A few weeks ago I had the misfortune to have to put a lot of my skills supporting sick dogs to work personally. Having gone to bed at about five o'clock in the morning as I'd finished my work shift at three am with a very well little Evelyn, my pocket rocket springer. I woke up in the morning at 9:30 to find hemorrhagic diarrhoea over the floor, first I didn't know who is it was and then obviously as she went again passing literally liquid bloody water I realised it was her. Her mucus membranes had a delayed capillary refill and although temporarily improving with some syringed water it was transient and so knowing she was dehydrated and was going to need supportive care I was on the phone to the vets, applying some oils to her tummy to soothe and support her gut at the same time. Evie was in herself actually quite chirpy, which is my little springer all over and mooched around the garden but we were in my local vets within an hour and with various tests she was admitted for IV fluids.
I'm a very proactive kind of person I think maybe the diplomatic place to put it and so as she was tender in her abdomen I asked for an ultrasound scan which showed she needed to be transferred to an intensive care facility Vets Now Manchester was the place we went and what amazing care there, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Now it is very stressful having your dogs in the hospital but more so for the doggy in question but you know out of all my dogs she's probably the one who can manage this the best but even so this is what I did.
I took in a blanket of hers which I literally was rubbing all over me so she had my scent on it and obviously the scent of home. I also took in her favourite toy which I put a couple of drops of lavender oil on which is very good as Lavender can promote the release of oxytocin which is the cuddle hormone - now not all dogs like lavender so you do need to be mindful that it's the right choice for your dog - Evie is a very chilled dog but was so poorly when she arrived and seeing her wheeled away on a trolley was heartbreaking - although important to note here - keep up the happy banter - I didn’t want her upset or worried. Now whilst Evie was in hospital I had to make sure my others were well - physically and mentally as could they get whatever she had nor did I want them upset at her absence.
So diffusing oils to support the immune system and reduce anxiety was key - good choices are citrus, lavender, along with a touch of rosemary, clove and cinnamon. And of course some time with me, games, cuddles etc to keep them occupied.
Evelyn was very happy in the intensive care unit, they looked after her so well and I was able to visit her the next evening as during the day Evie had had a GA and FNA of her liver and spleen. So during that day I actually prepared her some food to take in, this helped keep me occupied too and this is a great recipe from the
The Natural Canine Kitchen by Emma Rutherford. It is a recovery recipe, easy to digest for helping get a dog back well and take the pressure off their digestive system.
I made quite a large batch and the veg I used was aubergine, courgette and sweet potato. It was lovely to be able to take that in for her and then literally hand feed her slowly. She absolutely loved it. Evie is raw fed and a lot of vets won’t let you take that in - which is fine as in an ill dog raw is going to be harder for your dog to cope with so this cooked meatloaf if perfect.
You will notice there is no rice in there, rice is not a good food to feed your dog, yes always say chicken and rice but unfortunately - no disrespect to vets - most don’t have any nutrition training like my human doctor colleagues and somehow chicken and rice has been floated down over time as something suitable.
I'd also taken in some oils to pop on her as well to support her gut again and a couple of specific ones to support her spleen and liver.
I was able to take her home the next day which was actually fantastic and usually Evie needs to be carried out of the vets because she so loves being there and all the attention but on this particular occasion enjoying the cuddles from the staff as we headed to the front door I felt sure I would need to pick her up but she was more than ready to charge to the van! Popped straight on the drivers seat - where she likes to snooze when we are camping!
Once home I carried on feeding her the meatloaf for quite a few days to let her gut recover - note this is not a balanced recipe so it is not suitable for long term without the addition of other things. To further facilitate her healing I gave her digestive enzymes which as they help digest her food it means more energy can be put into healing because digestion is quite an energy depleting process. I've actually sent a stool sample off for a microbiome test as well (all stool tests came back negative) so just waiting for that to come back. I carried on diffusing oils that can support her immune system and then she also needed some other oils to support her as well based on results which I'm not going to disclose at the moment as I haven't got all the results back.
However, she has made an awesome recovery and is back to normal. The week before Evie had stem cell treatment and so she was on metacam because there was a worry that the essential oils I use could interfere with the stem cell implants but I've not been able to use metacam since due to the bleeding risk so we've just had to abandon the post stem cell recovery protocol and she's just been on back on oils to support her such as basil, marjoram, copaiba, frankincense and peppermint topically and internally to support her comfort and her musculoskeletal system.
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get in touch. I'm an emergency medicine doctor and certified animal aromatherapy specialist and advocate for an integrative approach to health using everything we have available.