Paws to Heal

The mainstay of my current practice of Integrated Veterinary Medicine is to observe closely, think deeply and surrender to intuition.

I firmly believe that the foundation principle of any decision involving medical intervention must be the question of whether the benefit to the animal outweighs the risks.

Whenever the question arises of whether or not to use pharmaceuticals, vaccines, surgery or any other interventions, if we keep the question of benefit versus risk uppermost in the analysis then we are far more likely to make an informed and balanced choice. This depends on us receiving accurate and comprehendible information about the options and also knowing what questions to ask.

Today, for example, I was asked about whether a little dog I have been treating for musculoskeletal problems should have another pentosan (arthritis treatment) injection.
Since this dog is responding very well to diet change, Bowen and Homeopathy and is much more comfortable and functional than she was previously, it is a valid question.  On the basis alone that her function and comfort have improved then my answer is no. In other cases with the same question, where the animals may still have some dysfunction to address,  you would need to assess the response to previous treatments and the deeper issues of potential side effects of the drug with continual use.

Once again a thorough look at benefit versus risk will direct us to the most appropriate management in each case.

It is well recognised that if we do nothing then many animals will get better by themselves.

Often all we need to do is determine if assistance is required and choose the most appropriate treatment. The animals themselves usually provide us with both the clues and the questions and, as often, the answers. Many animals don’t need anything more than time and space to heal. It is then the Veterinarian’s responsibility to make this decision after a thorough physical examination and assessment of the animal’s capacity to deal with their problem in the environment in which they are placed.
Provided with sufficient and diverse tools from which to choose, we can then select the appropriate way to best assist the animal.

These days we are often coerced into a ‘quick fix’ by the time constraints of modern living that put pressure on us all to do things quickly. Healing will take its own time and cannot be hurried. It can be expedited with good management but we must respect time and the natural process.

There are answers to all questions but we do not always know what they are until we begin to do things a little differently and make enquiries. The primary consideration should always be the animal’s welfare followed by the client’s convictions, balanced by the Veterinarian’s opinion and experience. We are used to ‘fixing’ conditions with one visit but perhaps it is better to see the animal more frequently and also try to alter the culture of a ‘one stop shop’. This is especially important for acute homeopathically managed cases that can change presentation over hours.
Integrated Veterinary Medicine involves the employment of best practice from a range of medical options and each case is treated individually.

Integrated practice utilises surgery, conventional medicines, Traditional Chinese Medicines, herbs, Homeopathy, and a whole array of other modalities that best suit the case in question including nutraceuticals and supplements to boost cellular metabolism and optimise nutrition and immune function. These are all designed to maintain the animal’s ability to heal itself without interfering with natural processes that serve in the animal’s best interests.

Veterinarians are the only registered bodies that can prescribe and administer pharmaceuticals to animals and this is both a privilege and a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. Many of us (Veterinarians) are now also looking at different medicines and remedies to treat the diseases that we diagnose. Some of us are even looking at different ways to identify and understand disease from a wider range of global medical practices.

There is also a growing number of  non-veterinary trained animal health practitioners making their own services available to the public and it is often not made clear that these people are not Veterinarians.  With quite a few more players on the veterinary and animal health stage, pet owners recognise that they have a range of options for treating their animals and they are making choices that often do not involve Veterinarians. It is up to Veterinarians, therefore, to demonstrate that they are the best qualified and most competent animal health practitioners.

Veterinarians are very likely to be the only ones to be able to fully address benefit/risk assessments in animal health management.

As animal owners, if you are looking for a well informed and reliable opinion regarding veterinary care, it is important that you ask for the benefit risk analysis in any situation regardless of the severity of the condition under consideration. There are many things we do not know but using our pooled resources we can devise the most suitable management plan for the patients entrusted to us.

This open approach will also encourage the Veterinarian to bring forth their own best qualities and reflect on the choices to be made in each and every case. This simple technique is the foundation of good practice and forms the future for the practice of professional Integrative Medicine.

As my first practice principal used to say, “If you don’t know, ASK!”

see also bodywork, evolutionary diets, who’s in charge?,

Hands on healing techniques have developed, in particular, over the past three decades into very popular treatments for all those seeking relief from physical ailments. What few realise however is that the energy shifts created by these modalities can also bring about subtle to profound alterations in the entire being at all levels and not just in the gross physical. These techniques also restore circulation, enhance immune function, alter moods and behaviours and release cellular memories and emotions. In other words they can be used as complete healing modalities in their own rights as they re awaken the body’s natural healing mechanisms and send messages to the brain to bring about positive changes throughout the whole system.

I have been fortunate enough to have been under the care of such a gifted practitioner myself so can testify first hand to the transformative capacities of bodywork. It can be a complete healing journey in itself without the aid of pharmaceuticals.
Bodywork techniques will come to be known by numerous names, as those gifted will seek to identify their practice. You will come to know about Bowen Technique, Orthobionomy, Myofascial Release, Craniosacral Therapy, Trigger Point Therapy, NST or NeuroStructural Integration System, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Acupressure, Reiki, Remedial Massage, Brennan Technique and Tellington Touch amongst others.
Acupuncture, whilst not strictly defined as bodywork, is another technique that restores energy flow or chi, qi, prana.
Some will involve deep work, others very light almost undetectable touch but all will seek to remove blockages to energy flow through the being and restore function and comfort. Once comfort is restored the natural homeostatic mechanisms within the individual can regain balance and be reinstated as the regulator of function. These bodywork techniques can be used for any disease in any individual.

Healing begins with relaxation.

I practice Bowen technique, Orthobionomy and my own version of intuitive bodywork, which involves listening through touch. These modalities have attained credibility over recent years by demonstrating measurable physiological changes and pathways of action that can be explained scientifically. Most who practice these techniques care less, however for the science and more for the effects they bring about in their patients. It can be quite amazing to witness the changes in these animals as their function and comfort is restored.

