Freya, the Wonder Dog

I have a special interest in cancer. One of my fondest patients was Freya, a small sweet dog who came to me in March 1997 at seven years of age. She came with brain cancer, diagnosed as lymphosarcoma by a spinal tap at a specialty hospital. She was seizing each night, blind in one eye, and lethargic, and was on phenobarbital, basically given up for dead. The "experts" at the veterinary specialty hospital told the owners to prepare for her death, and offered euthanasia. But her owners weren't willing to accept death just yet.

Freya amazed me and showed me the vast possibilities of classical homeopathy. Within a short time of beginning homeopathic medicine, Freya stopped seizing, regained her vision, and went on to become an itchy, allergic dog. This was how she had been ill for most of her life, and, as is so commonly the case, she was suppressed with drugs, mostly steroids. Freya’s disease was not only not cured by this treatment, but it became more serious and deep, transmuted into cancer. With homeopathic treatment specific to her pattern of illness, she went steadily from seizing with brain cancer, to just itchy and allergic, to normal. Needless to say, her owners were glad they didn't give up and accept what the "specialists" said.

Freya lived on with a very good quality of life, outliving one of her owners and giving great comfort to the surviving spouse, as she offered her companionship to soothe the unbearable grief of losing a loved one. She finally died in June 2004, more than seven years after her initial death sentence, but she will always be remembered as one of my teachers. I learned from her that tiny doses of medicine could cure very large problems, when applied according to the clear principals of homeopathy. And I learned that predictions of death are fraught with problems, especially if the predictors have not studied homeopathy. And I learned that healing often brings the patient back through earlier states of illness before they are finally well, as Dr. Constantine Hering, one of this country's great homeopathic physicians, discovered and wrote about in 1845. Thank you, Freya, for all you gave us.

[For those homeopaths in the readership, Freya's case was published in more detail in the Journal of the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy, Summer 2002.]
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Treating the Whole Cat

Zachary was a 3 year old cat who lived in Brooklyn. His owner called me a month after he'd been treated for FUS, now called FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease). That meant he had been obstructed with crystals in his urethra and had difficulty urinating, a common problem in cats who eat dry food free choice. He'd been treated with the usual antibiotics and catheterized at the time, but now, a month later, he was still not urinating comfortably. He'd lick his penis and growl and cry after urination, and additional, stronger drugs including steroids had not helped him.

Besides his complaint, I learned that he had brittle claws, was chilly and lean in build, had yellow teeth, was a bit skittish with noise, and loved broccoli and other vegetables. He also had a history of pimples appearing on his chin two years earlier. The peculiar things for a cat his age were his teeth already getting discolored, and his great love of vegies, something a carnivore would not normally have much interest in. In fact, his owner sent me a picture of Zachary chowing down on a plate of broccoli flowerettes!

A couple of acute remedies were used, chosen based on his symptoms of lots of drugs and anger with his situation, and both nux vomica and sarsaparilla brought him some relief and easier urination. But he also started vomiting, was too sleepy for a youngster, and his nerves were really on edge: he'd literally jump out of sleep. So, another remedy was called for, one that matched all of his symptoms well and could get him well as a whole. The remedy silica was chosen and he was given this on a daily LM dosage regimen. The follow up appointment in a week revealed a changed cat: he was more alert, less skittish, vomiting had ceased, he'd gained a bit of weight, a soft stool had gotten normal, and yes, he now had normal urination.

A month later, he changed behaviorally: he started attacking his owners feet, biting and holding on, and was very aggressive with the other cat in the house. We often see aggression like this in animals who've had repeated rabies vaccinations. The silica was stopped, and some Bach flower remedies were given. He was briefly better, but the aggression returned, he got unhealthy nails, cold ears, and was crying out a lot. Repeating silica had no effect, so Zachary was given a remedy that had these new symptoms and followed silica well: lachesis. At his 2 week follow up, his aggression had subsided, he was crying less, his ears were more normal. He had concerned his owners early on after taking the remedy, as he seemed "out of it" for a couple of days, looked somewhat uncomfortable, and got a big boil on his chin. This all resolved within two days, and he was back to his affectionate self, and his skittishness had much lessened.

A fairly common happening was illustrated by Zachary after taking his last remedy: a brief feeling of lethargy, and a discharge, this one being a pimple in an old location, his chin. Homeopaths have named this kind of slight worsening a few days after a remedy, a "homeopathic aggravation." It is a sign that the vital force is working hard to eliminate the mistuning that is the disease, and it is often followed by betterment overall.
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