How can it be that my health suddenly improved at the very same time that Winston’s health suddenly declined? And both of us have nervous system problems.
I was in a wheelchair whenever I left our yard for four years until this spring due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. My improvement accelerated when I began taking remedies specifically for the brain and central nervous system.
And now Winston has nerve degeneration in his lower back that may put him in a doggie wheelchair within a year. (Yes, there are wheelchairs for dogs!)
He has all the symptoms described on websites for canine degenerative myelopathy: loss of coordination in the hind limbs, wobbling when walking, knuckling over or dragging the hind feet, crossing the feet, buckling at the knees and difficulty standing
One university website goes on to make a recommendation about the end-stage:
“Your veterinarian will suggest ways to help you adjust to your dog's gradually
increasing limitations, and to recognize the point at which euthanasia becomes
the best option. This is usually within a year of the initial diagnosis, when
your dog is no longer able to walk.”
My heart sank when I read that. I know that euthanasia is sometimes necessary, but to resort to that for an otherwise healthy dog -- only because a dog needs a wheelchair?
I tried to discuss it with Dillon last night during a TV commercial. “A lot of people kill their dogs when they need a wheelchair,” I said.
Dillon wasn’t even listening to me, but Winston was. He stared at me, striken.
“What did you say to Winston?! I’ve never seen him look like that,” Dillon exclaimed.
“I’d better not say it out loud again.” Winston was still staring at me in horror as I wrote it down for Dillon.
She read my note, then crumpled it up and threw it away. “How could you say that?”
“I wanted to discuss it with you. I didn’t think Winston knew the word ‘wheelchair.’”
“Of course, he does!”
Then I remembered how Winston used to walk beside me in my wheelchair on special occasions while Dillon or another friend pushed it.
Nobody “put me out of my misery” when I was in a wheelchair. Dillon did everything in her power to help and heal me. Winston’s constant companionship also helped me endure and eventually overcome that disability. Can I do any less for Winston if he gets into that state?
That gets back to the question of how we can have such a role reversal in the first place.
I keep thinking of a passage in my favorite medical reference book for pets: The Natural Remedy Book for Dogs and Cats by Diane Stein.
Pets also sacrifice themselves for the well-being of the humans they have bonded
to. Animals take negative energy or situations into themselves and thereby
protect their people. Both cats and dogs act as buffers between their people and
the dangers and negativities of the world. Humans are aware of this on a
conscious level when a dog runs back into a burning house to save a child or
puts herself between her person and an attacker and dies. The same scenario
happens on an energy level daily although the humans involved may never be aware
of it. The cat in a troubled family may manifest her guardian’s cancer, clearing
the human’s aura and taking the dis-ease into her own body. Emotional level
healing includes helping the pet to release the negative energy and emotions she
has absorbed from her household, and having her own needs met in that household.
(page 4)
This is my favorite book for dog healing. I refer to it a lot. Some of its advice even works for humans!
No comments:
Post a Comment