We are reaching a time when these modalities will be completely accepted as pathways to healing, as an increasing number of people will testify to the effects of such practices.

It has often been said that animals are a good case study for unconventional therapies because they are not influenced by placebo. The results I see with Bowen in them are quite amazing and it is often all that is required to bring relief and start healing.
The nervous system is the message channel to the entire being and it stands to reason that if this is working well then we can function optimally. The epidemic of neurological diseases that are emerging not only in human populations but our animals in recent times is quite alarming. There are many reasons why this is happening, not the least being overstimulation from modern living and insufficient nutritional support. The underlying deficiency, regardless of onset, is lack of nurture and inner calm to the nervous system, which can then go into overdrive.

Dogs and horses are particularly receptive to bodywork. You have to work quickly on most cats as they want it on their own terms usually and will not brook interference. Some dogs and horses also take a little while for the trust to filter through. The basis of hands on techniques requires this level of trust. Many practitioners prefer Reiki for this reason as there is less need to touch the patient and there is less interchange between the practitioner and the patient if done correctly.
Personally, the information I receive from my patients usually only comes through gentle touch and good intention and I do not practice Reiki. Different modalities perform differently in different hands and it is best to stick to what you know best.

I use Bowen technique on every patient at some stage of the consultation and it is often forms the sole basis of therapy.
Equine Positional Release (EPR) has been developed from the principles of Orthobionomy and is a very powerful tool for horse bodywork.  The large size and the heavy reliance on standing in the equine has necessitated a modified technique, taking into account the functional and behavioural differences from humans, where the technique originated. 

I use Orthobionomy in small animals as well, which is easier to perform on small patients as they can be moved more easily into different positions. The muscular tension in horses can be relieved equally well with EPR or Bowen and is certainly much easier on the hands. In fact, I find that massage is a diagnostic tool in my practice more than a therapy in its own right. It assists to identify and locate areas of disease.

Whilst I use massage and acupressure occasionally to relieve tension points and muscle knots, I find that once the energy is restored to the animal it can make these adjustments by itself and maintain them. I am finding less need for deep tissue massage these days and longer retention of the benefit through the lighter practices of Bowen and Ortho.
Animals generally seem to be a lot less inhibited by the emotional and mental guarding with which we humans armour ourselves. You can certainly find some cases of traumatised animals that do develop this deep tension, especially horses, but animals are often much better at letting go of bad experiences.

Dogs seem to love the massage as much as many of us because they are much more used to being handled and experiencing love in this way.

Cats generally do not enjoy massage but there are exceptions.

The buzz word of the decade perhaps but for homeopathic practitioners, amongst others, energy healing is the foundation of practice.
I am astounded at the ignorance surrounding energy medicine in an age of such knowledge. Quantum physicists will expound upon the theory that matter is energy and energy is matter but very few have applied this tenet to our lives.
We are energy, we are matter, ergo, we are energy. How ever much matter and energy are interchangeable most of us are only ever going to see and believe in matter.
As a Veterinarian I am often asked for evidence for the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies. There have been a relatively small number of trials and studies conducted because funding for research into homeopathy is very scarce.
In fact, the evidence that so many require is almost as scarce in conventional veterinary medicines despite funding opportunities by large pharmaceutical corporations. Notwithstanding, the obsession with evidence for homeopathy in the scientific community borders on pathological and we are often required to provide proof way beyond the bounds of proof offered for most conventional treatments. I believe this unfair requirement is largely driven by prejudice and ignorance and an attempt to discredit homeopathy as a healing modality.
Energy healing techniques and medicines do not lend themselves well to scrutiny at a cellular or mechanical level because the physical effects are entirely secondary to an energy shift that, so far, is largely unmeasurable by instrumentation.  Moreover, the times that it has been documented, the data has been discredited like in Benvenistes experiments with the memory of water.

Nevertheless the homeopathic effect is clearly evidenced in clinical improvement because it occurs at the level of the life or vital force, which is in turn, responsible for the physical changes that bring about healing.
There have been advances made in recent times in energy measurement and mapping with Kirlian photography of the aura or biofield of living organisms but there is a long way to go before many are satisfied with the reality of energy medicine and the existence and capacity of the healing force contained in all things. It is one thing to observe something and another to understand its function and capacity.

When scientists examine the changes to cells and structures after the effect of conventional medicines there is often a visible impact incurred by the drug. In contrast, a well selected homeopathic medicine will deliver a burst of energy to the life force of the organism which will in turn make a change to the cells.
It is highly likely that the water content of the body on which the remedy is acting will have a large part to play in the resonance of the remedy throughout the whole body. Where there is water there is life.

Question: Does water really have consciousness, or does it just represent consciousness?
Sri Chinmoy: Water represents consciousness and water also embodies consciousness. If one is a very advanced, highly developed seeker, not to speak of a great Master, then one is bound to see and feel that water embodies consciousness. When life-energy is taken as inseparable from water, at that time water embodies consciousness. Consciousness is the connecting link between Heaven and earth, between the finite and the Infinite. And it can take different forms. Water represents consciousness for those who have not yet discovered the oneness between the finite life and the infinite Life. They feel that there is a great gap between the finite and the Infinite. But I always say that the finite and the Infinite are one, in the same way that the drop and the ocean are one. Boundless drops make up the ocean. If one knows that the drop represents the ocean, then one will also feel that one or two drops embody the ocean itself.
Excerpt from Simplicity, Sincerity, Purity And Divinity by Sri Chinmoy

The memory of water has been beautifully demonstrated by Masaru Emoto’s water crystals and investigated by Jaques Benveniste amongst others.
Interestingly, however, is Hahnemanns observation that the first signs of remedy effect will be mental improvement so it is clear that the full remedy effect is deeper than the physical. The brain is physical and visible but the mind is energetic and invisible. Perhaps water is a vehicle for healing in matter in the same way that the vital force is a vehicle for healing in the ethereal or energetic body. Homeopathy works on both and the same which is why I choose to make it the mainstay of my practice.

