#2: Richard Pitcairn: Viruses and Immunity


Last Updated on January 19, 2026 by Will Falconer, DVM

#2: Richard Pitcairn: Viruses and Immunity

Meet Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD, one of my chief mentors who taught me the modality that I fell in love with: veterinary homeopathy. I was lucky enough to land in his first Professional Course in Veterinary Homeopathy back when I was retooling as a holistic vet, in 1992.

I asked Richard to join me in his role as a virologist and immunologist, as that’s the work he did after some years in vet practice, when he left to join the faculty at Washington State University, teaching epidemiology and public health.

Homeopathic practice followed years later and changed everything, as it often does, but I want you to hear some of Richard’s wisdom on just who these tiny viruses are and how we and your animals have managed to live with them for millennia.

Some of the highlights you’ll hear:

  • 99.9% of microorganisms (viruses and bacteria, mostly) do NOT cause disease

  • Our own bodies (and those of your pets, to be sure) have far more cells in and on them that are microbial cells than our own cells!

  • “It’s not in the virus’s best interest to invade the body and kill it, because then it can’t grow.”

  • The immune system is so efficient that we may not even show measurable immunity to many things we’ve successfully fought off at the surface (skin, lungs, gut, etc.)

  • How we tend to blame the “bad virus” when the toxic environment is often ignored

  • How a vaccine thwarts the time-honed natural defenses and gets right into the blood unchecked

Join us for an eye opening discussion and a perspective that’s often missed in this “time of pandemic.” You’ll gain confidence and get some ideas on how to better protect your pets.

Dr. Pitcairn’s website

The Professional Course in Veterinary Homeopathy

Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats

Vital Animal Detox

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Coming up in our next episode, I interview Dr. Todd Cooney, a busy homeopathic vet who’s wiped parvo from his patient population!

You’ll learn the vast difference in outcomes when dogs get parvo after being vaccinated for it (<– Yep, that’s quite common) vs those pups who (rarely) get it after only homeopathic protection.

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