Every once in awhile, I write about things I see when I walk my dogs. Bill and I happen to live right next to a large nature park. It’s a great area to live in if you have dogs. There are a lot of dog owners in our town and they’re pretty friendly and helpful. Case in point, about a month ago, my dog Arran escaped from our house and several locals were instrumental in helping us bring him back to safety.
Lately, I’ve noticed a woman parking a car advertising holistic medicine for pets. I don’t know her and have never talked to her, but I see her and her son walking their Maltese dogs several times a week. She drives a SUV with decals on it advertising her services as a naturopath. I’m actually kind of interested in what she does, since I have been exploring natural approaches to veterinary care with my dogs, Zane and Arran. Both of my dogs have had mast cell tumors since we’ve been in Germany.
I already belong to a great Facebook group that offers advice for natural approaches toward caring for dogs with mast cell tumors. In that group, there’s information about how to feed dogs with mast cell cancer, hot to use CBD oil and other essential oils for healing tumors and lesions caused by the cancer, and nutritional advice for overall wellness.
To be honest, I’m not as much into “woo” as some people are. I do think natural approaches can be helpful and are often not harmful. I can personally attest to how much CBD oil has helped Zane and Arran, but I also give them Benadryl to discourage the histamine release that can cause tumors to develop. I give Zane Tagamet or Pepcid to help him with the upset stomach he gets sometimes and also to help discourage new tumor growth. It’s been over a year now and this approach seems to be working well for both of them.
Still, I wonder if there’s more I could be doing. That’s why I took notice of the SUV advertising holistic services for pets. The other day, I looked up the woman on Facebook. Her name is Sylvia Fiedler, and according to her official Web site, we were born at around the same time in 1972. She charges 60 euros an hour in cash for her services. It appears that she comes to your home, although I see she’s located in Oberjettingen, which is just up the road from where Bill and I live.
It appears that most of Fiedler’s training is very recent, although she started in the field in the late 80s. I can relate, since my very first job was working for a veterinarian, too. I quickly determined that as much as I like animals, I didn’t want to work in the veterinary field. However, my dogs have pretty much demanded that I learn more about how to take care of them. Our local vets have been surprised by what I know. One of them thought I was a nurse, but actually, I have a master’s degree in public health and used to work as a technical writer for a public health agency. I think that’s why I know more than the average person about some of this stuff.
Anyway, it looks like Fielder’s practice centers around feeding a raw diet, laser therapy, acupuncture and acupressure, Bach flowers, and even leeches. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be calling her… although it may get to a point at which I might decide to give homeopathy a whirl. Some people do swear by it and it’s kind of cool to know that it’s available in my current “hometown”. It’s also kind of cool to know that the lady who offers it walks the same routes I do with Zane and Arran.
I’m mainly just writing this post because I know I have some local dog lovers/owners who read my blog. Perhaps some of them are looking for a naturopath/holistic practitioner for their dogs. Hopefully, this information might be helpful.
Jettingen is a great place for dog owners… not just because there are so many trails, but also because we have a resident naturopath.