Holistic Animal Health Care ~ Resoruces & Links
This page is an evolving educational resource for holistic, integrative care for companion animals. Please contact me with feedback and suggestions.
On this page - Click to jump to section:
Medical Miracles
Finding a Holistic Veterinarian
Flower Essences - Save!
Veterinary Acupuncture
Energy Medicine-Behavior and Health
Homeopathy
Veterinary Chiropractic
Medical Miracles and Holistic Care
A medical miracle might be something like this: A dog, horse, cat, or human has a passion for life. Allopathic, botanical or energetic medicine join up with the body's ability to heal itself. Next thing you know, you may be witnessing a medical miracle.
Living in tune with natural ways of the body and creating collaborative new medicine makes more sense than ever as we learn about the side effects of medications and the safety of the food supply.
May you and your animals walk in beauty and robust health for
many turns around the sun. ~ Peace Susan Hamlin
Holistic Veterinarians
It's great to work with veterinarians with advanced training in nutrition and collaborative medicine. There aren't enough of them yet but that is changing. Some clients will see a conventional veterinarian close to home and a "holistic" consulting vet out of the area when needed. Ask your friends for referrals. For more information and a directory of holistic vets by region please visit the American Holistic Veterinary Association website.
Flower Essences for Animals
Flower essences are a kissin' cousin to homeopathy. They work with the animal - the mind-body medicine area ... physical symptoms, emotions, behavior, adoption, travel, bullying, training and more. As part of holistic care, flower essences are worth learning about and checking into with your veterinarian.
Most people have heard of Rescue Remedy. Dr Edward Bach (a British physician) came up with the original 38 Bach Flower Essences about 100 years ago and many more formulas have come to us since then. Rescue Remedy is for short-term use .. other formulas may work better for long term emotional, trauma and behavior issues.
My favorite Flower Essences for Animals: Spirit Essences.
Founded in 1995, they're the only flower essence company run by a licensed veterinarian (Dr. Jean Hofve) and an animal behaviorist (Jackson Galaxy.) The feedback has been great from clients and my animals and we keep gravitating back to this company.
Spirit Essences combine essences from all over the world and have formulas for dogs, cats, horses, and birds, also Traditional Chinese Medicine 5-elements for horses ... check with your acupuncture vet on how to use them. Let me know if you have any questions and happy healing!
New! I am happy to announce my friends and clients can receive a 5% discount - just use the code "HAMLIN" when you order.
Here's a chart of essences for different species and how to use the discount: Spirit Essence Flyer & Discount - PDF
Website: http://www.spiritessence.com
Veterinary Acupuncture
Acupuncture is based on a totally different medical paradigm than bio-medicine. It must be working, because it's used by elite sports medical practices around the world. My veterinarians have recommended acupuncture for my animals with excellent results.
To find a certified veterinary acupuncturist, ask for referrals from friends and visit the links below.
American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture
International Veterinary Acupuncture Society
Energy Medicine ... behavior & health
A holistic approach to behavior - body mind spirit - can really work wonders. Loving, wise training and understanding the unique wiring of the animal is our starting point. Many of the consultations we do together go from training to the energy body where we can help re-balance from past traumas, habits and emotions. Some times we discover that pain is at the root of it, especially with horses, and after the pain is treated, the behavior is better.
The energy we people give off matters, too. Our natural human emotions, frustrations and body language often create a "feedback loop" between person and animal. This can really load the circuits and make for a high old time ... as any one who's tried to catch a horse, or kitty, knows all to well! : )
I'm really excited about the work of Donna Eden, said to be one of the world's finest healers. Dr. Mehmet Oz said on Oprah recently that Energy Medicine is the next big thing in medicine. I believe it! My kitty ... a former feral ... even enjoys allowing me to calm Triple Warmer meridian. Our sessions together create a really loving, healing bond especially with a little Reiki for fun. I'll be writing more on this exciting healing resource in future newsletters.
Homeopathy
Homeopathic medicine has been around for thousands of years. It's a big subject and worth exploring if you follow the philosopy "less is more." I suggest you get started with one of the excellent books and online resources. Here is a link to a roster of veterinarians who've trained with Dr. Pitcairn, a pioneer in the field of veterinary homeopathy.
Flower Essences for Animals
Flower essences have been in use since Dr. Edward Bach (a human physician from the U.K) developed the 38 original Bach Essences about 100 years ago. As part of holistic care, flower essences may be worth learning about and evaluating with your health care provider.
Spirit Essence . com - This company is a leader in developing Flower Essences formulas for animals. The company's co-founders are a licensed veterinarian and animal behaviorist, and they can formulate a prescription for individual animals. I use Spirit Essences for my animals. Their web site is an excellent resource for educational materials about many aspects of holistic care, and they offer prompt and detailed email and phone support for their customers.
Flower Essence Society -
California based American and English flower essences, the education, research and information site for humans.
Here is the site they market the essences from.
Veterinary Chiropractic
Veterinary chiropractic is popular for performance animals, especially equine athletes. I've heard some amazing stories of rehabilitation and my animals have received chiropractic treatments with good results. Here are links to organizations with rosters of chirpractic veterinarians:
American Veterinary Chiropractic Assocition
International Veterinary Acupuncture Associaton
For more information, here's the link to the Wiki Page on veterinary chiropractic.