MY RECOMMENDATIONS:

DIET— (NO more dried food of any sort).

Homeopathics:
• Pulsatilla 30c — once weekly for 4 weeks.
• Conium mac. 30c — once weekly for 4 weeks.

Supplements:
• Chondro Care — 1 tsp daily in food.
• Omega 3,6,9 with Borage Oil — 1 capsule daily.

Three weeks later:
A very runny stool inside when accidentally accessed sweets. Owner concerned that she is having less stools and smaller. (I said, that’s what we want, don’t pay for poop). Owner managing medication well.Coat appears to have improved in quality, body appears ‘firmer’? Lost a little weight. Owner asked if she could feed rabbit as they had many around their area. Yes, great food, skin, gut, take head off and feed whole carcase.

Five weeks from commencing new diet and medication:
Owner thrilled, no incontinence (stopped the Propalan when commenced medication). Much brighter, more ‘pep’, Advised to continue with the Pulsatilla and Conium on a once weekly dose. Monitor weight loss, observe stools, urine, general condition.

BEAR — Golden Retriever, Male, Neutered (13 year old)

HOLLY — A Rottweiler X Lab, Bitch, Spayed. Presenting at age 15 years.

The Owner’s partner (mum) has known Holly for 11 years.

Holly has arthritis in her left hind leg possibly as a contributing factor of a history of an old cruciate ligament tear repaired by surgery. During winter her legs become stiffer, esp. when rising. She enjoys the cold weather. She had a history of laryngeal paralysis; following surgery she still has some degree of impaired respiration, which is worse in the hot weather. Does not like the rain.

Initial consultation: Holly’s stools have recently assumed a grey / green colour covered in a sausage - skin like mucus. Prescribed homeopathic Mer Cor 30c. 2 x daily for 3 days. Stools returned to normal.

Partner noticed creaking of joints esp. in hind quarters and front paws yet veterinary examination determined no arthritis in paws. Holy loves the autumn / winter season, possibly because her breathing is easier in this type of climate. She was beginning to sleep more and there was a general slow-down (except her appetite); her gait became a ‘shuffle’. Holly also developed absentmindedness especially when she went to go outside and then forgot why she wanted to go outside (to toilet). Hearing has deteriorated although she 'can still hear the fridge door open'.

Prior to consultation a period of faecal incontinence was found to be due to a very deep seated abscess near her rectum.

Some urinary incontinence has developed, esp. when she is lying down although the occasional drip can be seen when walking. A herbal preparation, including Crataeva, Cornsilk, Horsetail, and Buchu soon stopped this problem.

Holly has a very strong constitution and remains her own boss.

Follow-up consultation: Although Holly’s diet was reasonable there were some items that were added, including slippery elm and dried nettle which was made into a tea and added to her daily diet. Partner definitely attributed the use of nettles to Holly’s overall improvement in health and subsequent longevity.

Initially placed on homeopathic Conium but changed after a few weeks to Causticum. Holly also had supplements of Chondro Care and the Omegas. Chondro Care did not achieve what we desired for Holly’s arthritic condition so this was changed to Boswellia which did alleviate her discomfort.

The partner (mum), who fortunately was a student of the St Francis' College of Natural Animal Health, observed that Holly used to be VERY private about her toilet habits but now walked along ‘pooing as she went’.. This shamelessness and her mental symptoms suggested the homeopathic remedy Hyoscymus to which she responded brilliantly.

Holly continued to do well, no more bed wetting, getting up and down without crutches. Her lipoma on her fore chest had been a hand cup-size — we had considered this in our choice of care although had overlooked its progress as we addressed other major issue; interestingly, this had disappeared nearing the time of her passing.

Sadly Holly passed away in February 2008, 3 days from her 17th birthday. Old age finally caught up with her but not before a great quality of life thanks to her talented mum, homeopathy, herbal medicine, good nutrition and a great team effort.

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GEM — A Pitbull X, Staff Tan & Brindle, Bitch. Spayed

Gem was rescued from a factory backyard, tied up to a fence with her mother, very little shelter, very, very little food. She was approx 1 year old at time of rescue. Her skin condition (mange) was so bad it was suggested she be euthanised.

Hair covered a mere half of her body, her skin so excoriated inside legs, belly and ears that it bled at the slightest touch. She was so itchy she would scratch until she bled. Her skin was very hot and she had a very strong odour. Veterinary treatment had been prednisone plus a bath in Pinetarsal and Malaseb.

Diet was canned puppy food, crackers, milk and bread, brisket and rice.

When presented for initial consultation Gem was good with people and other dogs, although freaked out at some noises. She did not like water (being bathed).

