Homeopathy for Pets
Catherine O’Driscoll
It is said that animals are our teachers, and mine have taught me a great deal. Sophie, our oldest Golden Retriever girl, was six years old when she first introduced us to homeopathy, when she started to limp and seemed reluctant to go on walks. We took her to the vet who administered steroids, but the limp gradually got worse - to the point where our little bright star didn’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. Eventually, a diagnosis of arthritis was given, and the arthritis had based itself in her front paws. Pain killers didn’t seem to kill the pain; rather, they just seemed to dope her up. The vet said that the steroids would probably kill Sophie before the arthritis would.
I was telling a very dear friend, Margaret Copley, about Sophie’s predicament and Margaret suggested homeopathy. I admit that, in those days, I didn’t know what homeopathy was, but I reasoned that anything was worth a try - the conventional treatment certainly wasn’t working. So we went along to our local chemists, bought a booklet that described the various remedies available, and purchased Bryonia 6c to see if it would help. Well . . . the transformation was nothing short of miraculous! Sophie started smiling again, and dancing, and although not completely pain free at first, her sparkle returned. We were both delighted and relieved.
Shortly after this, Chappie, then nine, also started to have trouble walking. In fact, he was in such pain that the middle of his back pointed up, like a rocket, to the sky. He went through a series of x-rays, and hip dysplasia was diagnosed. Unfortunately, the vet said that an operation would be out of the question due to Chappie’s age and size. The only solution was pain killers which, again, didn’t kill the pain. I asked the vet if he would refer us to a homeopathic vet but he was violently opposed, telling us that homeopathy was religious mumbo jumbo, and we might as well take Chappie on a visit to Lourdes. Homeopathy, he said, was totally unscientific.
But, we reasoned, we had seen homeopathy work a transformation in Sophie, right before our eyes. Surely it was worth a try on Chappie’s behalf. Frankly, he was in such agony that we seriously considered putting him out of his misery. So I picked up the phone and found another conventional vet who would be prepared to refer us to a homeopath.
This vet was a trained radiologist, and he x-rayed Chappie again - this time the diagnosis was ruptured cruciate ligaments (the elastic-like substance that enables the knees to move). The new vet agreed to refer us to a homeopathic vet, albeit tongue in cheek, saying we were wasting our time.
Again a miracle occurred. The homeopathic vet, Chris Day, gave Chappie acupuncture and, for the first time in months, Chaps was able to hobble out of the surgery unaided. He was also given several homeopathic remedies to help his body heal itself. One was quite remarkable: when Chappie was given Ferrum Phos powder each morning, he seemed to clap his paws and say, ‘right, let’s go walkies then!’. Slowly, Chappie’s walking improved, and he lived to the age of fifteen, with Rabbit Chasing remaining at the top of his list of accomplishments.
And we haven’t looked back. Today, everyone in our family is treated homeopathically. Gwinnie was successfully treated to stop her itching and scratching after a vaccine reaction (she was a rescue who had been vaccinated before she came to live with us). Sammie was treated homeopathically after he was diagnosed with vaccine-induced autoimmune disease - and this enabled him to live two happy years longer than might otherwise have been the case.
Homeopathy is classed as a ‘holistic’ medicine, that is, it seeks to look at the whole picture: what the patient eats, the environment the patient lives in, the personality of the patient, and so on. The aim is to find the underlying cause of an illness, rather than treat the illness in isolation. So, alongside any homeopathic treatment, you might also be referred to other specialists such as chiropractors, herbalists and acupuncturists; even healers; and you’d be guided towards making improvements to the patient’s diet.
The nicest thing about all of these treatments, apart from the fact that they generally work, is that none of them has been developed using animal experimentation as its guide.
Through Canine Health Concern, we have pointed hundreds of dog and cat owners towards homeopathic vets, and we receive letters every week from people whose pets had been written off, but who have been helped using this ‘unscientific’ method of healing. If you would like to explore the homeopathic alternative for your dog, the first course is to ask your conventional vet to refer you.
