Whole Pet Vet Blog

How Old Am I?

2010-08-22T09:51:00.001-07:00

On one of our plant identification walks at Sage Mountain, we ran across this little fella. Although it looks like a sapling that might have sprung up overnight, it's actually taken five years just to grow this big.

The plant is Sacred American Ginseng, and it is highly sought after for its properties to work as an "adaptogen" in the body. Adaptogens boost immune function and strengthen the body's resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue. Although the leaves are sometimes used, it is the root or rhizome of the plant that is highly valued for its medicinal properties.

Many Native American tribes considered American Ginseng as the most sacred of herbs. Demand for the plant has caused it to become rare in the wild, and collection of wild plants is prohibited by law. American Ginseng is highly sought after in Asia, where it is often used in traditional Chinese medicine, and it is being cultivated here in the United States and exported for this purpose.

Making an Herbal Remedy, Part 2

2010-08-22T09:31:00.001-07:00

After the herbs are chopped and bruised, they are placed in oil and left to sit in the sun. These need to reach 90 degrees fahrenheit for a period of time to allow the oils to become fully infused. In part three of the process, the infused oils are mixed with beeswax to create a balm or salve. I combined oils from the plants I showed you in the previous post to create a salve that aids in the healing of cuts, burns and abrasions.

Making an Herbal Remedy, Part 1

2010-08-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Before I tell you what they are, take a look at the four plants above and see if you can identify them. Odds are you have seen some of in the wild or perhaps even have them growing in your yard or garden.

Starting from the bottom left and moving clockwise: the long, green leaves are from the plantain, the larger orange and yellow flowers are calendula, the smaller star-shaped yellow flowers are St. John's wort, and the leafy stems with tube-shaped purple flowers are comfrey.

Together or separately, these plants can be used to create various remedies. In the next post you'll see how the process works.

2010-08-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

In honor of Native American tradition and Native American people's use of medicinal plants in healing and tribal rituals, our session at Sage Mountain opened with a drumming circle and ceremony.

Herbal Leanings

2010-08-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

In June, I attended an herbal training with Rosemary Gladstar at Sage Mountain Herbal Learning Center in Vermont. As many of my patients know, I employ Chinese medicine in my practice, which often includes the administration of herbs to help open up energy pathways, decrease blood stagnation and control inflammation among other things.

This workshop gave me the opportunity to brush up on native American medicinal plants and their various uses to treat illnesses and injuries. From the drumming circle to our nature walks, it was an eye-opening and spirit-renewing experience as well as a learning one.

The picture above is of Rosemary Gladstar teaching the class. Rosemary is a pioneer in the herbal movement and has even been called the "godmother of American Herbalism."

Tino and Liberty Horse Training, Part 2

2010-08-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

One more post and I will get off my "horse kick"! Here are Tino and I working together in another video using the techniques I learned at Liberty Horse Training. At the end Tino gives Jeff, who was running the video camera, a little glance as if to say, "Not bad, eh?"

In the next few days, I will be posting some pictures and stories from an herbal training session I recently attended taught by Rosemary Gladstar at Sage Mountain Herbal Learning Center in Vermont.

I will also be sharing a piece I wrote that was published by the Seattle Times about the elephants at Woodland Park Zoo, as well as the complaint that has been filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund about their treatment and living conditions.

Please stay tuned, Dr. Donna.

Tino and Liberty Horse Training, Part 1

2010-08-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Tino and me working together using techniques I learned last June on a trip to Liberty Horse Training at Robin Gates' beautiful Rising Moon Ranch in Sonoma, California, about an hour north of San Francisco. Liberty Horse Training provides a truly revolutionary, entirely positive approach to working with horses. (By the way, can you believe this is the same Tino as in the earlier post?)

Robin’s training is based on her years of study and friendship with Carolyn Resnick, a renowned leader in the field of horse communication. Carolyn developed her knowledge of horses through interacting with wild horses in their own environment. You can learn more about Carolyn's work and philosophy here.

The wand in my left hand is actually a basic horse whip. However, in this form of training the whip is never used as a punishment device. Rather is it used to guide the horse as you would use a treat to lure a dog into a behavior, or to create a visible barrier that adjusts the space between the horse and handler, or occasionally to serve as a noisemaker to mark behaviors as a clicker would. You will also notice that I use my right hand as if I'm holding an invisible lead. This technique creates a magnetic connection between the handler and her horse.

It may be hard to believe, but this video was taken after only a few hours of work with Tino. He took to the method completely and seemed to yearn to learn and interact with me on a deeper level.