Her diet was changed to tripe and vegetables with some canine muesli. All milk, bread and dried / canned food was stopped.

Homeopathically she was prescribed a low dose of Sulphur 6c plus a herbal preparation of Chickweed, Cleavers, Baikal Scut, Bupleurum, Dandelion and Burdock in a Colloidal Silver base.

Supplements included the Omega 3, 6 and 9’s with Borage Oil (for her adrenal stress).

Adaptogenic herbs were prescribed to support her immune system.

Over a period of a year, with a change of diet and her herbal medicine program, Gem made progress. The heat left her skin, she settled more into life with less scratching and accepted her baths more willingly. Herbal support was considered imperative and some great Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs were used including Piccrorihza, Albizzia, and Hemidesmus.

Homeopathically she was prescribed according to her constitution with some skin support given in between.

After 2 years and excellent compliance by her owner, Gem looked and (obviously) felt, a million dollars. She has continued to do well and 4 years later is on a low maintenance simple herbal preparation. She continues to sparkle and share time with other dogs. Her coat remains glossy even through the hot summer months at the beach.

Update on Gem — 9 Sept 2009
Gem continues to do well and has spent the winter in Auckland without having to take her medication. She is really spooked with thunder however and she escaped from her home one particularly bad storm. Her owner spent two weeks combing Auckland (!) and phoning every animal shelter daily.

After the 13th day he finally found her in a Pound an hour’s drive from his home. She had been there for 11 of those days and the Pound were apologetic at not recognising that this was the dog the owner was seeking. However, it was a lesson and the house is now more secure, and Gem sports a safe microchip.

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STUART — Rabbit (2 year old)

Stuart is a loved family pet who shares the house and sleeps on the owner’s bed.

Thoroughly house trained, Stuart appears to be doing well and gets on with the other member of the household, the cat.

His diet appeared to be more than adequate with owners keen to provide a variety in his meals. All droppings were normal, behaviour appeared normal and there was little else to report.

Even as a youngster Stuart developed a history of recurrent abscesses and mandibula osteomyelitis. This has required anesthetics for debridement; removal of abscesses and drainage, The Vet has advised that if Stuart does not return to his normal self, or pus is produced again, the best option is euthanasia.

Stuart’s owners contacted me and we placed him on a homeopathic regime and a herbal immune support preparation including an anti-stress and skin health formula.

Stuart improved dramatically, however when his owners were on holiday Stuart experienced a little ‘down-turn’ in skin health again.

Another veterinary examination revealed Stuart was actually a’ Stuart-ess’. When treated for his / her feminine side of her nature Stuart-ess remained in good health.

This was a lesson for me in underestimating how much stress can be placed on an animal when our expectations are at odds with the animal; in this case, when Stuart’s real sexuality became apparent and recognised as such, she simply stopped stressing and her skin remained in very good condition.

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BELLA-ROSE — Dalmatian X (4 year old)

Bell Rose is my ‘miracle’ dog because when her owner first phoned me for help she was only hours from being euthanised and I thought — we need a miracle here!

Ella Rose had been unwell for the past 2 years on and off but the last 2 months had seen very rapid very high temperature rises with pronounced shortness of breath.

A week prior to consultation a chest X-ray and lab tests revealed Lymphangiosarcoma. She was rapidly losing weight and at the time of initial consult could not get herself off the floor. The owner had to carry her outside to toilet. Her breath was very labored.

My first consideration was to relieve the pleural congestion and a herbal prep including cleavers, nettles, thyme, withania and dandelion was commenced immediately. Adrenal support was provided by an omega blend containing borage and slippery elm was added to her change of diet to add to her nutrient intake.

Homeopathic Ant-t and Phos were selected and her herbal preparation changed to adapt to the improvements she made.

Bella Rose continued to improve, with the owner phoning sometimes daily, sometimes weekly, depending on Bella Rose’s condition.

She was commenced on shark cartilage (capillary fragility), and the frequent use of Phos 6c. Her weight took a little dive so we added fenugreek to her food. She has made what appears to be a complete recovery.

Over the years Bella Rose continues to improve and goes to dog agility training and runs in the park on a daily basis. A long way from the girl who couldn’t get up off the floor.

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BAXTER — Thoroughbred X Gelding (8 year old)

I found myself in the hands of a new owner last year, fortunately she was a student of St Francis’ College of Natural Animal Health. I was in poor condition and very unhappy and was scared over everything, even drinking from my trough! I got diarrhea when I was groomed and would rather go backwards than forwards.

My owner was very understanding of me and eventually I learnt to trust again. She made sure I had lessons on nice warm calm days and changed the mineral content of my diet especially the copper and selenium. I don't eat wood or dirt anymore, my Dentist now likes me and I enjoy my herbs that my owner adds to my feed, especially valerian, vervain and chamomile. (I think my owner took these too)! I now compete in Dressage with her.

