Pets as Herbal Teachers—Part 3
Filed Under Herbalist |
Petie, Sam’s older brother, is another rescued pup from my vet. (For more about Sam, see Part 2 of this series.)
Now 9 years old, Petie is still quite the character. A mix of blue heeler and corgi, he looks like a blue heeler with little short legs. As a pup, his right front shoulder was crushed under a car’s wheel. Our vet refused to put him to sleep and reconstructed his shoulder. When we adopted him, she said that if his shoulder didn’t heal properly, she would have to amputate.
I immediately put him on an herbal program, using three main products with the goal of overall good health:
• Reduce inflammation in the joints with a product containing alfalfa, horsetail, and bromelain among other herbs
• Reduce pain with white willow bark, lettuce leaves, valerian, and capsicum
• Build strong bones with alfalfa (contains calcium and other minerals in a natural form), horsetail (contains silica), oatstraw, plantain, marshmallow (not the candy kind), wheat grass, and hops
Little Petie did get well and although he still walks with a limp, he appears to be in little to no pain, particularly when he is running at full tilt after a teasing squirrel. I do have to occasionally watch that he doesn’t overdo it, but he recovered nicely.
Working with my own pets has given me confidence to share what I know with others. Thanks, Petie!
Wendy