Tino the Wonder Horse

2010-08-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

Looking at him today, it is hard for me to believe that my horse Tino was ever in this bad of shape. Tino was seized, along with a number of other badly neglected horses, by Skagit County animal control officers. After being in foster care for three weeks, I welcomed him into our family.

The lesson I've learned from Tino is that horses are remarkably resilient animals. Even the most malnourished and neglected horse can rebound quickly given the proper diet, hoof care and repair, grooming, and a spacious area to fulfill the needs to roam and graze. I have heard from many people that accepting guardianship of a rescued horse is too much of a gamble. They say you don't know what you're getting, that the horses are dirty or diseased, or that their spirits are forever broken and that they will always distrust humankind.

Tino has demonstrated to me that these beliefs just don't hold water. You will see in some later blog posts a couple of videos I took just a few months after he joined our family that Tino has transformed into the beautiful, vibrant animal he was meant to be and that he fully trusts and seeks human companionship.

If you would consider welcoming a neglected horse into your family, I recommend checking out the Web site a wonderful farrier named Shane Westman at Westman Farrier Services. Shane volunteers his time to work with Skagit County Animal Control to shod the hooves of seized horses and has done some truly amazing repairs. He often lists horses that are available for adoption on his Web site here.

Horse Lessons

2010-06-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

Holistic vet Dr. Karen Mueller recently showed me how to adjust a horse's sternum. This is particularly useful in a horse that pins his ears angrily when you tighten his girth.

Here are three pictures of the same horse as he is standing with his legs in the same position (square under him). His legs did not move during time the photos were taken.

This is "before":

As you can see, the right side of his sternum (left in the photo) is upright and short so he is tilted to the right side. I then did an adjustment on his sternum according to Dr. Mueller's instructions and brought it more to the left side:

I was not happy that I got a complete adjustment so I repeated it and took the final shot:

Do you notice how much more even the sternum looks here versus the first photo? When evaluating your own horse, you have to stand him with his legs evenly square beneath him and look only at the two sides on the bottom of the horse's sternum, comparing right and left. Some horses are so uneven, it's almost freakish.

Feel free to post a photo of your horse's sternum in the comments. You can also visit http://www.animalchiropractic.org/ to find a certified veterinary chiropractor in your area.

Grill Time

2010-06-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here is Jeff posing in front of the grill.

The only lesson in grills we got from beer commercials. Since we don't have a television, they're old commercials. To get in the spirit of grilling, Jeff is enjoying a Fish Ale, which he generally does not drink, and acting like he knows what he is doing. Ugh, vegetarians!

By this summer I plan on making a mean marinaded tofu on the grill! Recipes anyone?

Oyster Mushroom Feast

2010-06-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the thousands of oyster mushrooms we found on alder logs in the forest outside our home.

I made oyster mushroom stew, put them in spagetti sauce, dehydrated them cooked and raw--and we still had enough for the grill!

Mmm, Morels

2010-06-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

I came home to find these morels growing wild in my garden.

Luckily they did not go to waste: we had learned enough about them to make a morel tofu scramble!

Paul Stamets

2010-06-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here is Paul Stamets teaching us about the cultivation of gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Paul's books are considered by many as the bibles of mushroom growing.

Mushrooms!

2010-06-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I recently attended a two-day seminar on mushroom cultivation presented by Fungi Perfecti, a grower of medicinal mushrooms near Olympia. Author and mushroom guru Paul Stamets along with Fungi Perfecti staff taught us tissue culture, spawn generation techniques, substrate preparation, inoculation techniques and strategies for maximizing yields.

Mushrooms play a huge role in boosting our pets (and our own!) immune systems and have been shown to act as a cancer fighter.

One of our most powerful cancer fighting and immune modulating mushrooms is pictured above. This one is just a baby. Can you guess what it is? Leave your guesses in the comments section and I'll identify the mystery mushroom in a future post.

Hannah's story

2010-04-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hannah lives with a less serious form of lymphoma but all forms are not good I guess. This is an update two plus years after her diagnosis. She has needed no chemotherapy, no radiation and no prednisone. I thought maybe her owner's words would be better than mine.

"In May 2008, my husband Will was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Two months later, our 10 year-old Lab Hannah was diagnosed with lymphoma. With such devastating news, I immediately sought out as much information as I could get my hands on. I read, I did research, and I talked to as many health professionals as I could. Although I could not do away with the cancer, I knew that I could do one important thing that would help them stay as healthy as possible during the coming months — I decided to provide them with the best nutrition possible! Since I love to cook, it was a natural place for me to throw all of my energy. I educated myself on what was the best food for both of them as well as supplements that are known for boosting the immune system and helping to decrease the growth of cancer. In this regard, I received tremendous support and advice from naturopathic doctors, especially our vet Donna Kelleher.

