Pets as Herbal Teachers—Part 1
Filed Under Herbalist |
I was thinking of all the teachers I’ve had over the years who helped me become an herbalist. My animals (dogs, birds, and even my fish) really taught me a lot about the power of herbs. As they are animals, there was no placebo effect. I’d like to spend the next few blogs discussing Whiner.
Whiner was a stray we adopted, a little terrier cross, 25 pounds, who lived to be about 17 years old. He was always getting into trouble. Being a terrier, he was so spunky! Whiner taught me the power of herbs in a crisis situation. I came home on a Friday night and couldn’t find him. I called and called; finally I heard him whimpering. After spotting him, I realized he couldn’t stand and could barely raise his head.
I am more of an intuitive healer. Realizing he hadn’t been hit by a car, I brought him inside. I strongly felt he needed support for his digestive system ASAP and I couldn’t wait to take him to the vet’s in the morning. I proceeded to give him capsules of marshmallow herb (a plant that is as nutritive as oatmeal) and activated charcoal every hour.
A few hours later, he coughed up mushrooms. The herbs had given his body enough strength to get rid of some poisonous mushrooms that had caused his paralysis. Whiner’s poor tummy turned deep purple due to severe hemorrhaging, but in a few days, his strength came back and in a week, he was as good as new. During this time I gave him other herbs as well, but if I hadn’t acted quickly, I know he would have died during that night. Because of this experience, I gained more confidence in the herbs to heal, even in a crisis situation.
Wendy
