Just back from the Veterinary Homeopathy conference in Portland.  I always love going to be with like minded veterinarians and to be reminded and re-inspired by listening to people talk about their successes with homeopathy, by their practices and how they’ve structured them to educated and help people in a way that is so different than the mainstream conventional vet clinic.

One of the take home lessons for me is the reminder about chronic and acute disease, and that although homeopathy is so great at treating the acutes, if we don’t address the underlying susceptibility, we can expect that patient to soon be ill with some other imbalance.  A case in point was a young Sharpei cross that the vet treated for acute onset fever and joint swelling.  This is a disease called Sharpei fever and is not only costly but also somewhat difficult and can be quite involved to treat conventionally.  She saw this dog, who was normally quite friendly and active, lying under the table not wanting to move at all, with quite a high fever, and prescribed a homeopathic medicine called Bryonia.  After 4 doses of this, the dog’s fever was on the decline and by the next morning she was eating and on the mend.  A few days later she was completely back to normal activity.  The presenting vet also did a comparison in her cases of cost and showed that whereas conventional treatment, with supportive care, hospitalization, and IV fluids, would have cost upwards of $800, the homeopathic exam and medicine was under $300.   In this case the client was so happy with the results and got her dog back to normal, that the vet remarked that it then becomes difficult to convince the client to do a homeopathic follow up to address the layer underneath – the why the dog got sick in the first place.

There were also a few interesting presentations on treating cancer with homeopathy.  One case was a dog with indolent lymphoma.  This was something I had not heard of, but apparently can be up to 40% of lymphoma cases, especially in Golden Retrievers around the age of 10.  These cancers, different than the regular lymphoma, actually do better statistically without chemo and prednisone and can live for 30 months without any treatment!

The take home message for me about cancer was to do a lot of follow up and make sure the patient is continuously under the influence of a remedy, whether that means more frequent dosing or giving homeopathic medicine in the water daily.  This also means that clients need to be in close communication with us, their homeopathic veterinarians!

I remember when I first read Pema Chodron and how she talks about Hope and Fear. I deal with this every day in my work, maybe we all do. It’s really in your face when you’re dealing with your own best buddy’s health, the fragility of their health.

Tanner had his left hind leg amputated 6 weeks ago. The bone cancer had taken over the femur and pretty much had dissolved the bone. He tripped or slipped, or maybe did barely nothing at all, while I was out, and when I got home his leg was swollen and dangling. I knew it was broken and that I had 2 choices.
At that point I was no longer a veterinarian. If I ever forget how to relate to the stress and angst and painful responsibility that my clients are struggling with, I will think back to this difficult decision.
I chose to have his leg amputated.

The days following the amputation were difficult. Tanner, my talkative, cheerful, silly guy was painful, confused, depressed, disoriented. In vet school we were taught not to ascribe complex human emotions to animals, not necessarily because they don’t have them, but because it’s not useful for treatment. Perhaps this is true, but how could I ignore the look of “what have you done to me?” when he would try and get up and didn’t understand why he could no longer walk to the park and pee.

I am grateful for many things at this moment when I think back to those very difficult days: supportive friends and family, Tanner’s previous homes who were sending love and emotional support, and Dr. Sue Armstrong, who is my homeopathic vet in England. I know what it’s like to be a client and to have a vet who I can trust to respond, who will stay calm and tell me what to do when I panic.

I’ve made the difficult choice not to do chemotherapy. I couldn’t put the Tan through any other procedure that might compromise his quality of life in any way, now that he has bounced back and is almost his full self, minus one leg, again. I’m putting my trust in homeopathy and in an experienced compassionate homeopath and veterinarian who I trust. I don’t know if we’ll have a miracle, but I can hope for one. I fear the return of this cancer, and I also know the Tan dog will not be with me forever. For now, I’ll try to enjoy every walk we go on, our weekly swims at Waterworkz pet spa, every time he talks to me in his growly voice when I arrive home.

My dog Tanner was diagnosed with bone cancer a few days ago. I knew it was bad as soon as I felt the swelling above his knee a few weeks prior, but was in avoidance mode. Now I, like many of the clients I see day in and day out, have to get down to the business of assisting in healing, hoping for cure, and preparing to let go, sooner than I would like.

In my heart I deeply believe that homeopathy has the power to heal in a way that is unknown by conventional methods. I’ve seen animals outlive their grave conventional diagnoses by years, good quality years. Yet, there comes a point when the body wears out, and all beings have to make that transition from the furry form that we are deeply attached to, to something unknown. We know that no one lives forever, but we kind of like that little delusion.

I wish we had a course in Vet school on treating the dying animal, but instead, what I experienced, and what I believe most veterinarians have in their minds, is that when there’s no further treatment plan that promises some hope, or even control, we reach for the euthanyl. Better to end suffering than to witness it, and especially to witness it without a plan, without any control, and with knowing that death could come at any moment.

