It's About Healing As A Whole

Holistic treatments address the core of the issue, and not just the issue itself.

A Diet Enhancement

You will have the tools and knowledge to provide your pet the best nutritional diet.

It's About Preventative Care Too

We'll offer tips, videos, downloads and documents that ensure you're avoiding hazards, keeping your pet safe.

Team Work

We all take an active role, especially your pet, in reaching our goals of improved health for your furry companion.

All Types of Companions

Treatments outlined on this blog will focus on cats and dogs, but we treat other animal companions as well.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

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

Thursday, November 12, 2015

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.