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Testimonials

Dahlia

Dahlia is a beautiful
Dalmatian who was a
stray we rescued

Dahlia is a beautiful Dalmatian who was a stray we rescued from a shelter 2 years ago with the intent of finding her a new home. Little did we know it would be our home! It quickly became apparent that Dahlia had some issues. While obviously a very intelligent dog, she would often get a far away look in her eyes and it seemed we couldn't communicate with her. And then we found she was obsessed with eating things, mostly fabric. She ate potholders, clothing, part of a comforter, dog toys, tennis balls, you name it. We became proficient at using hydrogen peroxide to get her to vomit when we knew she had eaten something, but she also spent numerous days and nights at the vet after she had eaten something we didn't know about. Our conventional vets tried numerous anxiety medications to no avail, and we worked with our trainers, but this was clearly well beyond a training issue.

Luckily for Dahlia a friend told us about Donna. Using NAET, Donna diagnosed and treated numerous food allergies, and came up with a homemade diet for Dahlia consisting of chicken, tofu, hard-boiled egg, cottage cheese and vegetables. She also treated Dahlia with herbs and acupuncture, which really helped calm her. After a few short months, Dahlia was a different dog. She is now calmer, no longer gets that far away look in her eyes, takes no medication, and most importantly no longer eats inappropriate items. She is a very happy girl who loves her visits to Donna!

Donna has since treated 2 more of our Dalmatians, Jacob and Susanne. Jacob had been seeing a dermatologist for over a year for his allergies and getting weekly allergy shots with no improvement. Donna used NAET and acupuncture to treat Jacob and we saw improvement right away. Donna treated Susanne with chiropractic and acupuncture for her back problems. Susanne no longer needs any pain medication, she can run and play like a young dog again!

—Cindy and Daryl Hickman

Sadie: The Dangers of Overvaccination

Sadie's case illustrates the harm
we do by overvaccinating.

Sadie was born on October 24, 2004 of a mixed breed. She was brought into a new loving home as an eight-week-old puppy, cute and full of life. Wanting to give her the best care possible, her family signed Sadie up for pet health insurance at a pet hospital through a big-box pet store. And it seemed like a good deal, too. An annual fee and buys you unlimited visits to the clinic. It was through the family’s good intentions but lack of knowledge that Sadie received 23 vaccinations in less than two years.

Sadie's vaccination history, copied from her medical record report printed by clinic, shows that she was vaccinated for Parvovirus and Corona virus five times in about two years. She was also vaccinated for Bordatella, Lyme disease and Giardia three times each over a period of about a year, and received two Leptospirosis and Rabies vaccination in the same time period. On one day—January 26, 2005—she received three separate vaccinations and was given dewormer on the same visit. She was also vaccinated for Corona virus four times within three months.

When my family adopted Sadie at the age of two at the end of 2006, she was showing clear signs of internal distress. She itched constantly. I took her to two local veterinarians and spent over $1000 on diagnostics and prescription pet-food. Nothing worked. Her immune system was acutely reactive and the only option we knew of at the time was the desensitization route through a veterinary dermatologist. We proceeded with the tests.

Miraculously, I read The Last Chance Dog by Dr. Donna Kelleher the night after the dermatology testing. I read the book cover to cover in one night and knew there had to be a plan and solution for Sadie. I tracked Dr. Kelleher down, and she never hesitated in taking us on as clients. Maybe she could tell from my voice that this was the last bit of hope for Sadie.

At first we had to visit Dr. Kelleher every week for about five weeks because Sadie needed to clear out a lot of junk. Thankfully, she was young. She experienced healing crises that consisted of dramatic displays of regurgitation and hot spots that covered her entire back hip. Through a homemade diet of turkey (the only protein source she could tolerate,) NAET, acupuncture, herbs and salve, Sadie decided to heal.

