Abbey

Last winter I discovered that my yellow lab, Abbey, had blood in her urine.  After x-rays were ordered by Dr. Haghighat, it turned out that she had 2 large bladder stones. He explained that conventionally, what is recommended is surgery to remove the bladder stones. However, in his experience, most dogs do not require bladder surgery and with proper diet and homeopathic and herbal treatment, the bladder stones are able to dissolve on their own. We started immediately a very regimented treatment plan that consisted of feeding a homemade diet with lots of vegetables and added water. We also started Abbey on a homeopathic preparation and two types of herbs and monitored Abbey closely to make sure she was able to urinate at all times. The blood in the urine stopped after only a few days, and Abbey seemed to be much more comfortable. We repeated the x-rays in 3 months and, miraculously, her bladder stones had disappeared with absolutely no sign of them! I can’t tell you how shocked and elated I was with the news. Dr. Haghighat spared my Abbey from surgery and for that I’ve forever grateful to him.

X-RAYS BEFORE TREATMENT

 

X-RAYS AFTER TREATMENT

 

 

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Harley

Harley was 6 when she jumped off our 2' deck and tore her ACL in the Fall of 2014.  We had no idea what was wrong.  Our vet at the time insisted that she'd have to be operated on and that we should talk to the vets at the 404 Emergency Clinic.  She is a great vet but she put so much pressure on us to get the operation done that we felt guilty for having second thoughts.

Two days later we went for an exam (for Harley) and a consultation for us.  They were very thorough (though the exam hurt Harley) and very patient when answering our questions, however they did not give us any alternatives.  They made it clear that as far as they were concerned the operation was the only way.  We were quoted $3500.00 which wasn't bad as it included the pre and post exams, the operation and metal parts, all of the medication, the overnight stay and 5 hydro-therapy treatments.  However, my husband and I really didn't like the idea of them cutting the tibia bone and re-shaping the joint.  Plus the confusion and extra pain that Harley would go through.  Also we thought that this would damage her other leg as the 2 legs would now work differently.

The next day we had a consult with Dr. Sasan at the Holistic Clinic in Newmarket.  Our neighbours had been to see him with their dogs and he'd worked wonders.  We wanted a second opinion and more options.  He gave us the answers we were looking for.  He explained the operation and told us that we were right - the difference after the operation between both legs would mean that her other ACL would tear much more easily, probably in a few months to a year.  He gave us a treatment plan and started with acupuncture and biopuncture and also gave us some herbal supplements to go home with. He also gave us a time estimate of 3-6 months for the joint to heal.

He was right.  It took about 6 months and a few sessions of treatment, but Harley has been back to normal since the spring and she seems healthier than ever.  She knew, as she was healing, what she could and couldn't do and, even now, I find she seems to "think before she leaps" so we are hopeful that her other knee will have no problems.

My husband and I still bring our dog to Dr. Sasan.  She likes this clinic much better and is healthier for her. Before you feel pressured into doing something you're not sure of, it's worth taking a look around and checking out the alternatives.  It will be much better for you and your pet.  We are very grateful for Dr. Sasan and his great staff and we will continue to bring Harley here.

Sandra & Harley

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Phoenix

Phoenix is our lovely 8 year old Portuguese Water Dog. In the fall of 2011 she started developing open red sores around her vulva.  I took her to our vet who thought it was due to licking she was given a cone and some topical antibiotic treatment.  We soon discovered that the cone was not needed as it did not provide results and when the cone was removed she was not attempting to lick the area.  We had on and off episodes of the same problem for the following year.  We then noticed a horrible smell coming from her mouth.  The vet couldn’t figure out what it was and it continued despite brushing her teeth.  I took Phoenix back to a vet I had years ago that was a distance away as she was able to help us with our Sheltie that had lupus.  She immediately discovered that her lip pockets were raw and infected and that was where the smell was coming from.  At the same time her eyes started becoming raw and inflamed.  It was thought that her eye lashes were curling in and that surgery was needed to correct.  When she was under anesthetic the vet was able to fully examine her and discovered that the eye lashes were fine.  We were then sent to veterinary ophthalmologist.  After several visits we really had no further answers but the condition seemed to be manageable.  In the spring of 2013 we again had a flare up of her vulva, lip pocket and eyes.  Our vet thought that Phoenix’s problem was likely allergies.  So she was placed on a strict diet of kangaroo and oats.  She was on that diet for 9 months with no improvement.  We were then sent to a veterinary dermatologist that thought the problem was due to environmental allergies.  We continued on the kangaroo and oat diet with the addition of steroids.   Phoenix improved but we couldn’t seem to reduce the amount of steroids she needed to control her skin issues to an acceptable long term level.  We then did allergy testing and results came back showing Phoenix was allergic to a large number of things including four types of tree pollen, dust, mold and cats.  Thinking this was the answer in May of this year we started Phoenix on allergy shots.  Her condition worsened during the summer.  We were told to increase the steroids which sometimes did help the problem.  However in September, her eyes were so bad that she could hardly open them in the morning.  I couldn’t get the open sores to heal and they were getting bigger and bigger.  I felt every time I was trying to clean the discharge from her eyes so they could be opened that I was torturing her as the sores would be bleeding.  At this time even a drastic increase in steroids did not help.  Both the dermatologist and vet were at a loss as to what to do.   

 

 Thankful I decided to seek alternative treatment and went to see Dr. Sasan Haghighat.  I was immediately impressed by his caring manner as he listened to the long story of what Phoenix had been through.  He thought her case was similar to another patient, Jessie and that Phoenix’s problem was not in fact allergies but rather an immune system problem possibly pemphigus.  We immediately started her on a diet of boiled clean vegetables with some lentils and chick peas.  He gave Phoenix an acupuncture treatment, and she came home with some homeopathic remedies.  Dr. Haghighat thought that it may take up to 6 months to see results.  After one week I thought perhaps her eyes were looking slightly better but didn’t want to get my hopes up.  Upon her two week follow up visit her eyes were noticeably better.  We continued on the same treatment plan and by the following 3 week follow up visit her eyes were almost completely healed.  This was only 5 weeks after we started treatment.  We have continued with same regime and her eyes now 2 weeks later her eyes are completely healed, she has no issues with her lip pocket or vulva and we have completely stopped her steroids for over a month.  Dr. Haghighat has said that she may have a relapse in the process of being completely cured but so far she is doing great.  I have noticed a considerable increase in her energy level.  Despite being 8.5 years old, she is like a puppy again.  I was really so frustrated and concerned trying to figure out how to help Phoenix and can’t thank Dr. Haghighat and his lovely staff enough for figuring out the puzzle of Phoenix that had eluded several vets and two specialists.  He truly worked a miracle on Phoenix! 

 

BEFORE PICTURE (October  1, 2015)

 



 

AFTER PICTURE (November 5, 2015)

 

 

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