A Path With Paws

From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a dog,” or, “that’s a lot of money for just a dog.” They don’t understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a dog.”

Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a dog.” Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a dog,” but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a dog,” and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a dog” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it’s “just a dog,” then you will probably understand phases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.”

“Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of “just a dog” I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it’s not “just a dog” but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

“Just a dog” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand that it’s not “just a dog” but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a man.”

So the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog.” just smile, because they “just don’t understand.

-Richard Biby

Thanks to a forum poster on the West Seattle Blog for this wonderful quote.

And check out Simon’s website!

Send me your favorite animal photos and I will post them here. lena@pathwithpaws.com

With the holidays coming up I wanted to add a few more of my all time favorite books!

Animal Dreams

My favorite book, Animal Dreams, is the story of Codi Noline who returns to her home town after a string of failures and finds what it truly means to belong. Through an environmental catastrophe, caring for her dying father, and falling in love Codi is able to see that success is not always about degrees and money but more about how you look at life.

Animals dream about the things they do in the daytime, just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you’ve got to live a sweet life.

I highly recommend this book! Did I mention it has one of the sweetest old dogs in literature?

The Color of Distance

A close second to Animal Dreams, The Color of Distance is about a young scientist, Juna, who is left on a distant planet by mistake. She is saved by a race of beings with incredible healing powers, the Tendu. This is an amazing book about healing, love, and how differences between us, no matter what species we are, can be bridged.

My favorite parts of this book are the rich healing experiences that Juna learns and shares not just for the creatures in this world but also for their planet and the balance that is held between all living things.

While not directly about dogs or cats, this book very much touched my heart as someone who lives with companion animals.

Although out of print you can still easily find this book used.

Carl’s Christmas
Who couldn’t love Carl’s Christmas? From the Good Dog Carl books comes the tale of Carl’s Christmas night of babysitting. Who wouldn’t trust their baby with a Rottweiler like Carl? Although without words, the illustrations of this book tell this colorful tale well.

Also see Holiday Books for Cat Lovers

This is a repost from last year but important enough to go back on the front page. Please take care.

Christmas lilies are extremely beautiful but also deadly to cats. Every year cats die from nibbling on lilies and once they become sick it is too late. Just a couple bites of lily will destroy the kidneys of a cat and send them into renal failure. Usually they die within 24 to 72 hours. Please do not bring lilies into your home if you have cats even if you think they will not eat them. It is heartbreaking to have to tell a cat’s person that there is nothing you can do. If your cat does eat a lily call your veterinary clinic or emergency hospital immediately and get instructions to induce vomiting.

I’m attempting to get the forums on this site up and running again. Many times I get questions from people that don’t fit into any article or sometimes someone just wants to share a story.

The forums are available for all of this!

Hopefully if we can get them going again you will get more then just my answer to your questions! And until they get more traffic I will do my best to answer all questions.

If we are lucky our animal friends only have to go through surgery once, when they are spayed or neutered. However many animals do need to be under anethesia other times either for a dental cleaning, to get sutures, or to have surgery. Whatever the reason, surgery and anethesia are hard on our animal friends. But there are things you can do to help them recover faster and more comfortably.

As always, check with your veterinarian on any supplements you use.

1. Arnica
Arnica is a homeopathic remedy which helps with bruising and trauma. Over the years I have been amazed and impressed at how much difference this very safe remedy can make in healing. I have seen incisions heal in half the time and dogs have very little bruising and swelling in situations you would normally expect to see it.

I always recommend Arnica for all my animal patients who have to undergo surgery or any other procedure that there will be tissue or bone trauma. Because it is a homeopathic remedy it is very safe ever for old and debilitated animals.

I use the Arnica 30c pellets and dose them at 2-3 pellets (usually 2 for cats/small dogs and 3 for dogs) the morning of surgery, the evening after surgery, and then three times a day for three days. Because the pellets are so small they can safely be given the morning of surgery.

Arnica can be bought at most health and supplement stores or by clicking on Arnica.

3.Yunnan Baiyao
While I don’t recommend Yunnan Baiyao (also called Yunnan Paiyao) for all animals undergoing surgery or anethesia, it is still one of my most important herbal formulas. I mainly use it in any procedure or surgery where there is a concern about bleeding. This includes many tumor removal and abdominal surgeries. I have seen this wonderful herbal formula save animal’s lives before.

Please see my article, A Magic Vial of Yunnan Baiyao and the wikipedia article.

I usually dose Yunnan Baiyao at one capsule twice a day for a few days before and after surgery for your average sized dog. Cats and small dogs, I use the powder and put about a 1/8 of a teaspoon in their food twice a day.

Yunnan Baiyao can be bought in most international districts and by clicking on Yunnan Baiyao above.

I hope these simple suggestions are helpful! I know they have helped many of the animals I work with and my own beloved animal companions.

Rose DeDan, a local shaman and healer, wrote a wonderful article today on her blog, The Dance of Life, The endless cycle of birth, death and our relationship to the food we consume. It give new meaning to the saying “you are what you eat.” She talks about the energetics of our food and how the way animals are raised can affect our health. We are all energetic beings and just as we take on the energy of those around us, we can also take on the energy of the animals we consume. If they have been treated well and fairly we end up with nutritious food, if they have not been it can lead to many health problems for us.

The Chinese take this one step further. They also look at the normal energetic characteristics of the animals we eat in determining a proper diet. Many of my clients who have asked about diet for their animals have seen this in action. For example for a flighty nervous dog I would never suggest rabbit or deer because both are nervous animals. An anxious dog would do best on beef or bison which are both large and grounded creatures. On the flip side a very sluggish dog may do better on something light and energetic like a deer or rabbit.

Food also has a temperature and other characteristics in Chinese Medicine. Trout is the hottest meat and a dog who is always cold would do well on it. Seaweed and Cucumber are considered cold and can cool a dog with excess heat. Sweet potato and pumpkin are sweet and help with digestion. Beef is good at tonifying the blood and helping with weakness. Carrots and other root vegetables are very grounding and help an animal be more connected to the earth.

There are many great books on this subject!

For further reading

My favorite book on this subject (although written for people) Prince Wen Hui’s Cook: Chinese Dietary Therapy

Another good book although with more information then the average person needs Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition

One of my favorite books on Chinese Medicine with a great food section in back Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine