ONE UNIQUE ASPECT OF OUR PRACTICE IS OUR INSIGHT INTO THE DEPTH OF THE SACRED BOND BETWEEN ANIMALS AND THEIR HUMAN CARETAKERS. THIS LETTER IS FROM ONE OF OUR HOLISTIC CLIENTS AFTER HER BEST FRIEND "MISTY" HAD PASSED ON.
Dear Margo and staff,
I wanted to thank you officially for your help and treatment of Misty in the
last months of her life, help and treatment we could have gotten from very few
other places , IF ANY ,and certainly not from our regular vets who at that point
had pretty much shrugged their shoulders at her prospects. Because of you, Misty
and I gained several more weeks of valuable time together . I got to have her
as my nursemaid while I was recuperating from surgery. And I got to experience
the ( to me) miraculous recovery of her sight and strength in that time. It
really was a blessing.
Misty was very much herself until the last day of her life. As I grew stronger, she began to weaken, eating less, but was still very apparently present. On the evening before Rosh Hashanah she cried out several times during the night. And that following morning when I went to her she was alive but barely responsive. She slipped away slowly, little by little throughout the day. I observed the New Year by staying at home and reading my prayer book. So I was able to sit with her all day, reciting the Kaddish over her several times as it came up in the service. She did not appear to be in great pain , but she was going away. Late in the afternoon ( after checking with Misty via the animal communicator you put me in touch with) , I took her to our local vet to be put down, although she was practically gone when she arrived. It was a gentle death, and all in all about as satisfying an experience as it could be for either of us. ( I think it's alright to speak for her!)
Finally, I wanted to follow up on the conversation we had last time I saw you. What you said was very exciting to me. You made a connection between my recent surgery ( or the course of it) and Misty's illness. Your approach opens up all kinds of possibilities for understanding the relationship between humans and animals , and how the world works in general. It has made me rethink some of the events of Misty's life and to see them in a very new way.
Shortly after I first took Misty into my life 3 years ago she became extremely ill. She had a high fever, yellow and green streamed from her nose and eyes, and she sneezed, wheezed and coughed. I took her to Angell Memorial where among other things they aspirated her liver and found evidence of cancerous cells. I expected her to die. But, she told the animal communicator that she would still live quite a while if she could have some peace and quiet. She was treated for her upper respiratory infection and of course she lived on. Over the years my local vets have been surprised that the liver cancer never showed up.
After I talked to you I began to think...before I got her, Misty's primary caretaker was my brother in law. After Misty had come to us, he had found it necessary to stop drinking alcohol. It was interfering with his life. In light of this, Misty's phantom liver cancer may not seem so weird.
I thought you might be interested in this as another piece of the puzzle. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, and especially thank you from me and Misty for prolonging the quality of her life, and for easing her way toward death. Hope you and yours are all well, best wishes for the New Year.
Ellen.
Sontu is a Giant Schnauzer that we began treating post-op after cancer surgery. His "father" is a Boston M.D.
Dear Margo,
Sontu continues to do quite well 6 MONTHS post - op. Lets hope he is the poster
Schnauzer for your remedies!
This letter was written by an owner that just started cancer treatment on her Cocker Spaniel, "Sawyer". Sawyer has lymphosarcoma, and her owner has opted for holistic cancer treatment.
"...since the confirmation that he has Lymphoma, they ( allopathic doctors) told me he should have surgery and chemotherapy right away. They also told me he has only three months to live! That's when I called you and opted to go with your advice and treatment plan.
Since my last appt 10/2/01 my Sawyer has been doing great. He takes 9 (holistic supplements) prescribed for him daily...along with beef, chicken and liver. I alternate fresh vegetable combinations for him every day ( green beans, spinach, squash) , and he gets long grain brown rice, cream of wheat and wheat germ. My other three cockers get a little jealous, but they also eat a much healthier diet since I began Sawyer's treatment. In fact, even I eat a lot better.
