Inspiring Stories

Sheba - Incontinence from Spinal Cord Injury

Sheba 1999 - 2013

We had a cat, Sheba, who was hit by a car at not quite a year old, resulting in urine and bowel incontinence due to nerve damage.

Trixie: with a spinal problem

Trixie: Acupuncture for a Tough Spinal Issue

Distraught after leaving the local veterinary school and being informed of our dog, Trixie's need for spinal surgery, we travelled to a local holistic veterinarian's office. The office was closed, but we peered into the office to see "if there were stars and moons on the walls." There were no such decorations, but much to our surprise the veterinarian had stopped by to pick up some things and came out to talk with us.

Sammy the Corgi with Degenerative Myopathy

Sammy (Samantha) with Degenerative Myelopathy

Written by Stephen Lawn

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sammy As I sit here on the couch with my little girl Sammy, she is sound asleep. She sleeps a lot more now, showing more and more signs of getting old. She is after all going to be 12 years old in about 3 months. Looking at her could be a sad reflective moment, but all I can do is smile. I smile because I am so happy that Sammy was able to become an “old dog.” I gently rub her head and she wakes up, looks at me for a moment then goes right back to sleep. She is my little girl and I just enjoy sitting beside her!

Sammy, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, was diagnosed with a disease called Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) in December of 2007.

Chi was my teacher, my mentor, from the moment I held her at birth she was apart of me. Chi led me to the most special people and places. They were my inspiration and helped make managing her DM a creative challenge. Victory was a certainty. She was always a winner. Chi lived over three years past initial signs of DM. Chi graduated from wheels to four wheel drive with her quad cart. She wanted to go everywhere and meet everyone. She was an ambassador for integrative care and rehab.

Lola who was paralyzed

Miss Lola: Acupuncture and Paralysis

Lola was a shelter dog. They found her when she was only 5 wks. old. She only knew the warmth of her mother and litter mates for a very short time, if at all.

Lola is super smart, super strong, incredibly tenacious and stubborn. She figured out patterns in our life that we didn't even know we had, like realizing when my husband is complaining about misplacing his wallet, it means we are getting ready to leave the house. It didn't take us long to go back on a promise we made to each other that she would not sleep with us. Alas, she has been sharing our sleeping space since she was a puppy.

Bailey with Spleen Cancer

“…My beloved Beagle named “Bailey” was diagnosed with spleen cancer in November 2016. She was losing a lot of weight quickly so I took her to her normal veterinarian and he wanted to operate on her. At that time Bailey was over 16 years old. I agreed but after talking to several people, I had second thoughts so I cancelled the operation. When I called the vet it was mentioned to give her the herb “Yunnan Baiyao” and I could get it in the health food store. After trying many stores with no luck I reached out to my good friend Amy that makes essential oils and she recommend Dr. Mary Ellen of Sayre Veterinary Acupuncture... At that time Bailey was only given a few days to a couple of weeks to live. She was that bad.

Diablo - the Comeback Kid

Diablo, cancer
In 1994, my father was diagnosed with cancer. The disease was advanced so alternative treatments, we were told by professionals, weren’t a realistic alternative. The best and brightest minds in oncology decided aggressive radiation would give my dad his best chance.

Two months later he was dead.

My family grieved and while I urged my lonely mom to get a pet, she wasn't ready. Nor was she ready the next year. Or the next. Five years went by until she decided it was time.

We visited a breeder who had five toy fox terrier puppies, all so bouncy they spent more time in the air the on the ground. Of the five, one loomed large and in charge, at a whopping 1.5 pounds. He was more willful than the rest. He wasn't taking no for an answer. He was coming home with us by his choice; we had no say in the matter. And he would go almost two months in our care before being named because we desperately hoped he would outgrow the only name that felt appropriate. He didn’t. So the name stuck: Diablo.