The body of research will increase now that homeopaths have been given the freedom to design trials that better fit an homeopathic model. It has taken many years for scientists to acknowledge that not all science fits into neatly defined boxes with labels.  This new science is too dynamic to be subjected to double blind static trials. As Dr Emoto says “we have two eyes, why do we need to be double blind?”

If our knowledge does not continue to be challenged and expanded then we are not doing ourselves justice.

Also see Desires to be magnetized

We can all, without exception, only hear according to our capacity to understand.
Anxiety occurs when we do not know what we are supposed to do or if we feel unsafe. It is a condition of the nervous system affecting the brain, the mind and subsequently permeating throughout the body in a range of behavioural and physical abnormalities.

It prevents learning and incapacitates in extreme circumstances. And…. it also affects animals.

For this reason, any important messages have to be very simple and repeated to create an opportunity to understand them without triggering anxiety.

Taking this a step further, information requiring processing in our minds or heads will take longer to be assimilated than those messages that are simple enough and universal enough to be absorbed directly into our consciousness or through our hearts. This requires no thinking, just knowing and practising. 

Reducing mental strain and information overload is a basis for conscious control of anxiety.  Homeopathy can provide support at an unconscious level and can form a strong foundation of therapy.

Animals also instinctively, to a large extent, know what they need in relation to foods and interventions. Whilst they will accept ‘junk food’ containing salts and fats they will, if given the opportunity, seek better nutrition or give us an indication that this is necessary. If they are suffering anxiety it is because their instincts have been hampered.

Anxiety in domestic animals can be caused by such things as environment, inappropriate diets and interventions, such as early weaning and vaccinating.
Displacement activity like pacing and circling and compulsive disorders in captive wildlife are also forms of environmentally induced anxiety. These can also be seen in domestic animals in certain situations.

I encounter some communication challenges every day in my practice with animals and their owners and even though we are usually on the same wavelength we still need to practise listening with our hearts and eyes. Our minds can create division, anxiety and confusion at a time when we are under enough stress already and it takes practice to listen at a deeper level.
We all have this capacity to calm ourselves but our confidence varies. It comes down to a simple matter of trust and practice. Many animals presenting with anxiety also have anxious owners.

Animals almost never use their minds to communicate to us. Notably, the most effective and meaningful human communications also do not involve the mind.

As animal owners with sick pets we often try to understand information that is complicated. The most important information is often simple and usually comes directly from the animal and not from a laboratory or a textbook. We all get a little overwhelmed with jargon and disease descriptions when often we just need to listen to what the animal itself is telling us.  Our minds will not serve us as well as our hearts in these situations.  Whilst it is immensely comforting to place our trust in those who understand many things it is equally important to learn to trust our own self and to listen with our hearts.

It can feel quite disconcerting at times to be aware of energy fluctuations in situations so without a sense of self and trust in self we can become anxious. Animals feel this more acutely than humans so it is not surprising that many of them are developing more anxiety related conditions. Even with the most confident and capable owners, certain animals can be overwhelmed with anxiety in situations they do not understand. Some of them have a breed or genetic predisposition to sensitivity, others are damaged by interventions and others simply develop more awareness with time. If we are stressed we can assume they are as well.

In my travels I meet many wonderful people and animals who teach me more about myself and life. As we develop both as human individuals and inside the collective consciousness, we hopefully feel less isolated or vulnerable and we learn to place more trust in ourselves and feel more protected by the Universe. We learn to calm ourselves and avoid stress.
This, like all things, takes time. Animals do this instinctively unless we intervene and confuse them.

I recently stumbled across an essay that brought this home to me and also filled a gap in understanding of my own practice.

Here is an excerpt from Nancie LaPiers essay

“The shamanic perspective is that everything on earth – from the trees, grasses & waters, to her creatures and human beings – is alive and has a spirit. No human being is viewed as loftier on any hierarchical scale; rather every spirit manifesting in physical form is viewed as being an aspect of God, or the one Great Spirit. All beings are seen as relatives and each spirit is accorded honor and respect for it’s special gifts, or “medicine.” It is this humble, devotional perspective which sets up harmonious relationships and reciprocity between the species, and develops a compassionate heart for the “people.” And it is the compassionate heart that compels a shaman to explore the spiritual realms in order to bring help to their brothers and sisters, whether human, animal or elemental, and provides the shaman with their access to power. All powers of the shaman belong to the Creator alone and are drawn through the compassionate heart by the beings(s) in need, for whom that grace is intended.

A shaman understands that the heart is the gateway to the spiritual realms and the purpose and function of their spiritual disciplines is to develop an open heart. True shamans can be recognized by their refusal to lay claim to any personal power to heal, and will dedicate their lives to doing whatever is necessary to become a clear vehicle through which miracles can be made manifest. They have been referred to as “the tender-hearted ones,” “those who walk between the worlds,” bodhisattvas, yogis and saints and can be recognized within virtually every organized religion of the world.”

I had intended to relate some incidents that highlight the need to practice listening instead of thinking and how this serves me well in my practice but the real importance of these postings is to inspire others to develop their own capacities and to see their animals in a new light. To see past the dis-ease and look at what may have triggered it or be exacerbating it.

Animals are a gift to humankind. They remind us of the simple and most important things and we only need to accept that life need not be that complicated after all. That doesn’t mean it is easy, as Sri Chinmoy so eloquently reminds us…

“Simplicity is an Advanced course”

When I stepped out of regular Veterinary practice a few years ago I believed I had said goodbye to many issues that contributed to my decision.
Little did I know, though I should have realised, that the difficulties would not go away without conscious effort. Nonetheless I have been grateful for the ‘breathing space’ that has been afforded me to reflect and discover a new perspective during this time and the constant little reminders that I needed to re-address some issues.

