April 27, 2014

White Dog and Taiko braved the gusting 40mph winds to be official ambassadors at the Paws to People Presentation in The Park. The winds were bearable when the sun was out but when our warm nurturing Sol hid behind the clouds it was brisk. We finally gave up during setup and just left the chairs kneeling upside down after six million attempts to chase and keep them righted. We did not even attempt to hoist the shade cabana.

Sonia Masocco, renowned herbalist, UNM instructor, and pythotherapist arrived and spoke to a small crowd that braved the weather to hear her lecture on Using Herbs To Improve Your Dog's Health. Shouting at times over the winds, Sonia spoke in easy-to-follow terms about herbs that cure common canine ailments (and how to make the teas, infusions and decoctions). She suggested herbal remedies to prevent or treat issues that plague pets, ranging from anxiety to dry skin to flea preventions to liver toxicity. Sonia had real-life examples of how to use herbs to supplement the often draining treatment of chronic diseases.

White Dog, Taiko, and the 8 other pups in attendance were as interested as the humans and cooperative volunteers when Sonia needed a nose to sniff an herb or taster to react to a brew. The best part is that the reaction of the dogs made the people more comfortable with the idea of using herbs themselves and less afraid to explore.

We went home with the new knowledge that Oso's GERD and digestive troubles could be helped with doses of licorice before his meal. And that every dog would benefit from a daily dose of garlic and olive (or flaxseed) oil. Sonia told everyone to go home and simply drop the presentation gift sprigs of rosemary and lavender into the bottom of the dogs water bowl to create a calming infusion that would keep your dog stress-free and happy.

It was a wonderful enlightening presentation and WD and Taiko were pleased with the positive response and begged to share some of the information we learned. Here is an index of Safe Herbs for Dogs from Natural Dog Health Remedies, Holistic Health Care for Man’s Best Friend:
http://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/unsafe-herbs.html Some are good to use on a regular, long-term basis as herbal tonics; others can be used as and when needed to treat a particular dog health problem.The herbs are listed in alphabetical order, together with a brief explanation of what each herb is good for.