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Homeopathy
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Catherine O’Driscoll
It is said that animals are our teachers, and mine have taught me a great deal. Sophie, our oldest Golden Retriever girl, was six years old when she first introduced us to homeopathy, when she started to limp and seemed reluctant to go on walks. We took her to the vet who administered steroids, but the limp gradually got worse - to the point where our little bright star didn’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. Eventually, a diagnosis of arthritis was given, and the arthritis had based itself in her front paws. Pain killers didn’t seem to kill the pain; rather, they just seemed to dope her up. The vet said that the steroids would probably kill Sophie before the arthritis would.
I was telling a very dear friend, Margaret Copley, about Sophie’s predicament and Margaret suggested homeopathy. I admit that, in those days, I didn’t know what homeopathy was, but I reasoned that anything was worth a try - the conventional treatment certainly wasn’t working. So we went along to our local chemists, bought a booklet that described the various remedies available, and purchased Bryonia 6c to see if it would help. Well . . . the transformation was nothing short of miraculous! Sophie started smiling again, and dancing, and although not completely pain free at first, her sparkle returned. We were both delighted and relieved.
Shortly after this, Chappie, then nine, also started to have trouble walking. In fact, he was in such pain that the middle of his back pointed up, like a rocket, to the sky. He went through a series of x-rays, and hip dysplasia was diagnosed. Unfortunately, the vet said that an operation would be out of the question due to Chappie’s age and size. The only solution was pain killers which, again, didn’t kill the pain. I asked the vet if he would refer us to a homeopathic vet but he was violently opposed, telling us that homeopathy was religious mumbo jumbo, and we might as well take Chappie on a visit to Lourdes. Homeopathy, he said, was totally unscientific.
But, we reasoned, we had seen homeopathy work a transformation in Sophie, right before our eyes. Surely it was worth a try on Chappie’s behalf. Frankly, he was in such agony that we seriously considered putting him out of his misery. So I picked up the phone and found another conventional vet who would be prepared to refer us to a homeopath.
This vet was a trained radiologist, and he x-rayed Chappie again - this time the diagnosis was ruptured cruciate ligaments (the elastic-like substance that enables the knees to move). The new vet agreed to refer us to a homeopathic vet, albeit tongue in cheek, saying we were wasting our time.
Again a miracle occurred. The homeopathic vet, Chris Day, gave Chappie acupuncture and, for the first time in months, Chaps was able to hobble out of the surgery unaided. He was also given several homeopathic remedies to help his body heal itself. One was quite remarkable: when Chappie was given Ferrum Phos powder each morning, he seemed to clap his paws and say, ‘right, let’s go walkies then!’. Slowly, Chappie’s walking improved, and he lived to the age of fifteen, with Rabbit Chasing remaining at the top of his list of accomplishments.
And we haven’t looked back. Today, everyone in our family is treated homeopathically. Gwinnie was successfully treated to stop her itching and scratching after a vaccine reaction (she was a rescue who had been vaccinated before she came to live with us). Sammie was treated homeopathically after he was diagnosed with vaccine-induced autoimmune disease - and this enabled him to live two happy years longer than might otherwise have been the case.
Homeopathy is classed as a ‘holistic’ medicine, that is, it seeks to look at the whole picture: what the patient eats, the environment the patient lives in, the personality of the patient, and so on. The aim is to find the underlying cause of an illness, rather than treat the illness in isolation. So, alongside any homeopathic treatment, you might also be referred to other specialists such as chiropractors, herbalists and acupuncturists; even healers; and you’d be guided towards making improvements to the patient’s diet.
The nicest thing about all of these treatments, apart from the fact that they generally work, is that none of them has been developed using animal experimentation as its guide.
Through Canine Health Concern, we have pointed hundreds of dog and cat owners towards homeopathic vets, and we receive letters every week from people whose pets had been written off, but who have been helped using this ‘unscientific’ method of healing. If you would like to explore the homeopathic alternative for your dog, the first course is to ask your conventional vet to refer you.
Back to:
Homeopathy
A to Z