Ancient Arts Holistic Veterinary Services

Allergy shots can create a lot of pain at the injection sites, and usually need to be administered for life.  Is that a cure if something needs to be done for the rest of a patient’s life?  Also, types of allergy testing vary in reliability and accuracy.  Blood testing is less invasive than intradermal testing, but is not generally considered as reliable.  Intradermal testing involves sedation and many shots into the skin to determine which allergens are a problem, or create a welt on the skin of the animal.

If skin eruptions are due to chemicals trying to escape the body through the skin, then adding more allergens and preservatives in the hypoimmunization (allergy) shots may not be helpful.  These animals tend to get even more red, itchy, damp, and stinky with the allergy shots.  They also tend to get very resentful of the shots, becoming nippy and crying when they are administered.  This can make it more difficult to administer acupuncture to these patients later, as now they are extremely tender to the touch. 

Herbs, acupuncture, food therapy, aromatherapy, and other natural remedies can be extremely useful for dogs (and cats or other animals) with allergies.  Seasonal allergies, adverse food reactions, environmental triggers, and metabolic processes can all be addressed with these gentle techniques.  All of these therapeutics are also really safe, if used appropriately, with very low likelihood for adverse reactions, and at good value for your money. 

(See “Treating allergies in dogs with natural therapies—beyond steroids and antibiotics,” “Holistic tips for pets: skin” and “Holistic tips for pets: ears”)

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            “My dog had been to his regular vet and the dermatologist, had a lot of money spent on him, but acupuncture and herbs cured his allergies in a short time.  Now he comes to get acupuncture for maintenance.” (said to a vet assistant by a satisfied client) Acupuncture and herbs have helped many dogs get relief from itchy skin, hives, skin break outs, ear infections or redness, itchy feet, yeast infections, staph infections, mange, and fungal infections such as ringworm.

            Acupuncture and traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM) have many herbal formulas and techniques such as food therapy to treat all these skin, or dermatological, issues in dogs.  Since TCVM looks at each patient as an individual, tongue and pulse diagnosis is made at each visit to assess the specific pattern.  For example, “wind heat” would be treated differently than “damp heat.”  The lungs, liver or spleen may need to be addressed, from a TCVM perspective, to help the patient’s immune system or clear the skin lesions. 

Contrast this with standard veterinary medicine where steroids and antibiotics are the mainstay of treatment for skin issues.  For those interested in using herbs or natural remedies instead, there are lots of options.  Recent marketing of over the counter herbal products for pets has really skyrocketed.  Some of these products may be helpful for some patients.  However, it can be trial and error to find which ones, unless you have a certified veterinary TCM practitioner assess their pattern.  Also, some internet herbal sites for pets are run by acupuncture students who have no experience with animals, are not veterinarians, and provide no customer support.  Buyer beware!

(see “Treating allergies in dogs with natural therapies—beyond allergy shots,” “Holistic tips for pets: skin” and “Holistic tips for pets: ears”)

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            In older dogs and cats, a sudden onset of vertigo or vestibular syndrome can look like a stroke.  This can be a transient ischemic attack, or impaired neural or cardiovascular activity.  Usually the term “stroke” is not used in animal patients, but vestibular syndrome can look quite similar to the description used in people.  For example, an animal may suddenly get rigid and then move with difficulty, circle, or have a head tilt.  If there are strange eye movements back and forth or in a rotary direction, the nerve that affects balance has likely been inflamed.  This is a classic sign of “vestibular syndrome.”

            Because they feel dizzy, these patients often have diminished appetite, nausea, and often do not want to walk much.  They may pant or vocalize from the confusion and disorientation.  They will often extend their legs out in an attempt to stabilize the spinning in their head.  No one knows what causes this—even in people, however, ear infections can be a contributing factor.  Symptoms need to be distinguished from a seizure, in which consciousness gets completely obscured, and syncope, which is a heart-related problem.

            Idiopathic (meaning unknown cause) vestibular syndrome can and often does go away on its own, given time—days to weeks.  Some dogs and cats will have a residual, continued head tilt for life.  Usually medications that reduce nausea, or treat any underlying infection or inflammation can help.  Acupuncture and herbs are extremely helpful to get animals back on their feet again, feel less dizzy, less nauseous, and “clear wind phlegm” as the condition is usually diagnosed according to traditional Chinese veterinary medicine.   If addressed early, many of these patients only need one or very few acupuncture treatments.

