All language subtitles for Natural Companions S03E18.EN

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Today on Natural
Companions, bumps and bruises.

What do you do when a
cat's bite becomes a bear?

What botanical medicine offers
new hope for canine cancer?

How did necessity give
birth to a healing bomb?

Also, Jeff shows us
how to make a flea collar,

and Dr. Pam Shears
are always expert advice.

All natural, all coming up
next on Natural Companions.

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Holistic pet care is all about
keeping your pet healthy

by supporting the
body's functions,

preventing illness and
disease in the first place.

But try as we might,
things happen.

So what if you pet your cat
and discover a mysterious bump?

Or what if your pet suffers
an unexpected injury?

Even well-behaved
dogs can get into a scuffle

and experience a nasty bite.

Welcome to Natural Companions.

The program where we
explore natural and holistic ways

to keep our animal
companions happy and healthy.

I'm Amy Rosenthal.

And I'm Jeff Plunk.

Fortunately, holistic
veterinary medicine

offers great herbal remedies
for those bumps, scrapes,

and bruises that can
happen to any pet.

And they're completely
non-toxic and gentle.

Well, gentle for
your pet, but they

can put up a mean fight against

viruses, bacteria,
and cancer cells.

Today, we're going to take a

look at some of
those super salves

and high-powered
herbs that can keep

molehills from
turning into mountains.

First up, we'll meet a cat
who's nocturnal adventures,

got him to a little trouble.

When a bite wound grew
into a massive infection,

his holistic vet had to take

extreme measures
to save his life.

Let's see how he's doing now.

I've had Professor
since he was born.

He was born in about 1995.

Professor's always
been a tough kitty.

Most recently, he
apparently found some cat

he didn't get along with
and got in a fight somewhere

around October of '07.

And that fight
resulted in an abscess

on his left rear
leg that ultimately

led to his current
condition, which

has an amputation of that leg.

The cat mouth has
very strong bacteria in it.

It's almost like that
little mouth that tooth just

injects the bacteria into it.

And the reason they're
getting so much trouble

is because the
whole clothes is over.

And then the infection just
grows underneath the skin.

The amputation.

So we'll check each
spinous process.

We're looking for reactions.

And there's a big reaction.

There's another one.

Yes, yes, yes.

We treated him prior
to the amputation

with various homeopathic
and naturopathic treatments.

But finally in November,
she advised me

that the bone had
osteomyelitis in it,

in that leg, at
the joint, and that

it was just going to get worse.

Osteomyelitis is an
infection of the bone.

So myelitis means
there's an infection.

Osteomyel means it's
an infection of the bone.

And we did do
x-rays of a professor.

And the osteomyelitis was very

severe and was into the joint.

I just had the choices of
destroying him or amputating.

And of course, we were both
getting teary-eyed at that point

in that conversation.

And so we made the decision to

go ahead and do the amputation

and go forward with
keeping him around.

And he's been doing
great ever since.

I didn't find holistic
medicine until about 2000.

And that was when I first began.

But now it's my only approach
because it really does work.

I have all those animals,
and every one of them

has had some type of holistic

treatment at
some point in time.

And they're all healthy
and doing wonderfully well.

The really fun thing to me
with alternative medicine

is to have lots of options.

We can do acupuncture.

We can do homeopathy.

We can do chiropractic.

All of it's based
on good nutrition.

But we've got lots of
options that we can try.

He did get some adjustments.

He doesn't come in very often
because he's done very well.

But he gets some adjustments.

You're always
concerned when you've

lost a limb like that, that
the gait has become altered.

And so you have to
really be careful and take

care of their back
to be sure that

they don't have other problems.

He seemed to really enjoy
the chiropractic treatments.

I think all my animals do.

He would arch that back and
shake and reach up for stroking

at that point.

I think he did like those.

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It's today a good day.

Yeah, today's a good day.

He is out and about.

He gets around really
well on the three legs.

He jumps up on the window sills.

He jumps up on the bed.

He gets on the
furniture if he chooses to.

He moves really well.

He's really adapted.

He's just perfectly normal,
except he's just got three legs

instead of four.

Sometimes holistic remedies
aren't enough in emergency

situations, but are
instead essential partners

in the rehabilitation
and healing process.

Even though Professor had
to lose his leg to save his life,

there's still much
that Cathy can do

to help him adapt to a
three-legged lifestyle.

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Good dog, Sonny.

That's good.

Yes.

Yeah.

Wow.

Now, sometimes
when you're outside,

fleas and ticks can be
a problem in something

that's irritated dogs constantly.

Good dog.

Now, there's no holistically

known way to
actually cure fleas

and ticks once your
pets already got them.

But there are some
alternative methods

that can prevent fleas
and ticks altogether.

Now, one great
way to do this is

to create a
natural flea collar.

