Abbey

Last winter I discovered that my yellow lab, Abbey, had blood in her urine.  After x-rays were ordered by Dr. Haghighat, it turned out that she had 2 large bladder stones. He explained that conventionally, what is recommended is surgery to remove the bladder stones. However, in his experience, most dogs do not require bladder surgery and with proper diet and homeopathic and herbal treatment, the bladder stones are able to dissolve on their own. We started immediately a very regimented treatment plan that consisted of feeding a homemade diet with lots of vegetables and added water. We also started Abbey on a homeopathic preparation and two types of herbs and monitored Abbey closely to make sure she was able to urinate at all times. The blood in the urine stopped after only a few days, and Abbey seemed to be much more comfortable. We repeated the x-rays in 3 months and, miraculously, her bladder stones had disappeared with absolutely no sign of them! I can’t tell you how shocked and elated I was with the news. Dr. Haghighat spared my Abbey from surgery and for that I’ve forever grateful to him.

X-RAYS BEFORE TREATMENT

 

X-RAYS AFTER TREATMENT

 

 

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Harley

Harley was 6 when she jumped off our 2' deck and tore her ACL in the Fall of 2014.  We had no idea what was wrong.  Our vet at the time insisted that she'd have to be operated on and that we should talk to the vets at the 404 Emergency Clinic.  She is a great vet but she put so much pressure on us to get the operation done that we felt guilty for having second thoughts.

Two days later we went for an exam (for Harley) and a consultation for us.  They were very thorough (though the exam hurt Harley) and very patient when answering our questions, however they did not give us any alternatives.  They made it clear that as far as they were concerned the operation was the only way.  We were quoted $3500.00 which wasn't bad as it included the pre and post exams, the operation and metal parts, all of the medication, the overnight stay and 5 hydro-therapy treatments.  However, my husband and I really didn't like the idea of them cutting the tibia bone and re-shaping the joint.  Plus the confusion and extra pain that Harley would go through.  Also we thought that this would damage her other leg as the 2 legs would now work differently.

The next day we had a consult with Dr. Sasan at the Holistic Clinic in Newmarket.  Our neighbours had been to see him with their dogs and he'd worked wonders.  We wanted a second opinion and more options.  He gave us the answers we were looking for.  He explained the operation and told us that we were right - the difference after the operation between both legs would mean that her other ACL would tear much more easily, probably in a few months to a year.  He gave us a treatment plan and started with acupuncture and biopuncture and also gave us some herbal supplements to go home with. He also gave us a time estimate of 3-6 months for the joint to heal.

He was right.  It took about 6 months and a few sessions of treatment, but Harley has been back to normal since the spring and she seems healthier than ever.  She knew, as she was healing, what she could and couldn't do and, even now, I find she seems to "think before she leaps" so we are hopeful that her other knee will have no problems.

My husband and I still bring our dog to Dr. Sasan.  She likes this clinic much better and is healthier for her. Before you feel pressured into doing something you're not sure of, it's worth taking a look around and checking out the alternatives.  It will be much better for you and your pet.  We are very grateful for Dr. Sasan and his great staff and we will continue to bring Harley here.

