The Last Update for this Blog

It's taken me awhile to feel ready enough to post this update and I'm sure I'll get very emotional while typing it.  Ziggy passed away on May 12, 2014 of an abdomenal tumor.  He would have been 13 years old today.

I still struggle every day with the guilt of not having this health issue checked more carefully.  Every vet would tell me 'wow he's a fat boy, he needs some exercise'.  But his abdomen was always extended on one side and he would have shortness of breath easily when I would try to push him a little beyond our little daily outings.

Even in the weeks leading up to his passing, we made an emergency visit to the clinic which required an overnight stay and cost over $1000, and we saw a cardiologist at Blue Pearl's recommendation which cost another $500.  They looked at his chest and lungs to try and find out why he was having breathing difficulties but never looked far enough to find this giant tumor getting ready to burst.

It breaks my heart that in spite of all that I did for him... the healthy food, the homeopathy, etc., he still died a frightening death (drowning in your own internal bleeding is not a pleasant way to go) and I could do nothing to help his suffering.  Here I am crying now, I knew this would happen.

I blame so many for his suffering.  The puppy mills who crank out sick animals for profit, the vets who pushed antibiotics, steroids and vaccines for years which only band-aided the symptoms but caused his health to worsen.  The pet food companies that create the junk food (if you can even call it 'food') that is not even remotely biologically appropriate for pets.

I had to educate myself in so many areas of health in order to care for this dog in the way that he deserved.  He was so gentle and sweet and did not deserve the pain and suffering that plagued him for most of his life.  No animal deserves that.

The good thing that came out of this experience was learning about what is really in the mainstream food supply.  Not just pet food but ALL food.  It's horrifying that we are being sickened and poisoned with artificial ingredients, GMO's, growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and so many other things not intended for the human body so that the food companies can profit and control what people eat by causing food addictions.  This is why the US has the highest rates of cancer, obesity, autism, ADHD, depression, etc in the world.   It's like people don't even have the basic right to be healthy.

If you really want to be healthy, you have to seriously go out of your way to educate yourself because the food industry hides this information and most doctors won't inform their patients because A: They are not trained in nutritional health, and B: They get kickbacks from the pharmaceutical companies to prescribe drugs to keep you on the merry-go-round of illness so they can make selfish, greedy profits.

No one is going to look after your health but you.  No one.  Fortunately, there are a quite a growing number of advocates out there now who are standing up against the establishment and making their voices heard and working tirelessly for YOUR health rights.  They should be supported and appreciated for what they are doing for you.  The first one I have to mention is Vani Hari, aka "The Food Babe".  She is quite the force to be reckoned with and has already successfully convinced companies such as Kraft, Subway and Chik-Fil-A to remove dangerous chemicals from some of their products.  At the very least, you can visit her website (www.foodbabe.com) and see what she is doing for you (and maybe even show some appreciation).

With almost 10 years of research, I have been able to get my own health on the right track.  When I started learning what is being put into our food, I was appalled and disgusted.  Once it sunk in, I started thinking "how dare they poison me without my consent!".  Everyone should be saying this and everyone should be fighting back and taking control.  No one has the right to take control over your body and your health.  And your children are helpless because they eat what the adults feed them.  They cannot make their own choices.  Everyone has the right to good health and should not have to be suspicious of the food that they eat.

So now I choose to take control and let my own voice be heard on a bigger platform.  I am still working on the details of a plan but eventually I will join the advocates because some of us must take a stand and be brave enough to speak out against this tyranny.  The more voices that speak, the louder we will become and the more we will be heard.  Will you stand up for your rights?

In closing, I will say that Ziggy was a shining light in my life and inspired me to be a leader and not a follower.  He will always be alive in my heart.

Annestacey

New Improvements

Ziggy is doing much better.  The previous episode only lasted about 24 hours and cleared right up.  His skin looks wonderful.  Hair is growing back.  The ears are producing a bit of crusty flakes but doesn't appear to be infection.  The eye is improving all the time.  I am using the cod liver oil at least once a day and it is really helping.  He is much more active and playing with toys.  He's like a puppy again.  I'm very happy with his progress.

Bleeding Foot and Wet Ears

This morning when I took Ziggy out for his walk, he was limping and so I tried to check his pads to see if there was anything stuck in them and then his foot suddenly started bleeding like crazy.  He was upset and wanted to get back in the stroller so I brought him back inside immediately.  I used a warm wash cloth to try and blot the area but this was obviously painful so then I just used the cloth to squish water onto the area so I could see what was going on.  I think it was just another "bleeder".  I gave him some traumeel in water to alleviate pain, wrapped the foot in a soft cloth and went to work.

