Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans and Animals Can Change the Way we Live - Softcover

Schoen D.V.M., Allen M.

 
9780767904315: Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans and Animals Can Change the Way we Live
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0767904311 ISBN 13: 9780767904315
Verlag: Crown, 2002

Inhaltsangabe

Treating animals just as any healer would treat human beings, Allen Schoen has become one of America’s most celebrated veterinarians. Kindred Spirits shares the transformative power of his remarkable methods, explores how alternative healing is revolutionizing his profession, and, in the tradition of James Herriot, shares heartwarming stories of animals and their caretakers who have deeply enriched each other’s lives. Through moving scenes–such as an ailing German shepherd who fights to stay alive so he can assist and comfort his ailing human companion–Schoen details the ways in which the human-animal bond can provide a wellspring of love and support, and outlines his own special prescription for improving the care we give our animals through adopting simple healing practices at home. A remarkable new synthesis of science and spirit, Kindred Spirits at last reveals the many ways our animal friends can help us lead happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Allen M. Schoen, D.V.M., M.S., is a pioneer in natural veterinary medicine and the human-animal bond. One of the most sought-after doctors of veterinary medicine in the nation, he lectures at conferences and retreats worldwide, and is the author of three other books, including Love, Miracles, and Animal Healing. An adjunct professor at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and an affiliate faculty member at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine, he lives in Sherman, Connecticut.

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Treating animals just as any healer would treat human beings, Allen Schoen has become one of America's most celebrated veterinarians. "Kindred Spirits shares the transformative power of his remarkable methods, explores how alternative healing is revolutionizing his profession, and, in the tradition of James Herriot, shares heartwarming stories of animals and their caretakers who have deeply enriched each other's lives. Through moving scenes-such as an ailing German shepherd who fights to stay alive so he can assist and comfort his ailing human companion-Schoen details the ways in which the human-animal bond can provide a wellspring of love and support, and outlines his own special prescription for improving the care we give our animals through adopting simple healing practices at home. A remarkable new synthesis of science and spirit, "Kindred Spirits at last reveals the many ways our animal friends can help us lead happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Aus dem Klappentext

Treating animals just as any healer would treat human beings, Allen Schoen has become one of America s most celebrated veterinarians. Kindred Spirits shares the transformative power of his remarkable methods, explores how alternative healing is revolutionizing his profession, and, in the tradition of James Herriot, shares heartwarming stories of animals and their caretakers who have deeply enriched each other s lives. Through moving scenes such as an ailing German shepherd who fights to stay alive so he can assist and comfort his ailing human companion Schoen details the ways in which the human-animal bond can provide a wellspring of love and support, and outlines his own special prescription for improving the care we give our animals through adopting simple healing practices at home. A remarkable new synthesis of science and spirit, Kindred Spirits at last reveals the many ways our animal friends can help us lead happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives.

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One

Do Animals Feel Pain?

There is little that separates humans from other sentient beings--we all feel pain, we all feel joy, we all deeply crave to be alive and live freely, and we all share this planet together.

--Gandhi

Several years ago, Carol, a fifty-year-old single working mother, entered my office with her fourteen-year-old son Scott, and King, their German shepherd.

Carol was the only one of the trio in good physical shape. Tall and handsome, Scott had difficulty walking; he didn't shake my hand but limped over to a chair where he remained quiet and withdrawn throughout the visit.

Twelve-year-old King wasn't doing much better. Due to weakness in his hind legs, he had to drag himself into the office. It was hard to tell whose face looked more worried: Carol's or King's, with his heavy eyes and his tucked-back ears. Struggling to remain composed, Carol told me that King had been diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy (an atrophy of the spinal cord) and hip dysplasia (physical malformation of the hip joint).

Their veterinarian had treated the dog with conventional medicines, steroids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. Nothing had worked. The veterinarian now felt it was time to put King to sleep.

"Is there anything at all you can do?" Carol asked, despair permeating her voice. She told me about a friend whose ill cat had lived years longer than expected by taking a series of nutritional supplements that I had recommended.

Carol had brought along King's X-rays and medical records. Looking them over, I saw extensive arthritis in the back, a condition called spondylosis, as well as in the hips. After gently lifting King on the table to conduct a physical examination, I noted that the dog's eyes were still bright, with no evidence of cataracts or other signs of aging; that his teeth were solid, showing little dental tartar; and that his lymph nodes and abdominal organs were normal-sized. His heart and lungs auscultated--or sounded--normal, too. His coat was in good condition, though a bit dry.