One of the biggest issues surrounds the use of euthanasia as a tool in Veterinary medicine and one of the catalysts for this posting is a recent publication by a colleague that clearly states that Veterinarians should insist on euthanasia in cases of terminal and intractable illness. Whilst euthanasia should always be offered in these cases I believe it is wrong to insist upon it when it conflicts with the beliefs and convictions of the people concerned. This does not mean that I am condoning animal suffering. It means I am challenged to find a new way to do things in these circumstances and to support the animal and their family during this period.

We need to face the reality that the public attitude and expectations of our Veterinary expertise are changing, sometimes at a rate for which we are often unprepared.
Most of us are aware that referral to specialist Veterinarians forms the basis of good practice in difficult situations and furthermore is what is expected from the best practitioners. As Veterinarians, we have a bounden duty to alleviate suffering to the best of our ability. It is not ever possible to completely control this natural process and we are going to be repeatedly challenged by our insistence that euthanasia is the only option.
In keeping with the increase in and demand for specialist services, I believe there is going to be a greater call for palliative care to be incorporated into Veterinary practice.

Many years ago I introduced the concept of processional grief counselling to my practice. This  involves a gradual educative process in the remaining weeks or months of a pets’ life that addresses the meaning of life and the process of death.
It is designed to celebrate the animal’s life and to demystify the soul’s exit from the body. I find this enables everybody concerned, regardless of religious convictions, to better come to terms with death of a beloved pet. Of course, this does not adequately address the issue of euthanasia of production animals, laboratory animals, strays and unwanted animals or injured wildlife but the basic principles, given the right environment, can still be employed.  In fact, the concept of Kosher and Halal meat production involves such a variation on the spiritual awareness of life and death of animals and the respect they deserve as they offer up their lives to us. Ironically, this form of death is quite acceptably termed slaughter, in contrast to a domestic situation where more compassionate language is necessary and we refer to euthanasia. The blunt truth is that we are still killing animals despite the motive and fewer people are now  completely accepting of this practice.

I am not anti-euthanasia, nor, despite being vegetarian, am I against the slaughter of animals for food production.

Euthanasia when practised with compassion and in an appropriate manner can be a fitting tribute and service to an animal at the end of it’s days or a young suffering animal who would find it very difficult to live out the term of it’s natural life.

I simply choose not to provide this service in my practice and I respect the rights of the parties concerned to make informed choices regarding how they employ these services themselves.  Whilst there are many Veterinarians beginning to challenge their own role in the euthanasia of animals and some who go to great lengths to avoid the so called ‘inevitable’, there is also a growing number of practitioners making themselves available to provide alternative services to people with animals nearing the end of their days.

The people who choose to be my clients are looking for a different way to provide for their animals and I am privileged to be able to offer an alternative in most cases.

Over time, I have observed that it is probably not going to be either in the interest or capacity of many of my veterinary colleagues to provide a level of palliative care that is conducive to a natural death.

Animals that have had their lives artificially prolonged through the long- term use of pharmaceutical drugs will generally have a much more difficult adjustment to preparing for death. This is largely because they have been sufficiently removed from the control of their own bodily processes and their subtle homeostatic mechanisms have usually been switched off or suppressed. In order for these animals to come back to a situation that can enable them to die by themselves, they must first be able to recognise that they are still living.  The animals that are able to have this awareness and control successfully reinstated are in a far better position to control their own destiny. Many animals will perhaps not be able to regain this balance, which is by far the largest determinant for the need for euthanasia in conventional veterinary practices.

Not many owners or vets will feel comfortable taking animals off medications but this is often what is required to facilitate a natural end. This does not mean that the animals are left unsupported in their illness and decline but rather prepares the way for an integrated approach to management that will adequately address these needs by means other than conventional drugs. There are, needless to say, many cases where this is no longer an option owing to the severity of decline in health. There is an increasing body of experienced and qualified practitioners available to facilitate the cases that are able to accommodate a change. Better still, in these cases, are the clients who choose an integrated approach to management of their pet, prior to the total dependence on drugs.

There are no right and wrong ways to provide veterinary care but there are options. A Veterinarian faced with a difficult decision and armed with sufficient knowledge to make a fair prediction of future health status must then present this view honestly to the client. Every single one of us who has practised veterinary medicine knows how it feels to euthanise animals. It is also one of the greatest stress factors in our profession and also one for which I, at least, felt largely unprepared by my university training.  I am not sure that this level of training has changed much over the ensuing twenty years.  I recall that this practice became more difficult with time as I evolved both as a person and a practitioner and I also recall some senior respected colleagues of mine who I observed to try everything in their power to avoid the need to euthanise. Both of these factors started weighing heavily on my conscience to bring me to the point at which I have arrived.

The catalyst undoubtedly came by my embracing of  a spiritual practice that involves meditation as a strong foundation in my personal and professional life.

This enables me to better access the wealth of advice and knowledge that is offered to us all directly from the Creator or through the universal consciousness, our greatest teacher.
Through this practice I am better able to challenge myself to find ways to meet the changing demands of my life and my profession and to hopefully be able to offer more options to the owners and animals who choose to invite me to be involved in their lives and their deaths.

To conclude, it is appropriate to end with an excerpt that summarises all that really needs to be said.

Question: Why do animals have to suffer pain, illness and injury since they are not conscious like human beings?

Sri Chinmoy Answer: When it is a matter of suffering, animals do suffer and we also suffer. But just because we are conscious human beings, we feel that there shall come a time when our sufferings will come to an end. We feel that there is Someone high above in the skies or Somebody deep inside the very depth of our heart who is going to listen to our prayers. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow, but in His own time, He will give us happiness.