BARNEY — Irish Setter, Neutered (10 year old)

Following each vaccination he would suffer distention of the stomach. These bouts became more violent — up to 4 times in one night with as little as a handful of food.

Barney had a history of that life-threatening condition, Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV) where the stomach rotates and cuts off the digestive passageway and blood supply. His first episode was at one year of age. Operated on at Massey, they noticed that he took in lots of air when eating. The consistency of his food was changed but this worked only temporarily.

As a puppy he was always hungry, skinny and all food including his milk, beef and rice just squirted out the other end. Often his stomach would swell after dinner.

He developed prostate problems, recurrent colitis and diarrhoea and a continuous medication of Maxalon, Vibravet, Peptosyl, Salizyn and pred drove the owner to my clinic.

On presentation he was a thin dog with a rumbling stomach, stools often liquid with straining and containing yellow mucus. Often there was blood in the mucus. He passed these liquid stools many times during the day. He did not have a wind problem.

He smelt ‘pongy’ and his breath smelled like carrion. His nose was very dry.

Prostate Cancer had been diagnosed 2 years ago and he had been castrated.

His diet was changed (no milk or bread, which he loved), apple cider vinegar was added on a daily basis and red meat avoided.

Initially he was placed on Vit C in short, sharp high doses and a canine probiotic, plus the homeopathic Ars alb 200 3 times daily for 3 days.

Owner rang 4 days later. Stools — no mucus or blood, no ‘rushing’ to go, can now hold on for hours. Owner used to have to carry him as he was so weak at times but now he followed her everywhere. Diet was pureed vegetables and cooked meats. Barney was definitely more perky.

Seen again two weeks later. Give homeopathic Phos 200c and a single dose of Phos Ac. Stools remained firm but after a few days was passing a little undigested food. Mentally bright and alert. A herbal prep containing Meadowsweet, Nettle, Alfalfa, Comfey root, Marshamllow was commenced along with an anti-stress herbal formula.

Two months after this visit the diarrhoea started again with the same old pongy odour. I asked that he remain on his cooked diet (he had gone back to raw meat during this time). A further herbal prep was prescribed along with some slippery elm at meals.

Barney gained weight, his stools remained normal and his stress levels diminished.

Seen again 1 year later for a little bout of dirrahoea, again diet re-assessed. Given Carbo Nux, Aconite and Eucalyptus together with a new herbal formula. Continued to do well.

BENSON — Long Haired Dachshund (13 year old)

Benson first came to see me at 8 years of age. He had a scurfy coat, red excoriated areas on both hind feet and a little overweight.

His diet was altered and he was commended on omega 3, 6 9. Initially he was given homeopathic Nat Mur and a comprehensive herbal prep. This was to be followed by Ars Alb 6c. Two months later blood started dripping from his penis and he was definitely looking unhappy. He was given a urinary / prostate tonic and the homeopathic Sabal Serr, Paier and Berb.v.

Recommended to see vet. Ultra sound revealed an abnormal mass around the urethra. The herbal prep was changed to include some anti carcinogenic herbs including mistletoe and he was commenced on Con mac 6c.

A further lab report at 10.5 years of age determined a well-differentiate tumour.

The penile discharge was always worse on exercise (capillary fragility)? and we started Benson on some Chondro Care (taking advantage of the glucosamine content), whilst addressing the issue of his progressive hind quarter weakness.

Although Benson continued to do well he experienced a sudden downturn in health being unable to pass urine. A catheterisation program commenced because of the urethral constriction.

I changed his herbal formula to include some anti spasmodics along with the Saw Palmetto, Hydrangea and Siberian Ginseng. Homeopathically he was on Conium and Thios.

I suggested we use the Bioptron Light on his prostate and urethral area every second day, anything to cut down the number of catheterisations that he needed. After explaining what I thought the light could do for him we started treatment for 6 minutes every second day. Within a week he started urinating by himself, albeit only a few drips. After three weeks he only needed to be catheterised every week and after another three weeks he was urinating by himself. He found a new lease of life and became more lively than for many a year, in fact he went for a swim in the sea for the first time in his life.

Sadly Benson passed away in April of 2008 but not before he had enjoyed a quality of life fit for a young Dachy thanks to very compliant owners, herbs and homeopathy and the magic of the Bioptron Light.

Update on Benson — 9 Sept 2009 Benson's owner has sold his pushchair last month — over a year since his passing.  This was Benson's method of transport when he was too weak to go for a walk. The rest was history, as following homeopathic and bioptron light treatment the pushchair was no longer needed.