During the first few days after she arrived, Salma was - not unnaturally - a little unsettled and even confused. Where am I? Everything is new here! New people, new dog, cats… She needed to follow us around whenever we moved as it appeared that we were her anchor in this new environment. After a [...]
Last night I noticed that Salma was nibbling at a hind paw. On examination I discovered that the right hind paw was red and inflamed between the pads. She may have stood on something which irritated it but was not apparent at the time. I put a few drops on German Chamomile in between the [...]
While digging to redirect rain water we discovered that under the top soil there was a layer of white clay. The "inspectors of works" came to do their job and it was not long before they found the clay. They immediately began to lick both the soil and the tools which had clay on them. [...]
Yesterday a member of the Mexico zoopharmacognosy group had a query about a little dog that she is working with. She noticed that on recent walks this dog, who has digestive complaints, was eating mezquite pods. Further investigation revealed that mezquite does indeed have properties which have been used traditionally in cases of digestive upsets. [...]
Sometimes when we have an animal who suffers in the heat or who generates excessive internal body heat, is anxious, nervous or hyperactive, an important factor may be diet. Here are some “cooling” foods based on Chinese medicinal concepts: turkey duck duck eggs seafood crab fish rabbit yoghourt barley wholegrain ricee tofu sesame seeds In [...]
In the Japanese prefecture of Oita, located on Kyushu the most southwesterly island of that country, for centuries they have been cultivating varieties of citrus fruits which are not widely available in the rest of the world. Among these is a fruit called kabosu. Alerted by the well-known fact that in this region cancer is [...]
The cat’s eyes were in a bad way. The retina had detached and the cat was blind. The pressure build-up in the eyes was extreme. An operation was needed. The day before the operation, the cat was offered a selection of essential oils. When he inhaled elderflower CO2, Gabrielle had never seen anything like it: [...]
And suddenly one day you realise that your dog is growing old. It isn’t that he suddenly grew old. It isn’t that you hadn’t noticed small signs of change, but suddenly one day a “tipping point” seemed to be reached and the reality was there staring you in the face. What might those little telltale [...]
A couple of weeks ago I went to the garden centre. I noticed that one of the German Shepherds was no longer there. The owner told me that he had become paralysed in the hindquarters and she had opted for euthanasia. He was 12 years old. I also noticed that in a compound there were [...]
My book "Libre Elección" will be available for sale in the next few days. The book offers a practical guide to zoopharmacognosy and includes an A-Z of the main substances used as well as tables for easy consultation of the different conditions animals may suffer from.