Sandra & Harley

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Phoenix

Phoenix is our lovely 8 year old Portuguese Water Dog. In the fall of 2011 she started developing open red sores around her vulva.  I took her to our vet who thought it was due to licking she was given a cone and some topical antibiotic treatment.  We soon discovered that the cone was not needed as it did not provide results and when the cone was removed she was not attempting to lick the area.  We had on and off episodes of the same problem for the following year.  We then noticed a horrible smell coming from her mouth.  The vet couldn’t figure out what it was and it continued despite brushing her teeth.  I took Phoenix back to a vet I had years ago that was a distance away as she was able to help us with our Sheltie that had lupus.  She immediately discovered that her lip pockets were raw and infected and that was where the smell was coming from.  At the same time her eyes started becoming raw and inflamed.  It was thought that her eye lashes were curling in and that surgery was needed to correct.  When she was under anesthetic the vet was able to fully examine her and discovered that the eye lashes were fine.  We were then sent to veterinary ophthalmologist.  After several visits we really had no further answers but the condition seemed to be manageable.  In the spring of 2013 we again had a flare up of her vulva, lip pocket and eyes.  Our vet thought that Phoenix’s problem was likely allergies.  So she was placed on a strict diet of kangaroo and oats.  She was on that diet for 9 months with no improvement.  We were then sent to a veterinary dermatologist that thought the problem was due to environmental allergies.  We continued on the kangaroo and oat diet with the addition of steroids.   Phoenix improved but we couldn’t seem to reduce the amount of steroids she needed to control her skin issues to an acceptable long term level.  We then did allergy testing and results came back showing Phoenix was allergic to a large number of things including four types of tree pollen, dust, mold and cats.  Thinking this was the answer in May of this year we started Phoenix on allergy shots.  Her condition worsened during the summer.  We were told to increase the steroids which sometimes did help the problem.  However in September, her eyes were so bad that she could hardly open them in the morning.  I couldn’t get the open sores to heal and they were getting bigger and bigger.  I felt every time I was trying to clean the discharge from her eyes so they could be opened that I was torturing her as the sores would be bleeding.  At this time even a drastic increase in steroids did not help.  Both the dermatologist and vet were at a loss as to what to do.   

 

 Thankful I decided to seek alternative treatment and went to see Dr. Sasan Haghighat.  I was immediately impressed by his caring manner as he listened to the long story of what Phoenix had been through.  He thought her case was similar to another patient, Jessie and that Phoenix’s problem was not in fact allergies but rather an immune system problem possibly pemphigus.  We immediately started her on a diet of boiled clean vegetables with some lentils and chick peas.  He gave Phoenix an acupuncture treatment, and she came home with some homeopathic remedies.  Dr. Haghighat thought that it may take up to 6 months to see results.  After one week I thought perhaps her eyes were looking slightly better but didn’t want to get my hopes up.  Upon her two week follow up visit her eyes were noticeably better.  We continued on the same treatment plan and by the following 3 week follow up visit her eyes were almost completely healed.  This was only 5 weeks after we started treatment.  We have continued with same regime and her eyes now 2 weeks later her eyes are completely healed, she has no issues with her lip pocket or vulva and we have completely stopped her steroids for over a month.  Dr. Haghighat has said that she may have a relapse in the process of being completely cured but so far she is doing great.  I have noticed a considerable increase in her energy level.  Despite being 8.5 years old, she is like a puppy again.  I was really so frustrated and concerned trying to figure out how to help Phoenix and can’t thank Dr. Haghighat and his lovely staff enough for figuring out the puzzle of Phoenix that had eluded several vets and two specialists.  He truly worked a miracle on Phoenix! 

 

BEFORE PICTURE (October  1, 2015)

 



 

AFTER PICTURE (November 5, 2015)

 

 

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Sugar

Sugar was my 60th birthday present to myself I had always wanted a Silky Terrier so I saved a long time to purchase her. She was only 12 weeks old she would chase her tail in circles at first I thought she was just playing as some dogs do this and it means nothing but as time went on she got more aggressive at doing it and started trying to chew her tail off then she graduated to crying and growling at her tail as she chased it. Took her to my vet at the time and he said it was a sign of pain and she was very sensitive at the base of her spine when he pushed she would scream and try to bite him, we were referred to the Toronto Emergency Hospital for a neurology consult where they did x-rays, an MRI and blood tests to investigate the root cause of Sugar’s problem. Unfortunately, they could not find anything that could point to Sugar’s clinical signs. The possibility of nerve damage, undetectable disc damage or a problem due to bad tail docking practices could not be ruled out. We also started a session of laser therapy that gave Sugar temporary relief. Then, she started having problems with her legs she would just fall and scream in pain and was not able to get up on her hind end. Due to Sugar’s ongoing issues, we were referred back to the Referral and Emergency Hospital for further tests; this time it included a CSF spinal tap with inconclusive findings.  I was beside myself after spending thousands and thousands of dollars and witnessing that Sugar was still suffering with no relief for my dear Sugar. Since there was no relief in sight, I was told by my family vet and the specialty service that I may need to make a hard decision down the road and consider Sugar’s quality of life. I did not want to put Sugar on any strong medication for life without a diagnosis since she was so young. We started researching about alternative treatment and acupuncture. Thanks to my daughter, we found The Holistic Vet clinic in Newmarket and met Dr. Haghighat. After a thorough exam and a couple of sessions of acupuncture and biopuncture and starting on some herbs and homeopathic medicine, Sugar started to show nice improvement and having less and less neurologic episodes. The tail chasing started to decrease to only once or twice a week. After about 9 months, Sugar seems to be almost fully recovered and I am so thankful for the wonderful staff at The Holistic Vet who helped bring Sugar back to health which I will be forever grateful!

