The Liver, the Kidneys, and the Power of ASC: A Simple Way to Understand Two of Your Dog’s Amazing Organs

By Jeff Feinman VMD, CVH.

The liver and kidneys are complicated. Really complicated.

The liver performs hundreds of jobs. The kidneys filter blood, balance fluids and minerals, help regulate blood pressure, support red blood cell production, and continuously adjust to what is happening inside the body.

Fortunately, you do not need a degree in biochemistry to help protect them.

During September at Holistic Actions!, we are taking these wonderfully complex organs and looking at them through one simple framework: ASC.

A is for Avoid. S is for Support. C is for Cure.

ASC gives you a practical way to think about almost any health decision. It helps you step back from a frightening diagnosis, take a conscious breath, and ask three useful questions:

1. What can we avoid?
2. What can we support?
3. What deeper susceptibility may need to be cured?

This is not about replacing regular veterinary care. It is about becoming an informed and confident member of your pet’s health care team.

Meet the Cleanup Crew

Imagine that your pet’s body is a busy, beautiful town.

The liver is part laboratory, warehouse, recycling center, and traffic controller. It processes nutrients, makes proteins, helps digest fat, stores energy, transforms medications, and prepares unwanted substances for removal.

The kidneys are the town’s water department and precision filters. They decide what to keep, what to release, and how much water and minerals the body needs.

Neither organ works alone. The liver, kidneys, gut, immune system, heart, brain, and nervous system are in constant conversation. This is why whole-istic care does not treat an animal as a collection of separate parts.

Your animal is not a liver value, a creatinine number, or a diagnosis. They are a living, loving, communicating being.

So let’s ASC what we can do.

A Is for Avoid

Avoid means reducing unnecessary burdens before the liver and kidneys have to deal with them.

Antifreeze, certain plants, contaminated foods, pesticides, rodenticides, and inappropriate human medications can injure the liver or kidneys. Even ordinary products may be dangerous in the wrong species or dose. Acetaminophen is one example, especially for cats.

Repeated exposure to lawn chemicals, smoke, contaminated water, or unnecessary medications may add to an animal’s exposome: the sum of what an individual encounters and how their unique body responds.

Avoid does not mean living in a bubble. It means making thoughtful choices.

Infections belong here too. Leptospirosis can cause acute kidney and liver injury. Lyme-associated kidney disease is uncommon but can be severe in dogs. A positive test alone does not prove Lyme is causing illness, so the whole clinical picture matters.

Avoidance may include tick checks, testing when indicated, safe water and food, and using medications wisely. Never stop a needed medication just because the liver or kidneys process it.

Avoid is not fear. Although the A in ASC stands for Avoid, it is also the awareness we have as conscious animal guardians.

S Is for Support

Support means giving the body what it needs to do its work as smoothly as possible.

Fresh, moisture-rich food may be one part of that support. But “fresh” is not automatically complete, balanced, or appropriate for every animal. A growing puppy, a cat with kidney disease, and a dog with liver dysfunction have different needs. Protein quality, minerals, calories, and hydration may all matter.

Individualized nutrition is more valuable than a generic “good food” list. The goal is food your pet enjoys, digests, and can use, structured for that individual with help from the veterinary team.

Support may also include:

• Reliable access to fresh (and especially structured) water
• Appropriate movement and circulation
• Restful sleep
• Dental and gut health
• Reducing nausea, pain, and stress
• Monitoring blood pressure, urine, weight, and laboratory trends
• Supplements selected for a clear purpose rather than added automatically

Two mitochondrial support supplements we will discuss this month are MitoQ and urolithin A.

MitoQ is a form of coenzyme Q designed to concentrate within mitochondria. Urolithin A is a gut-derived compound studied for its ability to encourage mitophagy, the clearing of damaged mitochondria. Experimental studies suggest both may protect mitochondrial function under certain stresses.

That is intriguing because liver and kidney cells need enormous energy. Most organ-specific research comes from cells, rodents, or humans, not clinical trials in dogs and cats with naturally occurring disease. Dose, formulation, and the individual still matter.

Supplements can support the workers. They do not run the show..