Now, this is something really

simple that you can do at home,

that you want to get some
kind of cloth, natural cloth

that will hold in the oils.

I'm going to use a
bandana, but you

can use any kind of organic
cloth or even a rope will work.

This is what you do.

Take your bandana
or natural cloth or rope.

You want to twist it up.

Remember, it's going to
go around your pet's neck.

And you want to use
one or more essential oils.

On the bandana.

You want to make sure
these are essential oils

and not just scented oils.

Now, some great essential oils

to use is citronella,
eucalyptus,

lavender, dranium,
and even tea tree oil.

Now, you want to
apply the oils to the collar

about once a week
for maximum benefit.

Come here, Sonny.

Come here.

Come here, boy.

Good dog.

Come here.

Now, when you put
this on, this is not

going to get rid
of the existing

fleas that they already have.

But it will prevent fleas and

ticks along with
the proper diet

and spraying with
natural flea remedies

around your pet's play
area and around your house.

For natural companions,
I'm Jeff Plunk.

We'll see you next time
when I'm on the prowl.

New hope for canine cancer.

Find out when natural
companions returns.

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Welcome back to
Natural Companions.

I'm Amy Rosenthal.

And today's focus is
on holistic remedies

for wounds, injuries,
and other conditions.

When Katie's guardians
discovered a malignant tumor

on her paw, they knew it meant

trouble for their beloved dog.

But could a promising new
development in herbal medicine

help them avoid the harsh
cancer treatments and amputation?

Let's find out.

We've had Katie for six years.

And she is-- she's a
member of the family.

She had a growth on her paw.

And we took her to the vet
because it seemed to be getting

worse than it was.

We took her to the allopathic vet.

And they biopsyed it, and it

came back that it
was a melanoma.

Well, Katie was
diagnosed with a

malignant melanoma on her foot.

The conventional treatment
for malignant melanoma

is to remove it surgically.

Amputation, then,
is the next alternative

when you can't
remove it completely.

There's also some
chemotherapy that could be done,

and possibly radiation
therapy that could be helpful.

We discussed which holistic
vet we were going to go to.

We would never have considered
radiation or chemotherapy

because that's not the
way we live our lives.

They came to me looking
for some alternative treatment.

I had just started using
this new herbal product.

And so in lieu of amputation, they

were really
wanting to try this to

see if we could make this tumor

go away.

So he was really excited
about us being there.

We were his first clients
with this particular product.

What we did was to take
some of this herbal formula.

It's called neoplasine.

And the herb is blood root.

I injected directly into the tumor

with 1.5 cc's of
the diluted mixture.

A week later, the
tumor had actually

sloughed out and left an
open wedge, just a large gap

in the paw, in the pad.

And two weeks after that, it

had really completely
healed over.

Katie was now able to use her

leg while she was walking on it

normally, whereas
when I first saw her,

she was holding
it up and really

couldn't bear
full weight on it.

So the neoplasine or
the herb called blood root

interrupts the mitosis
of the tumor cells

and actually causes
the tumor cells to die.

In the first time, I had really

used it on a tumor like this.

And I was totally
pleased with the results.

And of course, the owner
just couldn't have been happier.

They had their dog back.

I will always be a believer,
supporter of anything

that is more natural
and works because that's

my basic philosophy of life.

We can accept responsibility
for the healing path

that we take as humans.

And since these
guys are in my care,

that's the way I choose to have

their lives be
full and complete.

It's estimated that 50% of all

dogs and cats
over the age of 10

will get cancer.

But as we've seen,
a cancer diagnosis

doesn't have to be
a death sentence.

Your holistic
veterinarian can select

from an entire arsenal
of homeopathic, botanical,

and other holistic
remedies to fight cancer

without the
harmful side effects

of conventional
cancer treatments.

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Hi, I'm Dr. Pam Montgomery-Fitz,

and I'm here today to talk
to you about wound care.

Most pets are
going to have some

type of abrasion,
puncture wound,

or bite wound through
the course of their life.

The most important thing is to

recognize when
it's serious or not.

Bite wounds can
easily become infected.

An important way
to prevent infections

is to take care of a
cut or a wound quickly.

It's important to
have open wounds

evaluated by a veterinarian.

Remember, the size of the wound

does not denote the severity.

Even the smallest of
wounds can be very serious.

Initial treatment can
include flushing the wound

with saline or water.

To cleanse the
wound, you can use

a very dilute
hydrogen peroxide.

solution.

That's about a 1 to 30
dilution or a half of a teaspoon

to a cup of water.

You can also use plain soap.

Abrasion and small cuts
need to be clipped and cleaned,

and then apply a slight
film of calendula gel.

If there is excessive
bleeding, you

can apply pressure with
a clean cloth or a bandage

on your way to the veterinarian.

Remember, even the
smallest wounds can be serious.

Don't take the risk
with your pet's health.