So when you see unhappiness in the animal kingdom, you have to feel that the same kind of unhappiness we have. They are suffering, and just because we are a little more developed than they are, we also suffer. We are like parents. When their children suffer, the parents feel so miserable. The little animals are like our children or our younger brothers and sisters. We can give them some shelter, comfort or concern.

We have to sympathise with them. At the same time we have to know that there is Someone who not only suffers with the suffering of both human beings and animals, but also has the capacity to liberate them from their suffering. He knows why they are suffering and He knows when He will strike His own Hour to give them joy.

To come back to your question, animals do suffer. Categorically I cannot say why. If I see the animal, I will be able to tell. In general, the answer is that God is having an experience in and through them. Even to come to that realisation is a most difficult thing. When somebody pinches me, I want to give a slap to that person—tit for tat. But if we have a higher realisation, then we can see that it is God who is pinching us and God who is experiencing in and through us either suffering or joy. God has formed a circle and He is moving around the circle. This moment we call it joy; the next moment we call it sadness or sorrow, and the next moment we see that this is only His Game. Perfection is in accepting the suffering as such and the joy as such. We have to become conscious instruments of God to give Him the satisfaction of experiencing suffering or joy. If we have a higher realisation, we do not see imperfection in God’s creation. We see that what we call imperfection or suffering is something that has to be transformed into permanent ecstasy or delight.

In the same way, if an animal is suffering, then our prayer to God should be, “I do not know why this animal is suffering, but I do know that You are inside this animal, and I want Your Satisfaction inside this suffering creature.” At every moment we have to tell God that we want only His Satisfaction.

So from the animal level I have brought your question up to the human level. There is only one way to become happy. We cannot see the Truth; we cannot feel the Truth; we can only become the Truth. Once we become the Truth, we can feel it easily, we can see it easily. Until we become the Truth in God’s own Way, we will not be able to feel it; we will not be able to see it properly.

Abridged excerpt from  Sri Chinmoy library

Sri Chinmoy asks “why should we deprive them of a natural death?”

This posting is gratefully and lovingly dedicated to Phyllis, Liza, Tigger and Meeka, all of whom, amongst countless others, were not deprived.

When people know what I do for a living they always want to hear stories. I cannot usually remember them on the spot but I will recall some nice experiences that I have had over recent times.

This posting is for all those who ask me for stories.
In essence I am extremely fortunate to have the opportunities I do to interact with animals in the way I do and truth be told, I often don’t understand what happens in some cases myself.
As an instrument of healing I need to be fully surrendered to the fact that whether an animal responds or not to what I am doing is not wholly within my control.  My responsibility starts and ends with offering a service that may or may not be accepted by the animal or the owner. Most patients, however, who seek holistic treatments are receptive.

I have had cases where I haven’t even had to touch the animal before the shift required for healing has occurred. Once the animal senses that it is safe, it is able to begin healing.
The case like this I remember best, except for the exact details of the conversation that caused the shift, was a dog that a women had been having trouble liking because he smelled so bad.
As all of my cases deserve the respect of privacy it may be just as well that the details are forgotten because they are not strictly our business to discuss, but here is the essence of the story.

A middle aged women brought her kelpie crossbred dog in to see me because she could not tolerate his smell. She was nauseated by the stench this dog would exude from his skin.
As with all of my cases, I chat with the person in charge before formally introducing myself to the animals. In effect the animals already know me and  most of them value the space I give them to acclimatise to the room or circumstances. I let them come to me when they are ready.
So too with this dog who we will call Buddy. The lady and I were communicating the nature of Buddys offensiveness and I was trying to identify possible reasons or locations for the source of the odour. We effectively ruled out anal glands which are most common causes along with halitosis/bad teeth/breath. She believed that it was emanating directly from his skin. It seemed like it was always there and did not come and go but had been there constantly for a week or more. She had to drive to the clinic with the window of the car down.

Even though I remember being very aware of emotional and psychological reasons for why this could be happening to Buddy and was thinking of them, during the course of our discussion, the dog himself was able to project me a clue to unlocking the case, although I did not recognise it as such at the time.
What would have happened is that during my concentration on his issue he was able to show me what to say to create the opening for him to rid himself of the force that was causing his smell and her distress. As I said, the details themselves are blurred and that is because they are not for us to recall. Suffice to say that when I came to examine Buddy physically, which is usually the final stage of my examination, I noted to myself how fragrant he smelled.  I mean this dog smelled really nice! Like a baby.
I was confused and a little abashed having to ask the owner whether he was smelly at present, explaining that we all have different sensitivities. I was wondering if what I was smelling was what she was concerned about because I thought he smelled pretty good.
She bent down to check him and was herself quite surprised and confused. I joked about whether she had the correct dog but she was too amazed to register my query. She just kept sniffing him and asking me what I had done.
Truth be told I didn’t know except I had consciously given him permission to discharge his bad energy and had provided a safe place for him to do so.
I didn’t recognise that at the time so I suggested she take him for a walk around the block to make sure that it didn’t return or recur since it had been constant for quite a while.
I recall spotting her half an hour or so later on my own afternoon walk, still out with Buddy, stopping to sniff him intermittently and still looking as confused.  I smiled.

The smell didn’t return.

In hindsight I now better recognise when these experiences occur even though I am still not able to explain them to most. More often these days my clients do understand the principles behind energetic healing and are able to play active and important roles in the healing cycle of their pets. Once the permission is given for an event to occur, it can. Similarly acknowledgement is a large part of healing.