To keep me organized, I had my “TLC” sheet for Will and another “TLC” sheet for Hannah. I put a photo of each of them at the top of the page: one of Will tanned and smiling on a recent vacation to Mexico, the other of Hannah with her favorite ball stuffed firmly between her teeth. Below their photos, I had a list and chart of the things they needed to eat every day. I pasted these sheets on my kitchen cabinet. I stopped feeding Hannah kibble and started cooking her food. We all ate mostly veggies, lots of the green leafy kind such as kale, swiss chard, spinach and parsley, as well as carrots and sweet potatoes. We stayed away from fatty foods and had mostly lean meats and fish. Hannah, being a Lab, had no problems eating whatever I put before her. On the recommendation of our vet Donna, I started giving Hannah doses of mycomedicinals along with COQ10 and Grapefruit Seed Extract. Throughout the months that followed, I committed myself to staying calm, projecting an upbeat attitude and providing the most nutritious love-filled food I could.

Two years later, we are all here, happy together! Will is now cancer free, and the lymphoma, although still present, has not progressed since Hannah’s diagnosis, which really seems like a miracle to us given the usual aggressive nature of lymphoma. She remains a beautiful sweet dog soul who amazes us with her continued energy and robust appetite. And therein perhaps lies the answer to this miracle. I can almost hear her thinking, “The food is so good here why go anywhere else.”

Meet Kitty, 5 year-old male neutered domestic long hair rescue

2010-04-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

History: Mild hyperesthesia or skin twitching around his back end. When we touched his sacrum, he licked incessantly at his front foot.

Conventional treatment: None. This condition is not readily treated using Western medicine. Usually, anti-inflammatories including steroids, or prednisone, are used.

Current holistic therapies: Chiropractic and acupuncture and NAET to find that Kitty had a chicken allergy that accentuated his hyperesthesia, a nerve sensitivity. Sometimes these kitties can zip around like something is chasing them and many owners say they act possessed. The condition is worsened with fleas and skin allergies.

Observations: Kitty rarely has symptoms. Occasionally, we retreat his chicken allergy but he can even eat pieces of chicken neck every few days.

Meet Carlos, 8 year-old male neutered mixed breed

2010-04-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

History: Mild allergies manifesting as itchy skin, hip dysplasia on left hip, moderate partial tear of right cranial cruciate

Current problems: Holding right hind leg up when he is too active, cries when he gets up.

Conventional treatments: NSAIDs and surgery, both of which the owner declined.

Current Holistic therapy: Acupuncture, chiropractic, aquapuncture around the hips and knees (into specific acupuncture points), herbs and a cartilage-rich diet. Adding raw chicken necks or pieces of backs is really good because for large dogs, we don’t worry about the bones but have the nutritional, cartilage protecting qualities of a diet rich in cartilage and connective tissues. We are also using fish oil, Western herbs including yucca, dogwood, myrrh, boneset, ad devils claw all in powder form over the food.

Observations: So far, he is doing well. His owner is a dog walker and has yet to run him excessively off-leash because he likes to jump up on high logs. (Unfortunately this is risky as he could fully rupture the ligament). Surgery would be harder on him because his left hip is very dysplastic and compensation would be difficult.

Meet Burl, 5 year-old male neutered English bulldog

2010-04-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

History: Bulldogs have medical problems! But Burl has had fewer than usual. At four months old, his recurrent aspiration pneumonia was due to elongated soft palate; that surgery we could not avoid. Epilepsy, right carpal arthritis.

Current problems: Only had three seizures in his life but the last one was severe, lasting many minutes.

Conventional treatment: Anti-convulsant therapies were considered but avoided, due to potential side-effects. Potassium bromide can weaken muscles, including involuntary muscles of the esophagus and larynx causing aspiration pneumonia. Phenobarbital can affect the liver.

Current holistic therapy: We tested Burl for food allergies, and like many epileptics, found him sensitive to several items, including minerals, grains and chicken. So we treated him for each item to “clear” his system of that allergen. He is also on homemade food, anti-inflammatory herbs for his arthritis, fish oil, multivitamins, glucosamine sulfate and other nutriceucicals. He is not currently on herbs for the seizures.

Most important current therapy: NAET. We just treated his protein allergy, hoping to make it so he will not rotate to a new protein allergy which will give rise to his seizures.