But when I conducted my neurologic and musculoskeletal examinations, I found that the dog had significant pain in his hips and back, which correlated with the findings on the X-ray. The nerve reflexes in his hind legs were greatly diminished, and the muscles were significantly atrophied, probably from disuse. When King placed both hind feet on the ground, they knuckled under, indicating that he had little sensation in the top of his paws, suggestive of decreased feeling from the nerves in that area. Fortunately, the reflexes in his knees were still good.

The nerve damage in the hind legs could have resulted from either degenerative myelopathy (a progressive debilitating disease more prominent in German shepherds) or from the spondylosis in the back impinging on the nerves to the leg. It is not uncommon to see both of these conditions simultaneously in German shepherds, which makes differentiating between the two quite challenging.

As gently as possible, I shared with Carol and Scott my sense that King's situation was indeed serious and then went over the treatment options available via conventional Western medicine.

Next I reviewed the possible approaches with alternative medicine and how they might work, especially if the nerve damage stemmed from arthritis.

I explained how--if the damage was not due to degenerative myelopathy--acupuncture could help by increasing the circulation to both the muscles and the joints (thereby increasing the blood and oxygen supply to them) and by stimulating the nerves to the hind legs. Acupuncture might also relieve some of the pain of the arthritis by stimulating the release of endorphins, the body's own painkilling hormones. It could also relieve inflammation (without the side effects of synthetic cortisone) by stimulating the body's own cortisone release mechanism. I also suggested we try supplements of vitamins E, C, and a B-complex to improve nerve functioning, as well as King's overall health.

Moments after I finished talking, Carol broke down in tears.

"You've just got to help," she sobbed. "King means everything to Scott." She told me that her son had suffered from Lyme disease for more than two years but that he had only recently received the correct diagnosis and proper treatment. He was now taking intravenous antibiotics because he had responded poorly to the medication orally. Scott's father, Carol's ex-husband, had only a distant relationship with the boy, and it was King who was taking round-the-clock care of him, lying by Scott's bedside during the months when he was most ill. The few times when Scott was able to move about, King limped along beside him, guarding him against falling.

"My son lives for King," Carol said, "and King lives for him. If King dies, it'll destroy him." As Carol talked, Scott glanced away, but I could see tears running down his cheeks.

I listened, fully aware of just how closely the fates of the debilitated dog and his young companion were connected. To suggest that there was nothing I could do for King seemed tantamount to sealing Scott's fate.

After showing Carol and Scott some exercises they could do at home with King, I told Carol I'd do my best, but with no guarantees. I explained that we would have to work together as a team, combining our positive energy with the physical therapy, supplements, and acupuncture. When they left the office, mother and son seemed happier knowing that they would be doing their part to help King.

We started King on acupuncture treatments, as well as nutritional and herbal supplements, and over the next eight weeks his condition improved. He was stronger, happier, and walking more. Each time he and Scott entered my office I could see his progress.

We weren't out of the woods, though, and whenever the boy's health took a downturn, so did the dog's. The opposite was also true: If the dog's symptoms worsened, so did the boy's. Still, both showed enormous resilience and determination.

As King improved, Scott relaxed around me to the point where he started helping me hold King during his acupuncture sessions, reporting King's day-to-day movements, and letting me know the specific ways in which he was doing better.

Because Scott showed genuine interest in the acupuncture, I explained to him how it worked and why I was using certain acupuncture points, such as Gall Bladder 34, located just below the knee at the common peroneal nerve, one of the most important nerves to the hind leg, or Bladder 40, near the tibial nerve, right behind the knee joint, which is also essential in stimulating nerves to the hind legs.

Scott was fascinated to learn that acupuncture had a scientific basis, that it was more than, as he put it, "just that yin and yang stuff." He observed how I chose my acupuncture points and how I attached electrodes to the acupoints on the legs. He watched intently when King responded to the electric stimulation with various groans and mumbles, and he noted how King was able to use his hind legs a little more after each treatment.

King started wagging his tail and holding his head up high. He was now barking at other dogs in the clinic, clearly showing more interest in life around him than he had just a few months earlier. Scott was also showing more interest, talking to other people in the waiting room, walking with more confidence, acting happier.

Despite his improvement, King suffered a series of setbacks. He was weakened from an attack by another dog. And he too came down with Lyme disease, but we caught it early enough to treat it successfully with antibiotic therapy. He then developed a tumor on his shoulder, but we were able to keep that under control for an extended period, too. At one point Scott...

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Verlag
Crown
Erscheinungsdatum
2002
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0767904311
ISBN 13 
9780767904315
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
288
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
preigu
mail@preigu.de

Lengericher Landstr. 19
Osnabrück
49078
Deutschland

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