Sadie is now practically allergy free, and we are closely bonded. She has progressed to agility classes, and I even bought a dehydrator on Craigslist to make her turkey treats. Occasionally, she gets a mild reaction of itchy skin and stinky poo and we visit Dr. Kelleher. And guess where else she shows it? With a scabby sore on her old vaccination spot!

—Carla

Lincoln

We were ambling across the parking lot at Lincoln Park in West Seattle after a summer evening picnic when Melissa saw a sweet little puppy trotting after a woman. "What kind of dog is that?"

"It's not my dog," snapped the woman and hurried on. The puppy veered over and started following us. He was a sturdy ball of light golden fluff with a white stripe on his freckled nose. His tail was like a duster. We asked everyone at the park, ran adds in newspapers, called vets. We looked at the little fluff ball curled in the back seat. "Guess he's ours." We named him after Lincoln Park.

We hadn't had him a week when I came home from work and found the floor of the kitchen covered with diarrhea and vomit-every square inch. It was five o'clock on a Friday night so we loaded him into the car and took him to the emergency vet. They put an IV catheter in him and re-hydrated him. The intestinal virus disappeared.

Lincoln

Almost immediately after he got his vaccinations, he started developing hot spots on his skin-lots of scratching chewing and licking. The vet put him on a steroid and antibiotics. Every other month we were back. His skin would clear up for a few weeks, maybe a few months, but never permanently. It felt like a revolving door, and no one was interested in tracking down the root of the problem. They did a skin scraping and diagnosed a yeast infection and prescribed more of the same. After a couple of years his skin got really bad. The area by his tail was a big weepy sore. The vet referred us to a dermatologist. He gave Lincoln an allergy test and said we would have to give him allergy shots. At that point we said "enough."

It felt so futile, when nothing worked and he just got worse. We felt like bad parents and were depressed and anxious. I did what I love to do—I talked to a lot of people and found out what they did for their dogs. Fortunately, I spoke to enough people that told me about trying holistic medicine.

We'd heard of a naturopathic vet in Renton, so we made an appointment. He put Lincoln on a natural diet, especially parsley and dandelion leaves for his liver and gave him homeopathic remedies. Lincoln got better but still had problems. Lincoln did worse on raw bones and meat. He got another weepy sore on his tail. A friend told us about acupuncture. When Lincoln first met Donna, he was in pain and had very little hair past his last rib.

She put him on a cooked diet of millet, vegetables and chicken plus vitamins and herbs. He improved immediately. Over the past year, Donna has also used NAET to treat him and he is a whole new dog.

Now we enjoy our time with Lincoln. We love to watch him carefully open presents. He takes the wrapping paper delicately in his mouth and rips it. He never damages the present inside. He bows on command. We absolutely love him.

—Melissa and Mindy

Andy, Matti and Remy

My German Shepherds are my family members. Each one is different. Andy was my first dog and he was my protector. From the first day he walked into my life he just plopped himself down into my room and started taking care of me. With acupuncture, I was able to take better care of him in his elder years and perhaps it was a way to pay back all the good care he gave me early on. I will always miss him.

Matti is eleven years old and was always the problem child. I love her to death but she is a high maintenance dog. She has always been scared of everything. Holistic medicine has not only helped with her stiffness and hind end weakness, I feel it has helped her personality as well. She is calmer and more able to deal with stress. Donna has helped me find herbs that are good for her head as well as her weakening backend.

Donna has helped me with Remy's digestive issues and at three and a half years old, I am happy to say that he can and does eat everything. On the BARF diet he is perfectly healthy.

—Mary Schurr

Samantha

Karen and Samantha

Now Samantha, our thirteen year old cat, has the good health of a two-year-old cat. When we put her on home-cooked food and after Donna began acupuncture, chiropractic care and herbs, she was transformed. Her arthritis disappeared, her coat became glossy and her eyes bright, her energy increased and she became calmer. Her calcium level, which had been too high, returned to normal.

We still consult a mainstream vet for certain tests and yearly checkups, but consider Donna our cat's primary-care physician. Holistic veterinary care is a revelation and I recommend it highly.

— Karen Fishler