary medicine. By teaching veterinarians, Dr. Silver is able to continue his life’s work of helping pets and the people who love them. Dr. Silver also offers a course on The Essentials of Veterinary Medicinal Mushrooms, where individuals can learn of the potential veterinary clinical applications of 12 functional mushrooms.
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER & CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER
Dr. Silver is also working with companies such as Real Mushrooms, RxVitamins for Pets and Elova Animal Health to help them provide high quality, well-researched pet supplements and nutraceuticals to veterinarians and pet parents alike. His role on the Real Mushrooms science team builds on his extensive expertise in developing nutraceuticals for pets, an area in which he has been actively engaged for over 25 years. Through his work, Dr. Silver advances the understanding and application of medicinal mushrooms as part of holistic veterinary care. Dr Silver is formerly the Chief Veterinary Officer of Folium Biosciences, one of the largest vertically-integrated hemp companies in the world, and there he learned the science and the business of hemp and medical cannabis.
COMMITTED TO HELPING YOUR PET FEEL BETTER
After nearly 40 years as a veterinarian, through this website, Dr. Silver is still helping pets with complicated diseases feel better and improving their relationships with their pet parents who love them and who look to the Well-Pet Dispensary for help. Thank you for visiting this site, and welcome to a new experience in helping your pets improve their quality of life together with you.