Kayla’s Holistic Canine Care
Flower Essences • Distance Reiki
Herbals/Supplements/Diet Consultations
Special Care for Senior Dogs • Crossovers
Loving Our Pets Holistically & Unconditionally
Flower Essences and Distance Reiki
Pets respond especially well to energy work, essences, healthy food and of course, love. We offer Flower Essence consultations (14 years of experience), distance Reiki work (8 years of experience) and consultations, specializing in senior dogs. Kayla's Canine Care Flower Essence Blends are available exclusively to our clients for anxiety/separation, known and unknown fears, calming balance, etc. We also make custom flower essence and herbal blends.
Herbals/Supplements/Diet Consultations
Terry has quite a connection to the natural world and a huge heart; she is quite sensitive to the energy of animals and began rescuing and caring for wild animals as a young girl and then releasing them. She is very committed in helping and educating people with holistic wellness in the care and wellbeing of their dogs. Many people tell her that when they die, they want to come back as one of her pets!
Real food plays a major role in your dog’s health; she encourages you to start with the most natural and nutritious diet possible. She made homemade dogfood for her dog, Kayla for most of her adult years. She has had experience with herbal supplementation for allergies, ear infections, skin issues/hot spots, diarrhea and more. She believes that finding the root of the matter is as important as treating the physical symptoms. Often, a change of diet with added vitamins and adaptogens to strengthen the dog's immune system can bring about positive healing changes. Please practice patience with your dog, they count on you for their care. If they are hurting or uncomfortable, don't stop until you find the help they need and deserve.
Terry may also refer you to the trusted holistic and traditional vets she has worked with for your animals’ physical needs. She urges you to always get proper testing and diagnosis for your beloved pet, don't assume they are not in pain as they will not always cry or whimper even when they are in severe pain or distress. See her “Loving Our Pets Holistically and Unconditionally” story below.
Special Care for Senior Dogs and Crossovers
Terry specializes in holistic dog care (especially for senior dogs). Dogs become elders at age seven, many people are not aware that this is the time to start slowing them down, change their diets, keep them from jumping off of beds or high places. She and Blair even built a ramp for Kayla in her senior years so she didn’t have to go up and down steps. One vet once told her on an at-home visit regarding her dog's Vestibular Disease that she had turned around in a weekend on her own with herbs and essences and energy work: "I don't understand what you are doing and I don't want to know, just keep doing it, this is one of the healthiest old dogs I have ever seen!" Terry is also working on a holistic dog care book for senior dogs.
Saying Good-bye to Your Best Friend
Being present when your dog dies is an honor and a blessing. The sweet essence of a soul being set free from a painful, physical experience is something you will never forget. Losing a companion animal that you love can bring about a sobering sadness that can’t be soothed with anything except time and loving support. Grief leaves you feeling serious about everything for a while and it is in this time that we can offer you support. There are many signs to look for and things you can do to prepare to make your dog more comfortable during the tender time of transitioning. Setting your beloved companion free with dignity and grace can be your final gift to them. The Maya Spiritual Healings are specifically helpful during times of anticipatory grief and loss for both you and your companion animal. Terry can do this work for women and their canine companions together as well. Terry encourages people to write poetry to help process and release their emotions for their pets; she is working on a poetry memoir called “Kayla’s Kisses”.
This Earth Harmony story was written two years before Kayla died:
Earth Harmony: Loving Our Pets – Holistically and Unconditionally by Terry Rader (as published in AWB Fall 2007)
What a great day to be walking with my dog in the woods. It was a time of early fresh green spring. Kayla, my beloved Australian Shepherd, aka “Blue Gypsy Spirit,” was leading the way, of course. My protector, my ally, my teacher – my greatest inspiration for my studies in alternative healing – it all began with her.
