After my husband and I were married for a few years, I mentioned to him that we really needed a dog in our family. I had grown up with dogs and he had as well, but he said the responsibility involved in caring for a pet made him hesitant. After a year of further convincing, he finally agreed with me that it would be nice to have a dog, and we decided the best way to find our new dog would be from a rescue. After much research on breeds, we narrowed it down to the viszla rescue and boxer rescue—they were both wonderful and had lots of dogs who were in need of homes. It turned out that my husband grew up with a boxer named Pepsi that he just adored, so the boxer was our choice. We had done our research so we knew the health concerns we would be faced with in this breed and were ready to take a chance and accept whatever was to come. We had made our decision together.
This would be our first dog as a married couple and we were so excited! We filled out the application, had a consultation by phone, and a home visit to make sure our home was dog-appropriate. It was a strict but organized process. We waited for an agonizing month as patiently as we could and then one day got a phone call that there was a 4-year-old male looking for a home. This 4-year-old turned out to be a very handsome boy named Sampson, who was happy and lovable. He had such a wonderful soul and so much more personality than we’d expected any dog would have. We had a great time sharing our lives and pampering this dog who had come from a neglectful home. He really made our house a home.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before we learned that he was suffering from lymphoma. We were determined to fight the disease and after much research into the type of cancer and options, decided to try the chemotherapy protocol, treatment with a series of drugs, from Tufts Veterinary School of Medicine. We had a wonderful veterinarian named Dr. Weitzman who supports the boxer rescue and also took special care of Sampson at his practice in Franklin. He not only offered to be available to us during his personal time but even gave us his home phone in case of emergency during the treatment. We felt so lucky and were amazed at what a truly special person this was.
We followed the treatment with some success and remission, but the cancer eventually returned. I kept researching and found holistic and alternative veterinary care as a complement to the traditional, western medicine practices. Making this discovery taught me about a new set of choices that I had as a pet owner. After a lot of research, it made perfect sense and I decided this was the way I wanted to care for my pets. Sadly enough, Sampson’s cancer was too far advanced and we ended up losing him to this horrible disease.
What does holistic pet care mean? In a nutshell, it looks at the whole animal—including its diet, supplements, behavior, genetics, and environment. It focuses on the cause of a health problem and on treating it, rather than suppressing it with medicines. According to the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association website (www.ahvma.org), in many acute situations, treatment may involve aspects of surgery and drug therapy from conventional western technology, along with alternative techniques to provide a complementary whole.
Today there is an overwhelming amount of information available to pet owners from many sources on holistic care. Researching alternative treatments can help pet owners make informed decisions about health care for their pets.