At lunchtime, he was up and walking around so he was definitely feeling better.  The blood is still stained and clotted on his foot but I'm letting him lick his wounds and deal with it himself for now.  Maybe tomorrow he will be feeling better enough to let me clean it up.

I noticed this morning he also has wetness in the ears and cleaning them with a cotton ball shows yellow but I do not smell any infection.  I'm hoping this is just his body responding to the remedy and flushing out more junk.

The strange part is that this foot has never bled before.  This was the back right foot and previously it was always the front left foot. 

I'll post again in the next day or so.

A Setback This Week

Ziggy was looking and feeling really great last week.  This week is a bit different.  He's licking his feet a lot and this morning I noticed a new bleeding sore on his front left foot... which is the same place he got the previous cysts removed back in Virginia.

The eye isn't too bad but the ears are generating dry crusty stuff.  I clean the inner ear flaps each morning with a warm washcloth and soap.  And I've been using the Zymox cleaners here and there.

The skin around the neck, armpits and legs are still improving so that's good news.  Back left foot is having issues with sticky nail beds but I massaged it with coconut oil this morning so hopefully that will help.

I think that the feet seem to get worse when his hair is growing out.  I scheduled a grooming appt for this week but she had to cancel so I'm trying to get that rescheduled.

I'm giving the remedy dose weekly and hoping he will start improving again.  Everything else seems to be ok (eating, drinking, pooping).

Will post more this weekend.

Ziggy's Lunch

Here is a video of me making Ziggy's lunch.


http://youtu.be/x_FrUXuU57k

Here is a video of Ziggy eating his lunch.
http://youtu.be/tn8iOLUypHI

More Frequent Posting on Ziggy's Progress

I gave another dose of the Pulsatilla remedy over the weekend.  Not seeing anything negative but his skin is slowly improving so I'm hoping we are on the upswing now.

Each morning, I lay him out on his back and examine the under-carriage skin.  Two months ago, it used to be wet and sticky and took a good cleaning with soap and water to get it all off.  His skin is looking so good now.  Last week it was a little moist but this week it's feeling soft and supple.  I do the cleaning anyway for preventive maintenance and powder the skin to prevent chafing since there is no fur in these areas. 

I'm focusing more now on the feet, nails, pads and between the toes.  It's definitely better but still room for improvement.  I need to do more massaging with coconut oil on the feet but this works best after a bath so I think it's reserved for weekends.

The ears are doing much better... a little powdery/flaky stuff that does ok with a quick wipe of a damp washcloth.  Using the Zymox ear cleaner every 2-3 days now instead of every day.

The eye is doing much better but I am following Dr Robin's advice and dropping the cod liver oil twice per day (along with the additional lubricants).

Overall, I am very excited about Ziggy's progress.  It's been years since he's looked and felt this good.  He's playing with his toys every night now whereas he used to just lay around and sleep because he didn't feel well.

I am going to continue with the remedy about once per week to see if there is more improvement and will try to post more often because it helps me to keep better tabs on his progress.

Thanks for reading!

Improvement with New Homeopathic Vet

So... it's been a while since I've posted.  We relocated from Tampa to Clearwater in August 2013 and also started seeing a new homeopathic vet in Brooksville, FL.  Her name is Robin Cannizzaro and she is really awesome.  I've listed her site on my link list (Wholistic Veterinary Care).  She gave us a remedy of Pulsatilla and it's been an interesting experience.

At first, Ziggy's condition worsened which is ok and to be expected.  Then during the move to Clearwater, I stopped the dosing so I could focus on packing and moving.  After we moved to Clearwater, he started doing better.  Skin and ears started secreting less junk and I also started mini-cleaning sessions every morning.

This month (September), gave another dose (per Robin's recommendation) and he is still doing well and looks like some skin lesions are drying up and crusting over... very good.  He seems to be less sensitive to the heat than before.  He can be out in the heat of the day without panting and going into a mild panic like he always did before.  This is very good improvement.

I suspect that we are experiencing less pesticides and environmental toxins in this community than the one I left in Tampa.  That could have something to do with the rapid improvement.  I don't know for sure.

We have a follow-up appointment tomorrow to see Robin.  Will post more later.