In quite a few cases there can be a testing period. I call this the leap of faith when the animal needs the owner to commit to the healing proposal; to decide to push ahead with a plan that is different and often contradictory to conventional methods.
A wonderful example of this is a dog who inexplicably and suddenly acquired a bleeding disorder diagnosed as immune mediated thrombocytopaenia, or platelet destruction.  If platelet numbers are not maintained in the circulation then clotting disorders occur with haemorrhage and bruising. It is a serious disease calling for ‘big gun’ therapeutics in conventional circumstances.
This dog was already a patient of mine but away from home when alerted to this condition so the therapeutic program had already begun along with conventional prognoses; weeks to months of chemotherapy and high dose steroids with reasonably high rate of recurrence and relapse.
I distinctly recall this test of faith because it was the shift that was required in this case for a pretty dramatic turn around.
Two owners, one sick dog and an homeopathic practitioner. A triangle that fortunately became immediately congruent in a leap of faith that resulted in a complete cure in three days with a homeopathic remedy.
There has been no recurrence in three years.

Another similar case where the test of faith became a little more arduous was when an ultimatum has been issued to a horse owner to either enucleate (remove an eye) or lose the horse. Fortunately there was another choice that required strength from all quarters.
Once conventional medical practices are well underway it can be more difficult to turn healing around because the healing force has come to rely upon a system that has been learned and manifest through dependency. In acute cases of injury or trauma these can often be unlearned better, as in this case.
Our horse had so much capacity to be sensible that she was an excellent candidate. She was strong and patient and resilient. She had coped thus far with much well -intentioned intervention in an attempt to save a badly damaged globe (eyeball). Most people know that eye injuries in horses are very serious owing to the position of their eyes and their natural prey instinct. With only one functioning eye they are more prone to fear and injury and can become dangerous to themselves and others. It is not a situation any horse wants to find itself confronting or any owner/rider encountering.
We had a good candidate in this horse for coping with one eye but the eyeball does a lot more than provide an aperture of vision. It facilitates expression, aids in balance and perception and provides strength to the facial area. It was decided that it would be better to keep the eye despite predictions of incurable infection and further disease risks.
She was certainly not getting better. Plus she was still experiencing quite a bit of pain and discomfort and was getting worn down by it. Despite all that, it still required a leap of faith to take her off medication that was impeding healing but was all that was known up to that time.
The leap was made.
Then followed an adaptation period or unlearning, relearning, putting the horse back in charge of her condition after her reliance on pharmaceuticals.
This was a 24-48hr period with some angst as both the owner and the horse had to relive some of the trauma to effect the turn around required to change hands; to relearn.
This is like the withdrawal that addicts experience and it is arduous.
It requires strength of conviction and courage in the face of uncertainty and discomfort.
Both the owner and the horse passed the test and the rest is history.
There has been excellent return to normal eyeball function albeit markedly diminished vision, so far, on that side from scarring.  Healing is an ongoing process so may not even yet be complete.

Of course everyone knows that we only hear about the good ones. That’s true and not every case has a happy outcome but when people ask me for stories they are eager to hear about inspiring individuals and situations that can give them a good reason to continue to strive for perfection and joy in their own lives.
Who can say that is a bad thing?

This is not intended to be morbid or flippant. I was reading Ian Gawler’s first book the other day on surviving cancer and was inspired by his attitude towards death. He identified early in his own journey, the importance of changing thinking patterns and the freedom and peace that this can bring.
Most things we struggle with are made much bigger by our attitude towards them and in a similar fashion, by changing our thinking, can be turned around to the positive.
It often takes a life threatening experience to bring about these incentives to look a little deeper and some ideas, can even then, still seem far too challenging.

Life is a challenge. It is not for the faint hearted.

If death is a natural part of life as it most surely is, then disease is the driving force of evolution itself.

If dis-ease means not at ease, being not at ease drives us to seek or adopt a more comfortable position.

In this way, disease forces us to change or re-evaluate or move forward in order to discover a new way out of dis-ease.
It becomes necessary to appreciate the opportunity that arises to do things differently; to welcome change; to evolve.

Ian Gawler and countless others who have taken on this challenge will attest to the miracle of second chances. Our dear animals, if given the chance, will do this almost unconsciously on their regular life’s journey. It is a joy to observe them indomitably taking on these challenges and healing themselves and us.

Disease is the driving force that ensures that changes are made as we forge ahead. We have to change in order to recover ease. It also follows that disease will be ongoing. It will never disappear for that would herald the end of our progress. Hopefully it becomes less violent in its expression and hopefully we learn to recognize and accept its existence. Some of us can even learn to appreciate it.  Fewer of us still, will come to welcome it.

Ian Gawler is one of the evolved. There were doctors who were angry with him when he didn’t die because he challenged their thinking and their predictions.

Every one of us who practice integrated medicine comes under fire of this kind at times.
As those who think outside the box, we are very often criticized or ignored until something really amazing happens that cannot be overlooked.
In life, miracles do indeed happen very often. It’s whether we notice them or not that determines how we adapt.

I am reading and thoroughly enjoying Cindy Engel’s book Wild Health at present.
Cindy is a behavioural biologist who has studied animals in as close to their natural habitat as can be found in this world.
The innate abilities that these wild animals have of healing themselves are fascinating and inspiring.  One of the crucial insights she makes involves the acknowledgment of the role the environment takes in bringing about healing behaviours. If the animals are removed from their natural habitats they cannot find the plants and minerals they instinctively seek as medicines and moreover, if their environment is interfered with then their behaviour changes to the extent that they cannot even seem to remember what to do about their condition.
This highlights the possibility that we ourselves, given the right environment, would better remember what it is that we need to do to heal ourselves.

People like Ian Gawler are lucky enough to re-discover how to create an environment that is conducive to healing.

Many of our domestic animals although removed from the wild, still exhibit this instinct. I recall with a little amusement, a fairly recent article in the Australian Veterinary Journal, a scientific, peer reviewed journal, concerning the ability and tendency for sheep with osteoporosis (weak bones) to actively seek out certain plants that would assist to strengthen their bones.  This was apparently a recent scientific discovery of great import and perhaps indicated the possibility that animals could self medicate; but this article was published long after this type of behaviour was recognized by others, hundreds of years later in fact.

