Newton

"We first went to see Dr. Haghighat last year when my puppy Newton, who is a mini dachshund, was suffering from gastroenteritis.  After a visit to the emergency vet hospital in Toronto his symptoms seemed to improve after a round of antibiotics and IV hydration.  However his symptoms would not go away entirely, every week we would have at least one bout of bloody vomit and stool. My vet in Toronto put him on a special medical gastro food and said that he may have to be on antibiotics for the rest of his life.  None of this sat well with me especially since Newton was a puppy and not even a year old!  This is when we went to see Dr. Haghighat on the referral of a friend.  With his help and through the use of natural remedies and a home cooked diet Newton got stronger and stronger.  It was a long road but definitely worth it and I knew we were building up my dog’s immune system instead of destroying it with antibiotics. 

We just recently had another scare with Newton last month where he had a very high fever.  It was late in the evening and so our only choice was to take him to the emergency vet hospital again. I just wanted to know how to handle the high fever until I could contact Dr. Haghighat in the morning.  At the hospital they wanted to keep him overnight but we did not want to leave him.  Instead they gave him some fluids, did some blood work and told us to keep him in front of a fan throughout the evening.  In the morning the vet from the hospital called and said that Newton had no white blood cell counts and that he may have bone marrow cancer.  She immediately referred us to the Internal Medicine specialist at the hospital.  When we saw the specialist the following day, he retested Newton’s blood and his white blood cell count had not improved. He gave us 5 possible diagnoses; one of which was bone marrow cancer.  He suggested doing a bone marrow biopsy that day to rule out cancer. This would require putting Newton under while they removed a piece of his shoulder bone.  It made no sense to me to put a sick dog under anesthetic for an invasive procedure and I certainly was not going to do this without Dr. Haghighat assessing him beforehand. The doctor and I agreed to wait a couple of days to redo his blood work and reassess at that point. He sent us away with 2 very strong antibiotics for Newton to take.

In the meantime, I went up to see Dr. Haghighat who was wonderful as usual.  He told me not to panic and said that he did not believe that Newton had bone marrow cancer. He felt that Newton had caught a really bad virus and we needed to support his body to fight it.  He did a homeopathic blood transfusion where he took some of Newton's blood mixed it with a homeopathic remedy and then injected back it into Newton.  All of this was easy and not at all bothersome to my dog.  Newton immediately perked up!  He sent us home with some remedies and had us rub Castor oil on Newton's paws and cook some bone broth for him, all of which helps restore white blood cell counts. He also said that we could discontinue the antibiotics.  I was a little nervous about this because the other doctor had scared me so much so Dr. Haghighat gave me a homeopathic equivalent to give him while we got through this intense phase.

 When we did Newton's blood work at the hospital a couple of days later, his white blood cell count still had not gone up.  The specialist at the VEC was a bit concerned and recommended we do a biopsy.  When I called Dr. Haghighat to tell him the news he again reassured me and since Newton is otherwise doing great, eating and drinking normally and has good energy, told me not to panic and to give Newton's body time to heal.  He said to continue with the remedies and to wait a couple of weeks before we tested his blood again.  During that time he was completely available to me for any questions or concerns I had.  He supported me every step of the way.  When we did test Newton's blood a couple of weeks later it was perfect!  I know that if it were not for Dr. Haghighat I would have simply agreed to everything the emergency vet had suggested out of fear and panic and I think my dog would have died in the hospital during or after the bone marrow biopsy.  I am eternally grateful to Dr. Haghighat and his wonderful team (Jennifer and Nicole are wonderful as well!)  at The Holistic Vet. I cannot recommend him enough!"

 

 

 

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Maya

"It was December 2012, and I was eagerly preparing for a much anticipated holiday get-together with my family. Suddenly, my 10-year old GSD Maya’s back gave in, and she couldn’t climb, take stairs, or squat to do her business. After a couple of days of rest, restricted activity, and monitoring with no improvements, off to the emergency vet we went.