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            “Energy work” is a general term for subtle therapies including reiki, qi gong tui na, Chiga TM, network chiropractic, Matrix Energetics R, shamanism, Conscious Intentionality TM, and other ethereal conscious intentional healing practices.  Instead of using pharmaceutical drugs or physical manipulations, the subtle energy bodies surrounding the physical body are treated.  Sound esoteric?  Well, it’s quantum physics 101.  Basically, all matter is energy.  E=mc2.  At it’s most fundamental level of existence, everything solid, or all matter, actually behaves as a wave of light, or energy, in that it vibrates to its own specific frequency, and cannot have its location and speed measured simultaneously.   Only the speed OR the location can be measured for a particle/energy wave.  Also, the act of observation can affect a particle/wave’s behavior.  The components of our physical bodies are particles that have a frequency at a rate that we can perceive with our standard five senses.  Around our physical bodies, there are larger and less substantial blueprints, in which the particles are vibrating at frequencies outside of the usual human mode of perception. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-healing-of-unconditional-love.html

Perhaps animals, and certainly some gifted individuals can perceive these layers.  They are similar to the dolls that have multiple sizes that all fit one within another.  The outer most layer is the “spiritual” layer. This seems to be the layer that connects all conscious beings.  This is also the layer that the oldest physicians of all time worked on.  The shaman were not only the doctors, but also the spiritual leaders and artists, creators of culture, performers of music and song.  When human beings lived closer to the land, relying on nature to provide, illness was treated on the spiritual level.  Herbs and medicines were used, but also amulets, chants, drumming and other energetic methods were employed to heal, with the assistance of the spirits.  The spirits could be ancestors, ascended masters, nature beings, or elementals.  When organized religions and more settled agricultural lifestyles moved in, often the shamanic practices were suppressed out of fear and ignorance, substituting and enforcing worship of the male one god over appreciation for the mother earth goddess and all her children in nature.

Later persecution of keepers of herbal and natural healing techniques gave an excuse to the Inquisition to persecute these medicine women as witches and heretics.  Today, the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies try to discredit the merit of herbal supplements and natural remedies.  For example, an extremely potent and effective injectable treatment for arthritis is available here in the United States.  This product provides the building blocks for the cartilage in the joints, which is the cushion at the ends of the bones.  When this gets worn down, arthritis occurs, along with pain and inflammation.  This product reverses arthritis.  It was successfully lobbied to be kept out of the U.S. by one of the biggest nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that was later pulled off the market for severe side effects.  But because that one drug was a multi-billion dollar market, their drug company could pay folks on Capital Hill to keep it off the market in the US.  It is available for people in Europe.  By the way, one of the many listed potential adverse effects from vaccines is arthritis! 

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            Cats have teeth!  They also get tartar just like dogs do.  Felines can also acquire unique issues not seen in other species.  Sometimes, they can develop a painful lesion on the teeth that erodes away the enamel, exposing the sensitive nerve pulp.  These lesions are called resorptive—because the hard protective enamel on the outside is reabsorbed by the body, or are sometimes called “cervical neck lesions” because of the location of the defect on the tooth.  Whatever they are called, they are painful when touched, and need to be extracted.  These teeth become very brittle and break easily, leaving behind the root of the tooth under the gum line, which can become infected and spread infection to other parts of the body. 

            Sometimes the lesion is difficult to identify because the gingiva, or gums, grow over the defect to try to protect it.  When gently moved aside, beneath this over-grown gum is a painful tooth.  Dental care is just as important in cats as in dogs.  Even though their mouths are smaller and sometimes harder to open, they still need brushing and dental care. 

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            Diabetes mellitus is insufficient release or inability to use insulin to regulate blood sugar.  The insulin is made in the pancreas, and so sometimes other pancreatic problems or other endocrine issues can occur with the diabetes.  If the pancreas cannot produce insulin to break down sugars or carbohydrates, then the best first line of defense is to eliminate sugars from the diet.  Remember that grains such as rice, wheat, corn, and roots such as carrots, potatoes, and of course pasta, sweets and anything with starches or sugar are going to cause difficulties in these animals, since these are all forms of sugar that insulin has to process.

