Death: A Blessing for a Friend to All

July 31, 2012 By

I’ve been blessed yet again. 

My patient Amante came to see me this morning, before he was going to be put to sleep. What an amazing dog.

You see, Amante got a diagnosis, back in November of last year, that he had a tumor in his nasal passage. He’d begun sneezing, then finally sneezed out a piece of tumor, and it was analyzed and found to be a malignancy.

His loving owners were given two options:

  1. Take him to A&M for a month’s worth of radiation for $11,000, or
  2. Three rounds of chemo to see if the tumor would shrink

They opted to do neither. And his “dad” is an MD. That should tell you something about the perceived value of conventional cancer treatment from an expert who lives in that world.

Luckily, I got to be his doctor. Until today. I’m welling up with tears as I think of where he’s been from then till now.

Amante is this bigger than life white German Shepherd, weighing in around 128 pounds. With a heart as big as any I’ve ever met. Always came in with tail wagging, looking for petting, putting his head right in my chest.

He was given a two month death sentence last November. I wasn’t able to work any real miracles with him under homeopathic care, other than bringing a bony hard nasal tumor to soft, spongy, and discharging some. That’s when we got pretty hopeful that he was dissolving this mass, and might  just beat it.

But it wasn’t to be. He had ups and downs, discharging and closing the opening, and the tumor slowly, steadily grew. Until today, when I got to see him and help make the decision about euthanasia.

Friend to all

Amante loomed large in his family. He helped raise four kids, and got to be part of a third generation once a couple of grand kids came into his world. He loved to swim, go for walks, hated thunderstorms, and kept his work-from-home mom constant company. He was friends to the neighborhood dogs and their people. Everyone who knew him was fond of him.

And I got to be his doctor.

But today was inevitable. When the door opened, Amante strode right in and parked his head in my chest as I stroked him and welcomed him once more. His nose and forehead were misshaped by the tumor. He was breathing with a sort of snorting, choking sound at most every breath. But his tail was still fully wagging. Happy, bright soul, loving Amante (means “lover” in Spanish).

Bobbi told me his tumor had broken through the roof of his mouth. And came to see if I’d agree that he should be put to sleep now. Before he really suffered.

As I bent to examine him, I hoped I wouldn’t have to pry his mouth open and upset him by this act. He complied. He raised his head as I caressed him, and panted with his mouth open, showing me clearly, for as long as I needed, the ulcerated tumor on his hard palate.

What a difficult call!

But I had to agree. His parents had decided it was time to call it the end for Amante. I concurred. He was still eating, drinking, wagging, walking, even swimming. But we could see where this was going. And none of us wanted him to suffer.

Although I no longer offer this service, I recommended euthanasia. It would be a blessing to end his life while he still felt good. No need to prolong this till he couldn’t eat, started bleeding, or lost his love of life.

Amante’s family knew a house call veterinarian who would come. Come to where he was on familiar ground. Where he could leave this body that was failing him behind, without the fear of a strange place filled with stainless steel and odors of strange chemicals. Perfect. A blessing.

I only added some arsenicum album, a homeopathic remedy known to help the death process.

Adieu

So, Amante, you larger than life dog. Fare thee well. You’ll leave us, and we’ll miss you and all your hugeness, your benevolence, your deep lovingness for all you came in contact with. We’ll mourn your passing.

And I got to be your doctor. A truly great fortune.

Filed Under: Amazing Animals, Cases from homeopathic practice Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Rescued Dog Now Rehabs Others

April 16, 2012 By

So, being a veterinarian, I get lots of neat stories sent my way about the things animals do that surprise or charm us two-leggeds. Here’s one that is quite remarkable. Enjoy.

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Jasmine

In 2003, police in Warwickshire, England, opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog.
It had been locked in the shed and abandoned. It was dirty and malnourished, and had clearly been abused.

In an act of kindness, the police took the dog, which was a Greyhound female,
to the nearby Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, run by a man named Geoff Grewcock and known as a willing haven for animals abandoned, orphaned or otherwise in need. Click for more info: http://www.warwickshirewildlifesanctuary.co.uk/index.htm

Geoff and the other sanctuary staff went to work with two aims to restore the dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved.

They named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an adoptive home.

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But Jasmine had other ideas. No-one remembers now how it began, but she started welcoming all Animal arrivals at the sanctuary.
It wouldn’t matter if it was a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, any other lost or hurting Animal, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and, where possible, deliver a welcoming lick.

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Geoff relates one of the early incidents. “We had two puppies that had been abandoned by a nearby railway line.
One was a Lakeland Terrier cross and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross.
They were tiny when they arrived at the centre and Jasmine approached them and grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on the settee.
Then she fetched the other one and sat down with them, cuddling them.”

“But she is like that with all of our animals, even the rabbits.
She takes all the stress out of them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to settle into their new surroundings.

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“She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose.”

Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became the animal sanctuary’s resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born.

The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and 15 rabbits.

And one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, 11 weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full foster mum role.

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Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the Roe deer with affection.

“They are inseparable,” says Geoff “Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each other.
They walk together round the sanctuary.

It’s a real treat to see them.”

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Jasmine will continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life.
When that happens, Jasmine will not be lonely. She will be too busy showering love and affection on the next orphan or victim of abuse.

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From left, Toby, a stray Lakeland dog; Bramble, orphaned Roe deer; Buster, a stray Jack Russell; a dumped rabbit; Sky, an injured barn owl; and Jasmine with a Mothers heart doing best what a caring Mother would do.

Filed Under: Amazing Animals Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,