Another striking discovery, highlighted by Ms Engels, is that wild animals carry all or many of the disease forming agents that afflict animals in domestic and captive situations without the clinical appearance or symptoms of the disease itself. This has to be another clue about the true nature of disease and further testament to the need to redefine disease. These animals have the organisms, parasites and infections but NOT the dis-ease usually attributed to such pathogens. What makes them so much more resistant?

Much of the answer lies in their grazing behaviour and selection of plants that contain substances conducive to health but there are other factors yet to be recognized. It is a long established belief in natural medicine circles that if the system is kept in prime health then parasites and infections will not cause disease. This is why we use naturopathic and homeopathic methods to boost immunity and to assist in preventing worm burdens and heartworm and flea infestations.

It is a widespread and extensive misconception that these parasites always cause disease in our animals and the war we have waged upon them for decades with anthelmintics and other chemicals has largely resulted only in selecting for resistance on their part and weakness on the part of the host.
It takes different eyes to see that the existence of an organism does not necessarily correlate with the existence of disease.

Wild animals have long been vilified as harbingers of disease for domestic species when in fact they perhaps should be congratulated for their resistance to the diseases.

The search for cures and explanations for serious life threatening illnesses is, for many, a life long commitment.  If you want to find the right answers you have to know where to look and who to ask.

Paracelsus said in the sixteenth century
“There is no illness on earth for which God has not provided a remedy through nature” Paracelcus(1493-1541)
Despite five hundred years of searching it seems that much still eludes us but if we look to the wisdom of ages instead of believing that the answers are not yet available we may greatly surprise ourselves by what we already know.

I have immeasurable faith in Mother Nature and the lessons she lovingly bestows through the natural world of plants, minerals and animals.

We only need to take the time to look and listen.

The answers are all there.

We may take for granted that choosing and raising a new pup can be an easy task.  In reality, it can be the source of many difficulties if we are not properly prepared. The consequences of choosing the wrong animal can end in heartache or frustration. Of course many would argue that it is impossible to choose the ‘wrong’ animal as they invariably choose us but whichever way we look at it, there can be much conflict and difficulty if we are unprepared for this life changing experience.

I am often asked ‘when should I get a new dog?’

Every situation will be different and there are no rules but there are a couple of guidelines that generally work.
Apart from the obvious need to budget for feeding larger dogs, housing and exercising larger dogs and choosing a breed that suits the family, the following points can be helpful.

• the youngest child in the family should ideally be old enough to learn to conduct simple tasks in relation to the dog, like feeding and grooming. Probably five years of age.

• the energy levels of the family should match those of the animal in terms of lifestyle and expectations of the people, behaviour and temperament of the dog.  A boisterous active dog is better suited to older active children.

• if there is another dog it will need to be able to cope.

Most people choose to get the new dog before the old dog is too old to assist with training it or too old to cope with having it around.   In these cases the new puppy will invariably have more energy and activity than the old dog and will need a healthy outlet for that. It is important therefore to ensure that the new dog’s energy levels do not exceed those of the family unit. There must be a matching of demand so that the pup does not become aggressive or destructive for want of proper authority or exercise.

Breed predisposition to inherited disease can be a determinant for some people who may have had unpleasant experiences in the past. There are also those who have a particular affinity for certain breeds through experience or personal preference.

Just as you would not choose a large breed boisterous pup for an elderly person with sedentary habits, you would not choose an old worn out dog as a first dog for a young family. These are the obvious cases but most will be far more difficult to determine as they fall in the ‘in between’.  Renowned dog whisperer Cesar Millan is an expert in matching animals to families largely through his ability to make these assessments.   His work and success in this field largely depends on his skill to identify animal behaviour in family situations and make adjustments to facilitate harmonious interactions.
A dog is a pack animal and identifies hierarchy in the family. It is imperative therefore that the dog recognizes that the entire family is higher in the pack order than itself. Dogs will not suffer low self esteem for being at the bottom of the pack but will feel useful and content knowing that it is a valued family member.   

This all sounds simple but in practice it can be difficult to identify whether some dogs recognize their position in the family correctly and this is where many behavioural problems originate.  Dog trainers and whisperers can more clearly identify where the dog is positioning itself in the family and assist in rectifying any confusion by retraining both the dog and the family.

Raising a new puppy properly depends upon establishing this order clearly from the beginning.  Once a good diet and routine are established then a reinforcement of hierarchy is the most important management practice.
Getting the children to feed the dog, not allowing it to sit on the furniture or car seats and keeping them off the beds will help to establish and maintain this order.    

Another simple and important practice is to make the dog wait until all the family members have entered the house or car before the dog is allowed to enter.

Puppies need early socializing to establish good dog behaviour and this can be facilitated by play with other dogs of all ages including other puppies.

Puppy class is an excellent forum for providing this experience. The requirement for vaccination can be a frustration for those who are opposed to such mandatory practices but hopefully with time there will be a change to this practice brought about through further education on this matter. A single vaccination at 10-12 weeks of age is all that is required lifelong and up until and after then there are homeopathic nosodes to augment maternal and acquired protection from disease.  

Healthy puppies and older dogs do not pose a threat to each other if they are properly managed and monitored. Unless they are strays or orphans, maternally derived antibodies can protect them sufficiently up to 3 months of age and there is some concern that vaccinating at 6 weeks can cause immunosuppression. There will be ongoing debate about this for some time and it will be up to individuals to decide for themselves based on their own understanding.

Generally dogs have short attention span and when educating them it is important to choose the moment for reward or admonition. They will learn very quickly with properly  timed rewards but inappropropriate timing will bring training unstuck. You have a split second often between good behaviour and bad in which to correctly apply a reward. This is where the ‘clicker training’ becomes an excellent training tool to reinforce good habits. Dogs learn simple words so modify your speech to use simple commands. Saying ‘Good sit’ and ‘Good Shush’ tells then they are good for sitting and being quiet rather than just being a good boy or girl as they already believe themselves to be. Word association with the command will easily reinforce the behaviour more than a string of other words that become meaningless.