On that particular day, we were on a familiar well-worn trail, taking in the seasonal brilliance of plants and trees coming to life. After an hour of clipping along, we slowed our pace as Kayla began greeting plants, nuzzling them with her nose and then chewing on one. As we continued our trek, I picked up a piece she had dropped, and twirling it in my fingers, asked: “Who are you?’’ Further along our path, I caught a glimpse of something moving. As I got closer, I saw a tall wispy, surreal looking lady wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, swaying back and forth with her arms raised up in the air. I startled her as I said hello. She looked surprised to see me standing there and exclaimed: “I’m just taking my time, taking my time, it’s such a beautiful day…” She was enveloped with an ethereal energy as the forest sky opened up to allow the rays of the sun to wash over her. Later, I identified the plant Kayla had chewed as a “Dayflower.” It only blooms for one day. Was the lady on the path the Dayflower Plant Spirit? Such synchronicity! Imagine having only one day of life. That’s how dogs live. Every day is the first. Dogs live in the now
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At six months of age, Kayla had been diagnosed with CISD (Chronic Immune System Disease); , a condition vaccines often trigger. She was allergic to everything. It was very unsettling to me to be told that cortisone was the answer. The very people I trusted with my dog’s wellbeing made me feel guilty about not wanting to put drugs with dangerous side effects and unnecessary vaccines into an already compromised immune system. I was heartbroken. I knew there had to be another way, and found it in a book by Dianne Stein called Natural Healing for Dogs & Cats. This was the beginning of a long educational process for me. Choosing to take care of an animal holistically is not an easy task, since many vets are not open to alternative options.
I began doing all I could to help make Kayla stronger. I started with her diet, making homemade dog food with fresh organic vegetables, chicken, brown rice/oats, vitamins, minerals, Nettles, Astragalus and enzymes. Processed foods lack life force – if you can’t pronounce the ingredients in your dog’s food, chances are their liver can’t process them. I learned how to create cool, soothing rinses with dried peppermint, green tea and lemon juice, and gave her baths to relieve her itchiness with a gentle “Magic Eucalyptus Soap.” You don’t need expensive shampoos; if a label cautions not to get shampoo in your eyes, why put it on your dog? I applied plantain and calendula salves to ease her hot spots, along with giving her energy work and Reiki. Most dogs respond very well to this and don’t seem to need as much as humans do.
Just after Kayla turned a year old, we found a gem of a man who truly loves animals, Dr. Charles Loops, DVM. I believe he is the reason that Kayla is alive today; he helped save her life when her kidneys were failing. He’s always been there for us and thanks to him, she’s doing quite well – almost thirteen years old now and still acting like a puppy despite her CISD, arthritis and hip dysplasia.
Dr. Loops had been practicing Western veterinary medicine for over ten years when he began his studies in homeotherapeutics. Now, over twenty years later, more than 60% of his work is with cancer cases. He combines his knowledge of both worlds and chooses to treat animals more inline with the Hippocratic oath: “First, do no harm.” In talking with Dr. Loops, he shared with me: “I have always been ultra conservative in using drugs and avoiding any unnecessary surgery. When I became aware of the potential side effects of vaccinations, I began questioning where and when they should be used. I love what I do, enabling the patient's ability to fight their imbalances that are stressed by a poor environment, poor diets, multiple vaccinations and bad genes. We all come into the world with our specific deficiencies and genetic imbalances. Homeopathic treatment can help neutralize those imbalances, but even feeding the perfect diet and avoiding vaccinations, you still may not have a healthy animal. They may still get cancer, but death is part of life, a part of the natural flow of things. We can't control it all. But when possible, it is preferable to treat them by enhancing their immune system instead of destroying it with suppressive drugs."
I’ve often had friends say they want to come back in their next life as one of my pets. I believe that just as the earth does not belong to us, we do not “own” our animals. We are responsible for taking care of them – our souls have an agreement to take care of each other. Do your best, find a vet you can trust, never give up, and keep on loving them through it all. They are here to teach us how to love unconditionally and to remind us to play every day.
Give your pets and yourself the most natural diet and holistic healthcare you can find. Don’t pretend a treatment is okay if it doesn’t feel right to you, but realize that Western medicine does some good things, too – Kayla had knee surgery that allowed her to run again. Educate yourself – knowledge is power. Be as loyal to your four-legged companions as they are to you. Every step we take to live more naturally brings us more in line with living in harmony with the earth.
This story is dedicated to the memory of Kacie, beloved companion to Sybil Harmon, 1990-2007. May this blessed little white shadow spirit shine ever brightly and live on in your heart forever.