Observations: Time will tell if this “simple” holistic approach will be sufficient to control his seizures but he runs and plays with no symptoms. He is a happy boy!

Meet Harley, 7 year-old male neutered Dachshund

2010-04-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

History: Every three months, whether it’s his shoulder, neck, low back or knee, Harley needs a hand. Some of his injuries are self-induced like jumping from the back of the couch after the mailman, and others happen because of his breed.

Current Issues: The partial rupture of his left cranial cruciate ligament. He would not walk and held the affected leg up all the time.

Conventional treatment: None. Radiographs did not show a fracture and soft tissue injury is hard to see on films. Although many owners would have opted for surgery, since he is very sensitive to the benefits of acupuncture, his owners thought we would try this less invasive technique first. He vomits when on NSAIDS, so we use herbs for inflammation instead.

Current holistic treatment: Traumeel and arnica homeopathics alternated every eight hours. A boswellia-containing Chinese herbs called china tung sheuh (my favorite for this injury), acupuncture and aquapuncture into key “knee” points. In the past, chiropractic has been essential for his neck, back and shoulder.

Partial list of supplements/nutrition: When Harley eats homemade food, he heals fast. He has narrowly escaped several surgeries, but would have required many more acupuncture treatments if he were not on meat, veggies and supplements every day. He is on a diet all the time to keep the weight off his back, neck and knee and does not eat more than ¼ cup daily. Fish oil 250 mg DHA/EPA, glucosamine sulfate at 500mg divided twice a day, vitamin C at 250 mg, MSM at 125 mg, calcium citrate 125 mg, homeopathics and Chinese herbs as needed.

Special note: I only need to see Harley every two or three months. He is running normally with only three acupuncture sessions for his ligament injury. We also keep his teeth brushed to avoid unnecessary dentals. His teeth are sparkling white! And his gums are healthy from so many antioxidants in his diet.

Meet Avalanche: 11 year-old male neutered Great Pyrenees

2010-04-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Avalanche's history: Hip dysplasia, TPLO surgery for cruciate ligament tear at age one, lipomas, food allergies, intestinal symptoms.

Most recent symptoms: Horner’s syndrome, neurologic weakness left hind.

Conventional treatment: If treated according to traditional Western veterinary practice, Avalanche would likely be on a regimen of steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as well as narcotics for acute pain episodes. Each of these approaches runs a high risk of side effects, including liver and kidney compromise, and we have successfully avoided them thus far.

Current holistic therapy: Herbs, nutrition, vitamins, acupuncture, chiropractic, electroacupuncture, aquapuncture with vitamin B12 and adequan injections. Fish oil (Carlson’s), choline (a B vitamin), Coenzyme Q10 (antioxidant and circulation enhancer) as well as Chinese and western herbs for inflammation and backend strength, which has to do with the strength of his Kidney Qi.

Most important current therapy: Not sure there are so many. Chiropractic for his lower neck, upper thoracics and electroacupuncture along his lower lumbar spine.

Interesting Note: Avalanche's symptoms of Horner's and spinal weakness started a few weeks after his sister Snowdrift died. But Avalanche’s bloodwork (liver and kidney) is better than normal, it’s like a puppy’s. He runs and the facial collapse on the right side of his face is not currently noticeable. A problem with the recurrent laryngeal nerve as it courses the right side of his neck, Horner’s syndrome often gets better on its own, however the spinal problem often needs help.

Welcome

2010-04-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Whole Pet Vet blog. In this blog, I will be sharing stories of the current animals I am treating through holistic veterinary medicine as well as observations, stories about my own animal family, and our travels.

I hope you will enjoy and learn from these remarkable stories. Even though I have been practicing for more than 15 years, I am constantly surprised by the results we can achieve by gently helping our animals' bodies correct imbalances and promote healing from within.

The purpose of this blog is to educate that not only does "energy medicine" work, but that conventional veterinarians should be pushed to open their minds towards other avenues of healing than surgery and pharmaceuticals. Since most research these days is pharma driven, it is not objective, and has thus lost something deeply authentic. If we are to learn how to heal, we must stay open to new ideas as well as reviving old ones. There is a push in conventional medical world to rename traditional acupuncture, calling it "medical acupuncture" and denying much that lies in ancient wisdom and tradition. The more myopic our vision of acupuncture, the less disease we can heal.

I am reporting on many of my cases so you can follow them with me. I will have some success and maybe some animals will not improve and will need other therapies. That is all part of this education process.

For more information about my practice and patients, please visit my Web page.