I have clients who come to me with a story of cancelled euthanasia appointments, with friends and families telling them that they should end their friend’s suffering (sometimes with the added thoughtless comment of “just get another dog/cat”), but something prevents them from doing it. Their friend is still eating, still enjoying petting, maybe even still enjoying a fairly good quality of life despite the grave prognosis.

More and more I believe there is a time to help an animal transition and that often animals can die at home, peacefully, with good palliative support, surrounded by love and care, and when they’re ready. I see that the suffering and grief around this loss seems to be less, or somehow easier, than when the euthanasia is premature, when all parties are not ready. And yet, the job of palliative care is not for the weak of heart. Although I believe we can do a good job of pain management and keeping animals comfortable through the stages of terminal disease, it can be difficult to witness. It’s painful to see our friend stop eating, stop grooming, not be able to go for long walks anymore, maybe not be able to get up. There may be messes to clean and smells to deal with. How do we know when it’s time to let go?

It’s so individual. But there are some guidelines that I’ve found over the years, to help us through.
We can ask ourselves these questions:
– is there any indication that my friend still wants to be around, even when I’ve told him that I’m ready to let him go? Is he still eating, drinking, showing interest in the activities of the household?
– has his behavior radically changed? Elizabeth Severino, author of The Animals’ Viewpoint on Dying, Death and Euthanasia, says that when there’s a sudden and radical change in a terminal pet, like going off to hide in the closet, that can be a message of readiness to transition.
– is there a physical symptom that is causing too much distress and can not be adequately addressed such as pain, difficulty breathing, incontinence or immobility to a degree that it is causing great stress?

The decision to let go and help an animal pass on is such an important and difficult one. We feel the burden of a great responsibility, and we shouldn’t have to do this alone. I hope that working with my clients and in communication with the animal through non verbal cues and our best heart intentions, we can make this process as meaningful and filled with love and compassion as possible.

Elizabeth also says that animals appreciate a ritual for their passing. Many of my clients find meaning in playing music or chants, lighting candles or incense, or just in the process of letting an animal pass outdoors in her favorite spot in the garden, where perhaps later some ashes can be scattered or a pawprint placed.

In the end, we will all have to say goodbye and it’s not something we really want to think about, but it will stretch our hearts and help us to love and grow. Our animal friends will always live on in our hearts and in the spirits in which they touched our lives so deeply.

I went to visit Charlie today. Charlie is the dog with the brain tumor that I started treating about 4 years ago. He turned 16 in December.
Charlie is a senior citizen, that’s for sure, but I can’t believe how well he has done. I’m not sure what has been the determining factor for him: he’s had a combination of conventional treatment, homeopathy, herbs and supplements, a very loving and dedicated mom, a pretty great life over all, and I guess he may have some longevity genes in his favour.
In any case, it’s a pleasure to see an old dog who was given a poor prognosis years ago and is still chugging along, enjoying his life.
Mom has made him some grip reinforced slippers so he can get by on the hardwood floors, he sleeps a lot of the time, and I think we need to readjust his meds because his hair is falling out and he’s lost a lot of muscle. I’m pretty sure this is a result of the low dose steroids the neurologist put him on years ago, thinking he only had a short time to live anyway. So, we’re going to try and get his meds down, I gave him some homeopathic pulsatilla and a few new supplements (and omega 3 and ubiquinol) and we’ll see if we can make it to 17!

Although not exactly life threatening, itchy skin can definitely be quality of life threatening. It keeps us up at night, makes us put the cone of shame on our dogs to keep them from chewing themselves bald, and can be extremely frustrating to treat. Conventional vets dispense those beautiful bright pink pills which are a combination of steroid and antihistamine and they can work miraculously…. unless the steroids make your dog drink and pee like an uncontrollable race horse, or you stop them. As miraculously as it seemed to disappear, the itch makes its grand reappearance, and sometimes it’s even worse.
Princess was this kind of case. A 10 year old Sheba Inu, she’d had allergies off and on, but since moving to Vancouver recently she’d been a bit of a mess. When I met Princess she was grouchy and I couldn’t exactly blame her. She was itchy and was wearing what looked like an overgrown whooppee cushion around her neck to keep her from chewing her hind end raw.
Luckily, Princess was a pretty clear case homeopathically. I gave her ars. alb 200C, just 3 doses in water.
Luckily for Princess, her people are dedicated and patient. It took almost a month of waxing and waning, but Princess is now itch and cone free and is a much happier dog. In fact, her person reported that her mood changed and she was much calmer almost immediately after the remedy, it just took a bit longer for her skin to really calm down too.
This was a good lesson for the homeopath too. Sometimes when a remedy doesn’t seem to work right away, especially when everyone’s anxious and losing sleep because of itching and scratching, I can be pressuring into prescribing something else. In this case, we were lucky that I was quite confident about this remedy and the clients were willing to be patient. It sure paid off!