I'm Dr. Pam Montgomery-Fitz.

When natural companions' returns,

we'll meet a woman who created

a healing salve for her horses

and discovered a booming business.

Welcome back to
Natural Companions.

I'm your host, Amy Rosenthal.

And today, we're looking
at some holistic remedies

that help heal wounds
and disease tissue.

There's an old
saying that necessity

is the mother of invention.

And in the case of Helen
Miller, that's certainly true.

She was frustrated by the sheer
volume of expensive remedies

that only treated
one specific problem.

So she came up with
a universal solution that

could treat just about every
problem her horses got into.

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Like a lot of girls,
I really love horses

and been interested
in horses all my life.

I got bitten by the horse
bug when I was very young

and always wanted
to work with horses

or be involved with
them in some way.

Of course, when
you live on a ranch,

you also have the usual
barn cats, dogs, of course.

We also have livestock
here, cattle, and goats.

Boo-boo-goop.

Originally got its name from
the Common Everyday reference

to almost any conditioner's
injury or a little nacre cut

that a horse might show
up with in the morning.

And we do inspections every day.

And as we go through
our routine inspections,

we would say, OK, let's put

some goop on
this little boo-boo.

And that evolved into, let's
put some boo-boo-goop on this.

And over time, as
more and more people

started asking me about
the salve that I was making,

they would say,
well, what is this stuff?

And I said, well, this is
my goop for boo-boos.

It's boo-boo-goop.

There's a little
place right there

where she rubbed the hair off.

It's not a cut, but she
didn't rub the hair off.

So I'm just going to
take a little bit of salve

and put it on that spot.

Boo-boo-goop is a universal salve.

And because it uses only
essential oils, it's all natural.

It has only olive oil, beeswax,
and four really powerful

essential oils that
provide the healing.

Essential oils are plant-based.

Usually, they are distilled
from the leaves of plants.

Plants really were
the first medicines

and still are being used
as the basis for most of our

medicines.

The benefits of essential oils are

that you know
what the ingredients

are and where they come from.

And you know what
the chemical makeup is.

And based on the chemicals
that a plant contains,

the essential oils
will reflect that.

Gallahad is my test case.

He was the horse that came
up with a really bad gash

on his cheek, almost
from the corner of his eye.

All the way down
his jaw, it was open.

And there were about
a two-inch wide gash.

And it was over 12 hours
old, so the vet couldn't really

do much about
stitching it together.

And also because of its
location, it couldn't be stitched.

So I formulated the spray
version of this equine product.

And I sprayed him
with the wound spray.

And I sprayed it two or three

times a day for
about three days.

And within three days, I
could see that the little pink

healthy new cells
were starting to grow.

But I could see from using
this spray that he was not just

getting some relief

from the pain and the
itching of it, but it was actually

regenerating these new cells.

After about three
days, I started

putting the regular
salve on there

every day, twice a
day, for about 10 days.

And within six
weeks, there was just

the tiniest little
hairline scar

on his cheek that you could
barely even see that he had ever

had a cut there.

So that was my test case.

It was brand new.

But once I'd had the experience
with Gallahad, I knew that I

had something that
really did the job.

Like with many holistic
remedies, the combination of these

essential oils

are what give it a collective
power that's even greater than

the sum of its parts.

Now remember, remedies
made from essential oils can be

harmful to cats.

But for everything from bug
bites to sunburns, look no

further than nature's

own essences to provide
effective and non-toxic relief for

your dog or horse.

When we come back, we'll
answer some of your mail.

Stay tuned.

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Welcome back to
Natural Companions.

Today we've seen some powerful
natural remedies for wounds,

scrapes, and even tumors.

And today's mail brings
up an important point.

Right, Amy.

Samuel from Lexington, Kentucky
writes, "I recently adopted

a golden retriever and was
shocked to hear that many golden

retrievers will die of cancer
at a relatively young age.

What can I do to help
prevent this from happening?"

Hi, Samuel.

Indeed, it is disturbing that
the average lifespan of golden

retrievers has gone down in
recent years while the cancer

rate has gone up.

While there are no guarantees,
probably the biggest thing

you can do to help prevent
cancer is to give your dog an

organic whole food diet free
of additives, preservatives,

and other food chemicals.

There are also a number
of good anti-cancer diets and

supplements that help support
your dog's immune system,

which is the key to disease
prevention and healing.

Also, avoid the use of
chemical pesticides and cleaning

products, and finally educate
yourself on the warning signs,

and take your dog to a holistic

vet at the first
sign of trouble.

With all cancer, early
detection is the key to survival.

Well, that's all the
time we have for today.

And we hope you found
some useful information here on

natural companions.

And if you have a question
that you'd like answered on our

show, just send us an email.

And remember, the better you
care for your animal companions,

the more they'll reward
you with the lifetime of love.

We'll see you next time
on Natural Companions.

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