This is a B-I-G topic. I instinctively took a deep breath as I wrote the title of this article. For many reasons it seems. There is no way I can put all of it into one article. Big pharma control veterinary medicine as much as they control human medicine. The pet food industry is responsible for much suffering of animals..And if it's so bad in the first world, imagine how much harder it is for animals elsewhere.
Imagine just how hard it is for those who really do walk the walk & live to heal animals as naturally as possible. It is do-able but it is not easy. In places where human life is so expendable - ignored by the rest of the world, what of the animals? What of even the very basics? Let me remind you that I am not a vet & I have the utmost respect for vets. I have many veterinary friends, many of whom practice natural methods of health care for their animals. Two of my children have worked as veterinary nurses & we have for many years care for animals naturally.
The loudest arguments have come from Christians. I won't quote other texts but I know it's true. Isaiah 11:6 says it all for me. Prior to the fall, no animal ate another but afterwards bloodlust took over. I'm not here to tell you one way or another. But our dominion has gone awfully wrong. It is hell on earth for most animals today. We really have failed. Even those of us who profess to love animals.
Yet everything that encompasses Edenic living for humans can be applied to animals - and is, every day -
Herbal medicine
Homeopathy
Acupuncture
Osteopathy
Chiropractic
Massage therapy
Natural diet/Plant diet Hydrotherapy
... & so much more make up just what is available for today's animals who, for the most part, are mass-bred, overfed, poisoned & abused. Some are fortunate - but again it goes in the polar opposite direction; with many wealthy spending as much on one pampered pet as could be better spent caring for hundreds, if not thousands of abandoned, abused & neglected animals.
Still today, most people see animals for a select purpose -
Food
Working
Gambling
Income
Pleasure
How sad then, that all of these equate to animal suffering. I personally do not believe you can claim to love animals and still eat them. Or love some species but use others. Today, billions of animals are bred & killed every year for food. Totally needless. Yes, many species are predators and some are prey - but humans who argue this are not out there catching their prey with their bare hands, and eating them raw, bones, hooves, hair and all. Besides, there is no need for this lifestyle other than bloodlust.
The conditions of breeding and raising the animals (livestock) can be appalling - and usually are. Yet even our animal welfare groups approve it. The working animal can take many forms - from disability pets to showjumpers; from beasts of burden to circus performers. Just because the animals can do something, does not mean they should. I am sure you can do the jobs that your animals do - even carry other humans on your back. But do you? Most animals don't want to - but human domination means they have to.
And then we get to gambling - such a divide in the scheme of things. The punters have addictions and carry an entire catalogue of their own issues so spare no thought for the conditions in which those creatures are bred, kept or, as is common, how short their lives are. More end up in abattoirs or shipped off to nations for meat consumption than are retired & rescued.
Breeders are a special breed of their own. I remember having an argument with a friend's mum who was a breeder. She saw nothing wrong with forcefully impregnating 'her girls' every year or so and selling to the highest bidder. My comments along the lines of my distaste for people making an income from breeding, and suggesting they should be made to have licenses was met with contempt and derision. As in how dare I make their lives less comfortable - too bad about the dogs. My views have not changed decades later - especially as we have taken in our umpteenth rescue of all manner of animals.
And pleasure - this one has a very broad meaning. It could be companionship which is beautiful or it could, depending upon the size of the brain of the individual, mean dog fighting, hunting, fishing or anything else that provides kicks for one species and not the other. Why is the divide so wide? And then there was the vet nurse who actually supported horse racing (as so many vets seem to do) because her rescue was the best horse she had owned. How does that even make sense?
Few take their animals to the vet - unless it is an emergency or needing euthanasia. Even less would consider using natural health care for their animals. How were animals cared for prior to the medicalisation of the world? Natural, organic diets, herbs, homeopathy, pure water, open air (something most of today's mass produced animals do not get to experience).
Animals today suffer from human diseases. When I was first told this I was confused. As in how? Well, a combination of diet and medication. They are being poisoned at the same rate we are. Vaccines which are useless but laden with appallingly toxic ingredients - systemic parasitic treatments which are too toxic for human hands to handle - diets using ingredients animals should not consume. Many vegetarian livestock are fed meat meal to fatten them up - or just to get rid of waste product.Yes, this is a vast topic. But one that should be embraced. Don't go gung-ho. Some ingredients and foods should not be fed to certain species. But with adequate research, why can't you prepare your pet's food?
Even after all these years, it is a rabbit hole that seems to get bigger as I go along. I've been blessed to be called to help with some of the greatest miracles in healing that I have witnessed - with animals -
A poisoned horse (consumption of the inner flesh of the balga plant which is toxic to horses) - the first horse had died by the time I arrived. The vet did not know what to do so agreed to let me try. I gave a few doses of a homeopathic remedy and left it with the human, not knowing what the outcome would be. By the next morning the horse was up on its hooves again and back to normal, running around within days.
A baited dog - too far from a vet and stuck without transport. I gave a homeopathic detox 15 minutely until transport arrived to take the dog half an hour's drive to the nearest vet. He was in the early stages of seizing with dilated pupils, unable to stand by the time I started treatment. By the time he arrived at the vet, the poison had passed through - he was in for observation overnight but fine within a few hours.
A weekly superfood/parasite tonic for horses made up of vitamin powder, eggs, grated carrot and apple, molasses, bran, seeds, herbs and warm water. It was multi purpose - he was always free from parasites, had a shiny coat, and was generally strong and healthy, even during the worst of the winter cold and summer heat.
A cat bitten by a snake - the vet was closed - another situation that I feared would have the worst outcome. I gave a homeopathic detox and the cat stopped shaking within half an hour and was back to normal by the next day. A tiger snake bite is often fatal in cats.
Home made dog food restored health to ageing dogs. Wet food made of organic soy, vegetable stock, herbs and spices like turmeric, coconut and seeds. Dry biscuits made of a pastry of mixed vegetables, sweet potato, tahini, flax, sunflower, pepitas, coconut oil, high electrolyte Himalayan salt, peanut butter, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.There is so much more that can and will be shared on this topic. Just know that all animals can be cared for using natural modalities - whether alone or alongside orthodox veterinary medicine.
Please don't ever ignore your animal's health - all I can suggest is get started and like humans, you can improve their general health in all manner of ways. Their water should be filtered just like it should be for you. Their shampoos, drenches, treatments and other personal care should not be toxic. Their food should be organic, clean, as fresh as possible and actually healthy - not just fillers.