The following week, right around Christmas, involved a gruelling series of physical tests, x-rays, and MRIs with adverse reactions to the anesthetics to boot. We were told that she has severe spinal compression, and that the condition will degenerate over time. It was clear that a new chapter had started in Maya’s life. She now had to make the transition from a healthy working dog to a senior dog in recovery. I made the heart-breaking decision to retire her from our beloved sport of herding and from other cherished activities such as running and hiking.

To deal with her back issue, heavy pain-killers were prescribed and a very expensive back surgery was recommended, which would require months of rehabilitation and recovery. I declined the surgical option because I believe that orthopedic surgeries are particularly hard on the body, especially for an older dog with a history of physical ailments.

Luckily, I was already exposed to holistic approaches with dogs.  Diet wise, all of my dogs are fed a home-prepared diet composed of cooked vegetables and raw meats, organs, and bones. Herbal tinctures and a moderate use of supplements complement the diet. I also had prior experience with canine chiropractic and therapeutic swimming. I am an avid canine exerciser and keep my dogs lean, light, and fit. I also know that a sound relationship with their person (me) is another key ingredient of health.

With that said, I was not prepared for the miracle of acupuncture and biopuncture. I thought Dr. Sasan Hyatt’s treatment would buy Maya some time, but I didn’t realize that it would practically alter the structure and energy of her entire body. Not only did her back get better (almost immediately after the first treatment), but her whole mind and body were enhanced as well. We complemented her acupuncture treatment with photonic therapy and therapeutic swims at the terrific Canine Wellness Centre (http://www.caninewellness.com). We enjoyed a period of recovery, and Maya eased joyfully into her retirement.

One year later, we were on the mend, or so I thought, and here my girl started to limp and toe-touch. But this time around, I had learned my lesson. There was no need for expensive diagnostics, imaging, and putting my old (and proud) dog through constant handling and anesthetizing. We were going to go straight to Dr. Haghighat this time.

Dr. Haghighat immediately noted that it was most likely a torn cruciate and proceeded to treat Maya with biopuncture - a simple, but at the same time complex, process of drawing blood, mixing it with a homeopathic solution and re-injecting the solution around the injured site. Additionally, he diluted the solution further for oral administration, along with ligament-support supplements and a slight change of diet. Again, Maya is doing well. This kind of healing takes time, but is minimally invasive. And, as Dr. Haghighat says, “The body wants to heal.” We also discussed in detail other common orthopedic surgeries. The most common procedure for repairing a torn cruciate ligament, in a medium-large size dog, is TPLO; or Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. Since this procedure involves making profound changes in the knee structure (changing the angle of the knee by cutting the tibial bone and re-attaching it with a bone plate), it can be very hard on the body.

Seeing the amazing recovery in Maya’s health, it is my hope that conventional veterinary medicine starts to incorporate more and more alternative modalities to assist the body toward faster healing."

Souha

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Jessie

Jessie is an 11 year old female spayed American Eskimo and her guardian adopted her when she was 5 years old from Sarnia Humane Society in March of 2008. A year or so later, she started developing sores around the eyes and lower jaw and vaginal area. A biopsy done through her conventional vet confirmed an immune-mediated skin condition – most likely pemphigus. 

Jessie’s diet consisted of a small amount of kibble, cooked vegetables, salmon, organic eggs, organic tofu and probiotics.  Jessie had not been vaccinated for the past 3 years. Upon the initial visit, we at the North East Newmarket Holistic Veterinary Clinic recommended a slight adjustment in her diet - advising her guardian to stop feeding the kibble and to increase the amount of vegetables – the remainder of the diet was unchanged. 

We started Jessie on a biopuncture & auto-sanguis protocol in order to down-regulate her immune system. We used a combination of mixed homeopathics and Chinese herbs. During the treatment, Jessie was not on any conventional medication. After 4 visits in the span of 2 months, Jessie’s condition started to improve and in less than 6 months, the skin lesions have almost disappeared. You can see the before & during pictures below! Jessie as she appears today is shown above.

Jessie is a true success story by demonstrating how a holistic approach can assist in healing one of the most difficult medical conditions. We wish Jessie and her wonderful guardian Mary all the best and would like to thank them for all of their dedication and following up with our treatment protocol!

The team at North East Newmarket Holistic Veterinary Clinic

(Jessie - Before)

(Jessie - During)

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