The 2-hour Friday “Nutrition Night” began as a way to inform students in the Animal Normalization
Therapy (ANT) classes about the latest research on gluten and how to conduct some basic nutritional
assessment (e.g., vitamin and mineral deficiency, sugar handling, digestion, endocrine, and immune)
via reflex points, muscle, and lingual neural testing. Whenever possible, discussions ensued relating
what they learned to their canine patients.

The positive response from the students provided the incentive to continue with a 1-hour Saturday
Nutrition Morning, in an organized and progressive manner.

Meet Karen Dvornich
As a former wildlife biologist and wildlife rehabilitator, Karen is very keen on the value of eating the
right foods for good health and survival. Getting a sick or injured wild animal to eat, and knowing if
the food is adequate is a lot of trial and error. One has to learn to “read” body language, gaits,
posture, behavior, become proficient in analyzing feces, and research what others have discovered.

After spending seven years as part of a team developing habitat maps for all the terrestrial species in
Washington State, learning what wildlife ate for sustenance and medicinal purposes provided a new
perspective on animal nutrition.

In 2007, Karen began taking ANT classes that linked inadequate nutrition with musculo-skeletal
signs, especially with gluten. This was more than reading body language…this was feeling body
language, learning how to put tension at ease, then modify the diet to maintain the reduced tension.

After retiring from the University of Washington in 2011, Karen became a certified Nutritional
Therapy Practioner for people with training that focused on palpating reflex points to identify
systems and organs that were stressed. The similarities between ANT and nutritional therapy
were remarkable. When not working with people and pets on nutrition, Karen became certified
in ANT. She is a teacher’s assistant in the classes and helps with the manual revisions.

To learn more, visit Karen’s website.