The Tiny Powerhouses Behind the Big Organs

Every liver cell and kidney cell depends on mitochondria. These tiny structures help transform nutrients and oxygen into usable cellular energy.

Think of that energy as the power that keeps every pump, filter, repair crew, and communication line working. When production and flow are smooth, cells have more capacity to adapt, repair, detoxify, filter, and maintain balance. When energy production becomes inefficient, the organs may have less reserve for dealing with infection, toxins, emotional stress, poor nutrition, or normal aging.

Mitochondria also help regulate oxidative stress, immune signaling, and cell survival. They are not merely batteries. They are active participants in the body’s conversation.

This gives us a useful bridge between modern biology and the vitalistic understanding of health.

Science describes ATP, redox balance, cellular signaling, and mitochondrial quality control. Vitalistic medicine describes the organizing intelligence that continually coordinates the living being. These are not identical concepts, and one does not scientifically prove the other. Yet both invite us to look beyond a single symptom and ask how well the whole organism is adapting.

C Is for Cure

Support is important. Cure goes deeper.

In the ASC framework, cure does not mean promising that every damaged organ can return to normal. Scar tissue cannot always be erased. Lost kidney function may not be recoverable. An emergency still requires prompt veterinary treatment.

Cure means addressing the underlying susceptibility that allowed dis-ease to develop or persist. Why did this individual become ill while another animal with a similar exposure did not? Why did inflammation resolve in one pet but become chronic and misguided in another?

Inflammation is not the enemy. It is part of normal protection and repair. The problem begins when the response loses its direction, intensity, timing, or ability to switch off. Then a helpful process may become misguided and continue damaging the tissue it was meant to protect.

From the homeopathic perspective, cure involves educating the vital force. A well-selected homeopathic medicine is intended to give the organism information that helps it respond more appropriately. It does not force the liver to detoxify or command the kidneys to filter. It aims to help the whole animal regain a more coherent pattern of adaptation.

We can picture this as restoring stable homeostasis: the living balance that constantly adjusts. The body meets a challenge, responds, repairs, and returns toward ease (from dis-ease). Mitochondrial energy production continues to flow. Immune and inflammatory responses do their jobs without getting stuck. The organs can use their energy for normal work rather than remaining trapped in an endless alarm.

This vital-force language is a healing philosophy, while mitochondrial effects are measurable biology. We can use both lenses to carefully, observe the individual closely, and judge every action by its effects on the whole animal.

Let BEAM Be Your Flashlight

Numbers matter, but your pet’s life is bigger than a lab report.

Watch BEAM: Behavior, Energy, Appetite, and Mood. Notice thirst, urination, stool, vomiting, body weight, sleep, mobility, breath, and engagement. Ask what is changing, how quickly, and in what direction.

A pet whose kidney values are stable but who stops eating needs attention. A pet with an elevated liver enzyme who is happy, active, and improving tells a different story. Neither observation replaces diagnostic testing. Together, the numbers and BEAM create a fuller picture.

Symptoms are clues, not enemies. They are part of the body’s communication.

Your Simple September Practice

Choose one small action from each part of ASC.

Avoid: Identify one unnecessary exposure you can reduce.

Support: Add one appropriate source of moisture, nourishment, joy, rest, or individualized mitochondrial support.

Cure: Ask what the symptoms may be communicating about your pet’s deeper susceptibility and discuss that pattern with your veterinary team.

Then observe. Breathe. Listen. Follow the BEAM.

The liver and kidneys may perform thousands of complicated tasks, but your role can remain beautifully simple. Reduce avoidable burdens. Support the body’s workers. Help the whole animal move toward greater vitality, balance, and resilience.

When energy flows smoothly and inflammation remembers its purpose, the body has more room to do what Dr. Mother Nature designed it to do: adapt, rebalance, and return toward ease.

Jeff Feinman, VMD, CVH, is helping to revolutionize veterinary care by teaching pet parents quantum biology. He bridges leading science with whole-istic, love-based care that supports every pet’s innate healing ability. Founder of Holistic Actions! and creator of BEAM and Conscious Compassionate Communication (C3), he empowers pet parents worldwide. Start your C3 journey with him and Holistic Actions! with the free 101 course: https://www.holisticactions.com/holistic-pet-care-course/