Sawyer's energy is high, his disposition is great, he growls less than he used to. He still whimpers when he moves his bowels, but he goes regularly now and has a great appetite. The glands in his neck are still swollen...otherwise he appears totally happy and healthy. It's me who needs treatment now! But it is hard, I work 45-50 hours a week plus all his care, though I can't complain. I'm truly grateful to have such a great vet...every animal should be so lucky. "
Excerpt from letter from Karen Day, regarding Sawyer
I am writing this letter to let you know how my Yorkshire Terrier is doing since Dr. Shaw has seen him this past January 27. Kelsey was admitted with acute abdominal distension. He was then diagnosed with Lymphangectesia and inflammatory bowel disease. Your recommendation was to put Kelsey on prednisone and an anti inflammatory drug.
I wanted to make every effort to refrain from putting Kelsey on steroids. His veterinarian, Dr. Margo Roman, practices homeopathic medicine. So I hoped that she would have an alternative. I was new to using alternatives for my dog, but we have experienced its benefits with my son who has asthma and allergies. Traditional medicine offered him no relief. We brought him to a nutritionist who changed his diet, and a homeopathic doctor who gave him phosphorus. Now that he avoids eating foods that he is allergic to, takes vitamins, supplements, and the homeopathic remedy when needed, his health has improved tremendously. With the traditional medicine, he had missed so much school, it was recommended that he be home tutored. For the past four years, we have made the changes that I had described, which has enabled him to attend school full time.
So having had that experience with my son, we hoped that Dr. Roman could help Kelsey without drugs. It was frightening because Kelsey was very sick and could become critical quickly. But I trusted that Dr. Roman would carefully watch him while using the homeopathic remedies and supplements. I felt that she was open minded and would do her best to find alternatives, but not at the expense of Kelsey's health, if there was absolutely no choice in avoiding those drugs.
This is what Dr. Roman recommended for Kelsey to take daily:
1/4 tsp Flex GL,Vitamin C and glucosamine
1/4 tsp Cleanse, detox formula
1/4 tsp Prozyme, natural enzyme food supplement
1/8 tsp DMG
1 capsule Animal Essentials, fatty acid supplement
1 tsp Pet Tinic
All of the above is mixed with a small amount of raw chicken and cooked chicken. Once a day he gets a pill. A-F Betafood, a dietary supplement. He eats dry dog food, Wellness, super 5 mix. He was put on the homeopathic remedy Apis, and then Thuja.
When he first came home he slowly began to gain fluid again. Dr. Roman would drain that fluid out, hoping that Kelsey could become stronger with his new diet, the vitamins, supplements, acupuncture, and the homeopathic remedy. She worked to build him up faster then he would gain that fluid! That was our first goal. Dr. Roman wanted to cleanse out his system, and she wanted to reverse the effects of the anesthesia. One week before Kelsey had become severely bloated with that fluid, he had been put under because of a claw that he had pulled and his teeth were cleaned. Dr. Roman felt that, that stressful event could have been the trigger which then revealed Kelsey's illness.
The approach that Dr. Roman has taken with Kelsey is a time consuming one! I am very grateful to her and her staff. Thank you also to Jennifer Lomastro! It has meant so much to myself and my family that they are willing to make every effort to help Kelsey in a way which would have no harmful side effects. Not only to have no negative effects, but it is a relief to help him in a way that is beneficial to his good health.
It has been over three months and Kelsey is doing extremely well. He is full of energy, no fluid gain, and no more instances of diarrhea, which had plagued him for most of the four years before he became sick and a new patient of Dr. Roman.
I would like to thank you Dr. Shaw and your staff. The knowledge, care, and compassion given to Kelsey while he was at Tufts, is greatly appreciated. Jennifer Junk answered every question that I had with so much patience! My hope would be that your skill, technology, and caring, could be combined with an open mind towards homeopathy. That I feel would be ideal.
For Kelsey's on going care, I owe Dr. Margo Roman an enormous thanks. I now have the peace of mind that we have done our best to build up Kelsey's health. If I had to give him steroids I would have many sleepless nights. There is a great deal of comfort in giving him vitamins and supplements and watching him become and remain healthy. And if the worst did happen, and he became sick again, I would feel better knowing that he had these three months of getting stronger. And we did our best for him.