            Symptoms of diabetes include excessive drinking of water and urination.  This is the body’s way of trying to dilute out the high sugar in their blood.  Disorientation, grumpiness, obesity and sluggishness, or rapid weight loss and loss of muscle strength are all symptoms that can point to diabetes.  Cataracts and diabetic nerve damage, as well as difficulty healing wounds can all be secondary effects of uncontrolled high blood sugar. If really severe, ketosis can occur.  This means that the body mobilizes fat because it cannot utilize carbohydrates for energy.  The byproducts from this change in metabolism create a stuporous, very sickly patient who can decline rapidly without emergency intervention.

Certain prescription drugs can contribute to insulin resistance, such as prednisone, a steroid—especially after long-term use.  Diets high in carbohydrates and obesity are also common culprits that can predispose an animal to developing diabetes. Other disease processes can increase the body’s natural steroids, such as stress, pain from stiff joints or arthritis, anxiety, and Cushing’s disease.  Elevations of natural steroids in the body can also contribute to elevations in blood sugar, by decreasing insulin sensitivity.

            I have had many cat patients be able to come off of insulin when we simply eliminate carbs from their diet.  Cats are, after all, obligate carnivores.  They should be eating meat that is highly digestible with a high moisture content.

            Dogs often will need to stay on some insulin therapy, however there is promise with certain foods that this may change.  Both cats and dogs respond well to acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas for diabetes.  Some may be able to regulate on these alone, if caught early.  They are also a nice adjunctive treatment when having difficulty regulating blood sugar while already on insulin. 

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            Hepatitis, or an infection or inflammation in the liver, bile obstruction, liver shunts (portosystemic shunts), cirrhosis, and liver cancer can all benefit from acupuncture and herbal remedies.  The liver has a tremendous capacity to heal and regenerate itself, if given time and opportunity.  Therefore, routine blood work is recommended to catch changes early for best preventative care. 

            The liver in traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM) is responsible for the smooth flow of energy, or qi.  Whenever there is pain or disease, the flow of energy is disrupted or stagnant.  By tonifying--or treating the liver with acupuncture--disease processes and pain can be improved.  Liver qi can also become stagnant through pensiveness, worrying or anxiety.  There are many syndromes in TCVM that can be traced to liver qi stagnation, or disrupted energy flow.  Sometimes liver overacts on “spleen” causing digestive upsets such as diarrhea, inappetance, or constipation.  The liver can also generate too much heat from lack of flow, creating symptoms such as hyperthyroidism, irritability, or seizures.

            We understand through modern medicine that the liver is the great detoxifier, kind of like the oil filter on a car.  It can get sludgy if bile is not flowing smoothly.  Gallstones and bile buildup can cause pain and nausea.  The liver, along with the kidneys, metabolizes all the medications and chemicals the body is exposed to.  So proper function is essential to keep the body healthy.  Bitters, or dark green leafy vegetables and herbs, are a traditional and effective way of encouraging the release of bile.  Bile is important for food digestion, in the right amounts.  Qi gong meditation, exercise and deep breathing exercises also help promote the smooth flow of liver qi energy through the body. 

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            When we consider the thought that all matter is energy, then it is easier to conceive that all things are connected.  Quantum physics talks about nonlinear time and space.  Have you ever thought about a long-lost friend just to have them call shortly after they drifted through your mind?  Is it possible that this openness that allows for that sort of

experience is reproducible, and learnable?  Practicing communicating with animals is a good way to find out.  Animals seem to understand pictures, or mental images that you hold in your mind, perhaps more so than words.  If your words and intentions are in alignment, then words seem to work as well.  Speaking of intentions, no words or images are necessarily required to get your message across.  Also, even if something you are requesting from your pet is less than desirable to them, if you explain why it is necessary (and it is a reasonable explanation) then animals are usually quite obliging to our requests.     

            For example, if there is a behavior change you would like to implement with your animal friend, try asking them, and show them through mental pictures configured in an affirmative way.  If you’d like a marking dog to stop marking plants inside the house, picture them having extra freedom linked to them urinating outside on trees.  Be patient and discerning with communication styles.  Be calm and quiet enough within your own mind and body language to allow a clear picture of your intention to form.  Also take the time to feel a clear heart connection between you and your animal friend.  Asking them what they need or if there is anything they would like to express can be a great way of opening receptivity to communicating with them. 

