I saw my canine patient Caleb again this week, a few weeks after I’d given him one dose of a homeopathic remedy for vaccinosis. His story is typical, so very worth sharing. (If you missed his great smiling face, just back up a post).

Caleb had come to me then because he was exhibiting tumor growth on his body, most notably a small-orange-sized lump right on the center of his sternum. He’d had several past ones removed and checked, but luckily none were malignant.

He had also been on Rimadyl since he was hit by a car at 2 years old, and Caleb is now 11 years old, and a pretty big guy, a mix of probably Pit Bull and Queensland Healer, running about 68 pounds. His owner, Catherine, recognizing the risks associated with this drug, had taken him off it about a week before I saw him. Interestingly, his liver checked out fine in blood tests done prior to my seeing him. (Deaths due to liver failure have been caused by this drug. Search it out.)

So, after a lengthy questioning of his owner and a physical exam, here’s my list of what struck me about Caleb, things I asked Catherine to follow as we headed into homeopathy to help him heal himself:

1. Large fatty tumor at the front of his chest, lemon sized.
2. A bald spot on his tail that had been bare for many years, maybe since Caleb was two years old and hit by the car.
3. Stiffness getting up and, even worse, on lying down, with difficulty getting into the car on the way here.
4. Spookiness with certain things, like a laundry basket, or something he’s seeing that’s new to him. A broom leaning on a wall could do it, or a shadow.
5. Slow to get up in the morning, and when he does, he has 3 big sneezes daily.
6. He’s chilly, even to the point of liking the Austin sun in the Summer (!)
7. He humps a pillow (and he’s a neutered male!) about once a week.

So, in comes Caleb on Wednesday, looking like a happy camper, and Catherine tells me the great news:

1. The tumor has shrunk to the size of a small walnut!
2. He’s got peach fuzz hair growing on his bald spot of 9 years!
3. He doesn’t seem to be so stiff.
4. He’s less spooky.
5. His morning sneezes stopped. None.
6. He’s humping the pillow even more!
7. And, coolest of all, he’s initiating play now, not just waiting for his owner to do this. Like not since he’s been a puppy!! (Did I mention Caleb is 11? Oh, good).

So, we’ve still got some work to do, but my goodness, what a neat turn around for an old guy, right?

What did he get treated for? Vaccinosis (click here for more info). The illness of being vaccinated, and he got plenty of vaccinations, as do most pets and horses today. When the postcards came saying he was “due for his shots,” his owner dutifully complied. Yearly, until she stopped in the past year, thinking (rightly so!) he’d had enough.

So, think along with me:

1. Caleb came in with a laundry list of complaints.
2. Caleb got a vaccinosis remedy, known to help illness that came from being vaccinated.
3. Caleb got wayyyyy better.
4. What caused a whole lot of his illness? Vaccinations, you bet!

We’re going for a more constitutional remedy now, to see if we can take him further, which I’m confident we can. But Caleb’s story is worth spreading around, I think. So here’s Caleb, smiling at the world, and telling it like it is.

Thanks Doc. I feel way better now.

Thanks for joining me in this adventure called veterinary homeopathy.

P.S. For the budding homeopaths in the readership, the remedy given was thuja 10M, one dose.

Now, for those looking for shortcuts, I’ll mention that there are lots of remedies for vaccinosis, and they won’t work the same in every individual, so this kind of prescribing, for chronic disease, is best not done at home. Seek out a professional homeopathic vet, trained, and ideally, certified in homeopathy. Lists of them are on the AVH site, which is referenced on my Resources page.