When my dog Estie, an Italian Greyhound, was about 2-3 years old, she developed seizures and severe allergies. We visited several veterinary clinics around the South Bay area of southern California to find out the reason for her seizures and to control her allergies.

We received the same advice: once a day medicine for seizures.

We decided not to take that route and tried to control it with diet instead.

Sadly the food changes we tried did not work well and her allergies were getting progressively worse. She would scratch her jaw area all day and night until she bled. Her eyes would have constant discharge. Every time we went to see a vet (at least once a month), we would receive steroids and antibiotics. They would lessen her symptoms, but never cure her completely. Every two weeks following the medicine, her symptoms would start again and become more and more severe.

About a year into her declining health, we heard about integrative medicine for animals. First visit with the integrative veterinarian changed my dog's existence. It was explained to us that she had a "tired" liver from processing the toxins associated with allergies. With a few homeopathics and natural supplements; i.e. enzymes, natural eye drops, etc., my dog's allergies began to disappear. She stopped itching in about two weeks. The discharge from her eyes was gone in about two to three weeks. Her hair became shiny. Her seizures became very rare, unless she had fatty food.

Managing her diet was important but she needed more tools and these really helped her.

None of the symptoms ever came back. Estie is 11 years old now and we hope others learn more about integrative medicine. Our family certainly supports such research.

Alla K