Kingdom of Basil – a healing clinic for animals and their people
I have long dreamed of having a healing clinic filled with many different skilled holistic practitioners for both humans and animals and a small retail herbal shop. A couple of weeks ago I began looking for the space to finally bring my dream to life. And so Kingdom of Basil is in the first stages of being born.
I picture a little brick storefront with large front windows full of plants. When you walk in the smell of herbs meets you at the door. For those of you who have never walked into a Chinese pharmacy it is hard to explain the wonderful delight of so many flavors mingling together.
Behind the herb shop will be a healing practice full of wonderful acupuncturists, naturopathic physicians, massage practitioners, and other healing workers for animals and their people. Maybe a massage therapist who can massage a sick older dog and then ease the tension in the shoulders of his caregiver who has been worried and having to carry him up and down the stairs. Somewhere that a cat can get acupuncture as her human sits with her and then she can sit on the comfortable couch as her human companion gets a treatment also.
If I can find a large enough space I would love to have classes in the evenings on herbs and different types of healing and support groups for those who have recently lost animal companions or are working with an animal with illness. Maybe a lending library for those who want to come in and look through books on holistic health.
Let me tell you a little more about the herb shop. As many of you know herbs are one of my true loves. My pharmacy has grown to almost 300 herbs over the years and I would love to have a place to show them off. Can you imagine dog treats infused with herbs for health? Chocolates for humans with calming herbs such as lavender in them? Tinctures for when our animal friends have to go under anesthesia. Ground herbs to mix in homemade food of older dogs. Herbs to ease some of the pain and discomfort of growing old. If I can get a human practitioner involved I could also expand more of this out to humans. I started my online herbal shop Kingdom of Basil late last year; this would give it a home and bring it to life.
I picture this clinic as a kind of third place for those with companion animals. Somewhere that folks could meet up and get care and knowledge and share experience. Somewhere that brings to life the idea that we live in a system, that treating the dog or cat is treating the family and that treating the humans is treating the animals. We are all connected and care should not be separated by species. I want to bring this idea to life!
I know that it may take awhile to be able to do all this fully, but I am ready to begin. If you are in the Seattle area and are interested in joining us please let me know. I am looking for practitioners who would want to run their own businesses but share space and resources. kingdomofbasil (at) gmail (dot) com .
