Picking Meaty Bones

It was in the mid-1980s that Tom Lonsdale began making the observations that would eventually take over his life. Heading several veterinary practices in western Sydney, he noticed that the mouths of most of his cat and dog patients were in terrible shape - full of blood, pus and loose teeth. Periodontal disease was not a term he could recall hearing at vet school. He knew that many people, including vets, thought the natural state of cats' and dogs' mouths was repulsive. But something told Lonsdale that what he was seeing needed investigating.

Almost right away he had a theory....