Getting puppies to chew raw meaty bones as a basis for their lifelong diet is also an excellent beginning to a long and healthy life. There is little to no need to purchase ‘puppy food’, except as a fast food.

Whatever reasons or events determine the choice of acquiring a new dog and however you choose to manage the health and disease of the new dog, it is yet another episode in life’s journey with all it’s attendant ups and downs.

But then……………..you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t already know that!

This is part 2 of Sri Chinmoy’s Animal Kingdom

see Part 1 for introduction.

Ant: Glory
Cow: Light
Deer: Speed
Cat:  Affection
Frog: Enthusiasm

Ant: Glory   

Ant, my ant,

In you my heart beholds
The glory of the Supreme.
Tiniest in size, you house the dream
Of the Omnipotent.
To me you are extremely important,
Because you represent
One extremity of God,
His message of smallness;
In another word, His greatness.

Ant song

Ant frugality I want not

Cow: Light

Cow, my cow,

You have the light,
You are the light.
Therefore
You alone have the right
To guide and lead
The entire creation’s height.

Cow song

Cow self-giving I want

Deer: Speed

Deer, my deer,

God’s Compassion
Has the fastest speed.
God is very rich, my deer.
With his Compassion –Moon,
The whole world he knows how to feed.
God wants you
To be his student-runner
And hoist his Victory’s Banner.

Cat:  Affection

Cat, my cat,

You cry for constant affection.
I have affection plus compassion.
Therefore
Stop crying.
Start smiling.
I tell you a supreme secret;
“I treasure your dependence.”

Cat song

“Cat Slyness, I want not”

Frog:  Enthusiasm

Frog, my frog,

Endlessly you jump and jump,
Cheerfully you cover distance,
Proudly you conquer the pride of length.
Who could imagine
That your legs had such spring and
strength?
Continue jumping.
In the process of your evolution
And your silver-bright enthusiasm
You are bound to cover
Eternity’s length
And sing the song
Of salvation-perfection.

What springs to mind may be spite, arrogance, aggression or vicious intent but what is often overlooked, by the untrained eye, are the higher qualities of poise, elegance, sweetness and affection. Cats are invariably agile, clean and sleek and have been worshipped, in the past, as Gods.

It seems a shame then that cats are usually associated with their lower vital propensities when perhaps all they are doing is trying to survive and progress in the world like the rest of us.
I used to love cats best of all animals when I was a new vet because I really admired their self-sufficiency. They can survive with or without us and yet they choose to be with us.

They are usually highly intelligent and entertaining which also makes them good companions and worthy of admiration.

One of the most striking things about cats from a veterinary perspective is their ability to heal themselves. We used to joke in veterinary circles that you only needed to put the bits of the cat in the same room and it would heal. This was generally proved true!
I loved this about them because it showed a connection to a power that I had forgotten.
Unfortunately, this uncanny ability that cats possess amongst others such as clairvoyance and being able to survive a fall from a thirty storey building has not always afforded cats the respect they deserve.

In days of old they were both revered and despised. We were frightened by them and burned them with the women we condemned as witches. They featured as totems of evil and superstition and have been hunted and tortured out of fear that it had better be them than us.
Despite all of this, our beloved felines have triumphed and asserted themselves once again as masters of the universe in many households. The Warner Brothers, having identified Cat Supremacy, produced an entertaining film entitled, ‘Cats and Dogs’. This exposure of cats efforts to take over the world and reassert their rightful place as rulers was presented with such clever, good humour that many people believed it to be simply a work of fiction.

Along with alligators and hippopotami, cats may actually be one of the only surviving non food producing domestic species remaining from the days of Ancient Egyptian reign. Unlike alligators and hippopotami, they have made their way into the lives and homes of millions of people the world over. Apart from the obvious difficulties an alligator or a hippopotamus would have convincing us they were useful additions to the household, this demonstrates a certain dependence and determination on the cats behalf.

There are other reasons why this may have happened. Working for a living became necessary after their God head status came under threat. To give them credit, they have survived through much change and evolved to be much more than hired killers.
Their natural hunting instincts certainly served them well in days of old when the price of a cat was weighed upon the number of rats and mice it caught.

‘When rats infest the Palace, a lame cat is worth more than the swiftest horse’ Chinese proverb

It is a shame perhaps that these same hunting instincts are now responsible for bringing the wrath of environmentalists and bird enthusiasts down upon their heads. I remember a shift in my own feeling towards cats once I realised how destructive they can be in environments that are not a natural habitat for them. There was much controversy many years ago when the Shire of Sherbrooke, in Melbourne, banned cat ownership in an attempt to protect its native bird population. The excuse that a well-fed cat will not kill anything can be proven to be false. In fact, if the cat killed just because it was hungry it may be forgiven more often.

To conclude in a way befitting the respect owed to these long standing sufferers and survivors of domesticity, I think Christopher Smart in his ‘Jubilate Agno’ of 1763 sums things up very eloquently.

(excerpt)

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry,
For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving Him.
For having consider’d God and himself he will consider his neighbour.
For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.
For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.
For when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins.
For he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against adversary.
For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.
For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
For he will not do destruction, if he is well fed, neither will he spit without provocation.
For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he’s a good Cat.
For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.
For every house is incomplete without him.

It is perhaps the last stanza here that now appeals so much to me when I recall the gratitude I have to all the cats that have made such a difference in the lives of my own children and myself.

By the way, I suspect the feline bid for Earth Supremacy is still well underway and progressing nicely. Frankly, as much as I like and admire them, I think they take themselves a little too seriously.