Sincerely Mary Mackenzie and Sugar xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

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Scooter

 This is Scooter our beautiful and loving 15 year old Beagle. He was diagnosed with a large cancerous tumour in early spring 2015. Our conventional Vet offered us only two options, send him to Guelph for chemotherapy or take him home for palliative care. We left the office feeling hopeless. We did not even consider chemotherapy, we could never justify putting an animal through that, but the idea of just taking him home to wait for the inevitable was heartbreaking. He had stopped eating his dry dog food as an ultrasound showed the tumour was interfering with his digestive system. We had already been home cooking for our dogs for about half of their meals but knew we could do better in terms of ingredients. We asked our vet for suggestions and she looked unsure, maybe pasta and red meat was her response. That is when we contacted Dr. Haghighat. He was very accommodating, allowing us to communicate via phone as we live 2 hours away from the clinic. He guided us through dietary changes and suggestions for medicinal foods and supplements. Our goal was only to give Scooter the best quality of life we possibly could for his final days with us. His response to the new diet was immediate. Not only did he love the taste and his appetite return but we started to see amazing health benefits. His energy increased along with his activity level, he started wanting to go for walks again and then longer hikes and swimming this past summer. Symptoms associated with his arthritis decreased along with the need for pain medication. One of the most amazing benefits was a complete lack of allergy symptoms this summer. Scooter`s seasonal allergies historically have been so terrible they required the use of steroids which did not even completely alleviate his scratching and chewing at his skin. This season he had no symptoms whatsoever and no medication! We are so thankful to Dr. Haghighat and his team. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for providing the opportunity to improve Scooter`s health and are so incredibly thankful for the extra time we have been able to spend with him.

 

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Cooper

Dr. Haghighat saved our cat Cooper from a fatal future! Cooper is our 3 year old long haired “personality plus” cat.  We rescued him in December 2013. 

 Cooper always had “kitty breath” with very red and inflamed gums. Changing to different foods did not improve the oral health. But then, in May 2014, he became very fussy about his food. Then in October, he stopped eating and became very lethargic so we rushed him to the Emergency Clinic. At that time, the tentative diagnosis was ulcerative stomatitis although there are many reasons for this cause of stomatitis in young kittens; an overactive immune system was possibly the root cause. He was sent home on a course of antibiotics to control the infection. The antibiotics seemed to work short term.  Our regular veterinarian prescribed 2 more series of antibiotics and mouth wash which helped his oral health, but only for a short duration. When we stopped the antibiotic, the problem re-appeared. Our vet told us that the antibiotic would ultimately stop working and suggested that in this circumstance, she recommends a full mouth tooth extraction which may or may not fix the problem.

Since this procedure seemed very invasive to us and there was no guarantee would be cured, we decided to look for an alternative solution. Then, after some google searches, we found the Holistic Vet and decided to take Cooper there. With acupuncture, biopuncture, supplements and an organic diet, Cooper is now eating without pain and the oral health has improved significantly.  He is a vibrant energetic cat who is obviously enjoying his food! During the treatment period, Dr. Haghighat’s office kept in touch with us and genuinely cared about Cooper’s recovery. Cooper will continue to visit Dr. Haghighat periodically to maintain his oral health and ensure the stomatitis does not return.

We are now taking our 13 year old dog, Tucker, to see Dr. Haghighat because we want his final years to be as healthy as possible!

 

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