Kaya, a Dobermann and German shepherd cross, had been suffering from autoimmune hemolytic anemia and arthritis attacks for three long years when her care taker finally got the courage to break the vicious cycle of heavy drug prescription for the dog and instead look for a homeopathic treatment.
When I first saw Kaya at her home she was lying in a corner, too apathetic to even greet me. She had gained weight with the ongoing steroid treatments and was suffering from gas and bloating. All her interest in life had narrowed down to food, which she was constantly searching for whenever she wasn’t hiding in her den.
She had been in this state for 6 months, ever since she was put once again on a heavy drug treatment for her autoimmune anemia and chronic arthritis. She had been suffering from inflammatory swellings of her joints ever since she was two years old. These painful symptoms were accompanied by acute episodes of anemia that made her weak and sad. Whenever Kaya got conventional treatments she became apathetic and overweight. Even though her anemia and arthritis didn’t seem to improve with the conventional drugs nobody seemed to have the courage to stop them. Her treatments just went on and on.
Kaya seemed dog-tired with life and her care taker Shenhav was worried sick. She loved her dog dearly and was crying while telling the story of Kaya’s long medical history, heavy with drug doses and multiple laboratory tests. Shenhav was a veterinary technician and was professionally trained to bring in her dog for weekly follow-ups, blood tests, ultrasounds and drug adjustments. It was as if she was drowning herself in medical data in order not to sink into hopelessness. She was emotionally exhausted, feeling hopeless and helpless, overwhelmed by her dog’s ongoing suffering which kept taking her back to the suffering of her previous dog, Zoe, who had died several years earlier.
When Kaya was found in the street as a six-weeks-old puppy she had been immediately welcomed by Zoe, a gentle and loving three-year-old mastiff mix. Zoe adopted Kaya as her baby and the two were inseparable. Zoe had been diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia when she was barely one-year-old and had immediately undergone a first orthopedic operation. One operation led to another and by the time Kaya arrived Shenhav was too busy with Zoe’s ongoing checkups and follow-ups to give the new puppy any attention. However, Kaya had Zoe to love and play with and both seemed happy. When Zoe was 5 years old and Kaya only 2, the older dog died after yet another orthopedic operation, bringing everything to an abrupt end. It was as if Zoe couldn’t stand her treatments anymore and chose to give up. The family was thrown into an emotional whirlpool out of which both Shenhav and Kaya emerged aching and confused. That’s when Kaya’s first symptoms of acute arthritis appeared.
After the first homeopathic consultation Kaya’s conventional treatment was interrupted, thus ending the vicious circle of guilt, medications and despair. Both she and her human seemed instantly relieved.
Kaya received her homeopathic remedy and started balancing herself, slowly but surely. She gradually lost weight while regaining her long lost happy state of being free of pain and sadness. Her recovery was closely monitored by monthly blood counts and checkups.
Three months later I went to see Kaya at her home again. She was out in the garden, running around and playing with her cat friends and another dog, Zoe’s brother Joe, a 9-year-old lively and playful companion. He had recently come to live next door and naturally became Kaya’s best friend. He needed frequent rests because of his genetically weak hips, but seemed to have a happy and active life, despite or perhaps because he had not been put through any operations.
Shenhav was amazed to see Joe appear one day at her garden gate – Zoe’s identical twin. His gentle and loving presence helped both Kaya and her human to overcome their grief over Zoe’s death and to reconnect with each other. Once the homeopathic healing process was triggered Kaya never looked back and went on to be a healthy, active and happy dog. Several years down the line, no symptoms of lameness or anemia had ever surfaced again.
Kaya’s remedy- Natrum muriaticum- is none other than the homeopathic dilution of salt, one of the great homeopathic remedies for grief and its consequences. It was chosen for Kaya’s main clinical symptoms – anemia and arthritis – which were probably both autoimmune reactions to the shock and grief that she had experienced. Natrum muriaticum naturally plays an important role in hydro-physiology and homeostasis — fluid balance regulation. Kaya’s strong physiological reactions to the steroid treatments can be explained in light of these drugs’ influences on the bodily fluids, enhanced in her case by her Natrum muriaticum characteristics. Her severe pathological reactions to the grief of losing her best friend is typical of those who benefit from Natrum muriaticum, prescribed for those who “transform silent grief into deep seated pathologies”. Kaya’s homeopathic treatment healed her deep seated pathologies, allowing her and her human companion to overcome their grief and to mend their emotional bonds.
Kaya Playing