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     Cats love interactive play.  Meaning, try joining in the fun with string toys, laser pointers, tossing mice around, hiding the end of a rope under a rug and tease it slowly out from under…Be creative!  In my opinion, cats have the best sense of humor of any type of animal.  Simple things can be extremely entertaining to them, like cardboard boxes, brown paper grocery bags, and plastic lids and rings.  If a cat does not play, he has probably never learned how.  He will likely need extra assistance from you.  Therefore, it’s even more important to heed the above-mentioned advice. 

     Cats can learn to play chase, hide-and-seek, fetch, “soccer” and yoga!  I even knew a cat who answered the phone when he was home alone!  They love having little tents or hiding places to run into and pounce out of.  Playful exercise helps to combat obesity, boredom, destructive behavior, arthritis, diabetes and “depression.”  Many cats will create their own games if they are in a safe environment.  Many will readily play with dogs they trust, or even other animals.  If you are creating all the contributing factors for fun, and your cat still will not play, then have them examined for pain or stiffness in the joints, sore gums or teeth, or other health issues. 

     Medical issues and stress are common reasons animals will not “lighten up.”  Stress can be not having their daily needs met, inappropriate nutrition, lack of stimulation, noise or bothersome animals, changes in the household, anxiety or haste in their human family members, or even more subtle things.  (see “How to bond with a pet” and “Bonding with your pet alleviates stress”) 

     Remember to be cautious of threads, tinsel and other small or thin items that can be swallowed and cause obstructions when choosing toys for cats.  Even though cats like feather toys, if they go outside at all, you could be teaching/encouraging them to hunt birds if you use these as toys.  To be a good steward for your animal companion, use common sense.  When in doubt, ask a vet first

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    The dreaded question is “To euthanize?—or not to euthanize?”  This is likely the most painful and difficult part of having a companion animal in our lives.  If the animal has inconsolable pain, the choice would seem a little easier.  But it is never easy, nor fun.  As a veterinarian and an empath, I feel a lot of the pain that the animal is going through.  I have agreed to administer humane euthanasia to animals who were terminally ill.  Most of these animals were ready.  Some of them would have preferred to wait a day or more.  When that happens, I have become physically ill, sometimes for an entire week afterwards.  This made me wonder if I was accepting some sort of energetic karma for them.  What if they needed that last little bit of time to achieve their purpose or get a message across?  Some animals are ready long before their people are to let go.  This can be equally as difficult to watch from a compassionate viewpoint.

     Even though the decision is troublesome to come to, it is much easier to make informed decisions if the animal and the guardian have established a relationship with a veterinarian they trust.  The pet’s physician should be willing to provide tools to help with the process, whether through pain-alleviating techniques or medications, or support for grief counseling.  A person should never feel “rushed” into making this life and death decision.  Also, if the animal is not in obvious pain, I would recommend not pushing to speed up fate, either.  Even if an animal has cancer or a deformity, if they are otherwise healthy, comfortable and happy, it may not be appropriate for you to request a veterinarian to perform euthanasia.  Calm, rational communication and an open mind should make it easier for everyone involved to discuss these issues either when they are imminent, or earlier in preparation.

     Whenever a pet passes, whether naturally or assisted, it is important to honor the grieving process.  If we feel stuck in a certain part of the process for too long, then therapy may be helpful.  There are local support groups for anyone who needs them.  Often the loss of a pet opens up all the pent-up pain and distress that we otherwise kept contained, such as loss of a job or significant other. 

     Animals, even in their passing, are still helping us—by assisting in the expression and release of emotion and guilt.   Animals would never want us to feel guilty—that is a human construct.  Animals also do not judge us, so if hospice care, heroic surgical intervention or chemotherapy are not within our ability, the animals would not fault us for that.  When trying to decide if “it’s time” for our beloved pet, take time.  Take time to slow down, and feel with compassion.  Be honest and be compassionate enough to allow them to go if they need to.  Also be brave about the upcoming “journey” they are about to make—chances are, since energy is never created nor destroyed, only transformed—there is likely new adventure waiting for everyone. 

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