When We Need Traditional Vet Care Paired With A Holistic Approach
It's worth a phone call to a holistic pet health coach!
You know what just makes me crazy?
When pet parents are trying their absolute best… and still aren’t given the information they actually need to help their dog.
Not because they don’t care.
Not because they wouldn’t do the work.
But because no one ever told them there was an alternative option. And because of the shortage of vets — most just don’t have time to learn.
I’ve seen this play out more times than I can count.
A senior dog with newly diagnosed Kidney Disease crashes… numbers spike… appetite drops… everyone’s scared. Dog is looking frail. The conversation moves fast, and suddenly the recommendation is right there on the table:
“Maybe it’s time.”
And sometimes… you’re pushed to decide that same day.
I’ve had clients walk into that moment completely unprepared for it. No discussion about nutrition shifts. No conversation about hydration strategies. No real talk about supporting the body instead of just reacting to lab work.
One client couldn’t do it. She needed time. Needed to feel like she had actually explored her options before making that kind of decision.
She found me.
We didn’t do anything extreme. No overwhelming protocol. No 20-supplement routine.
We adjusted food.
We supported hydration.
We worked with the body instead of against it.
We did multiple Raindrop Technique sessions.
That dog is still here… over a year later.
Another one?
Almost two years with Chronic Kidney Disease.
And a team of vets for labwork, chiropractic and acupuncture vet, chinese herbs, essential oils, homeopathy, and diet.
In fact this mom and her team working integratively have improved kidney levels back to level 2-3 vs 4-5!
Same diagnosis. Different path.
Then there are the pancreatic dogs… and this one really gets me.
I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had around Pancreatitis where the focus was strictly on low-fat food and medications… and that’s it.
No one talked about digestive enzymes.
No one talked about carbohydrate load.
No one explained how the pancreas actually becomes overwhelmed in the first place.
No one explained supporting the entire digestive system and senior status.
So the dog improves… a little.
Then it happens again.
And again.
And now we’re stuck in a crisis cycle that no one seems to be breaking.
Or the Ear Infection that needs something other than 1 more round of antibiotics?
Or the Seasonal Allergies that need nutrition not an injection.
I could go on.
And before anyone takes this the wrong way…
This is not about bashing vets.
We need them.
We need emergency care.
We need diagnostics.
We need someone who can step in when things go sideways fast.
I work alongside vets all the time, and I want you to have a solid, trusting relationship with yours. In fact, I want us to collaborate. I’d love to get in front of vets to discuss this side of the support team!
But there’s another piece to this.
Because conventional care lives in a very specific lane — stabilize, diagnose, medicate, manage.
And sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed.
But that lane doesn’t always include:
Nutrition as a primary tool.
Detoxification and overall toxic load.
Herbal or Chinese medicine approaches.
Essential Oils
Better Supplement Options
Nervous system support.
Long-term rebuilding of the whole body.
So those conversations never happen.
Not because they don’t matter…Not because your vet is not caring.
but because they’re simply not part of what was taught or practiced.
And I want to make this even more real for you…
Because I’ve been the one sitting in that chair.
After a series of cluster seizures with my own dog, Harvey, we ended up at the emergency vet.
It was 1am.
I was alone.
Emotionally drained.
Physically exhausted.
Running on empty in every possible way.
And right there in his case notes?
“Consider euthanasia.”
That’s the moment you’re expected to make one of the hardest decisions of your life.
Not after sleep.
Not after a second opinion.
Not after a deeper conversation.
Right then.
And I remember thinking…
No.
No way.
Not without doing everything I know how to do first.
Stablize tonight and let me go do my thing.
What we did next wasn’t magic.
It was the stuff that often gets skipped:
Nutrition changes to support the brain and reduce inflammation.
Detox work to reduce the overall load on his body.
Targeted herbs, including Chinese herbal support.
Chiropractic care.
Essential Oils
Supplementation
Looking at the whole dog — not just the seizures.
Tweak and refine. The dog’s body leads the way.
And we started seeing progress.
Not perfect. Not instant.
But real.
And euthanasia?
No freakin’ way.
This is why I care so much about what I do.
Because I’ve seen what happens when you actually support the body instead of just managing symptoms.
I’ve seen “chronic” issues stabilize.
I’ve seen cycles break.
I’ve seen dogs get more time — good time.
Not because we found some miracle fix…
But because we finally gave the body what it needed.
And here’s the part I want you to hear clearly…
You are allowed to pause.
Not ignore reality.
Not avoid hard decisions.
But to ask:
“What am I missing?”
Because when you hear things like:
“There’s nothing else to do.”
“This is the best we can offer.”
“You should start thinking about euthanasia.”
That may be true within that specific lane…
…but it may not be the full picture.
This is also where I’m going to be very honest with you.
If I can help you, I will.
I’m sharing these options every day in my consultations and in the summary guides I build out for my clients — so you’re not left sitting in that 1am moment feeling like there’s only one path forward.
But if I can’t help?
I’ll tell you that too.
I’ll refer you to someone specific.
Or I’ll walk you through the hard decision-making truth if that’s where things truly are.
Because this isn’t about false hope.
It’s about making sure you’ve actually seen the full picture before you make one of the hardest decisions you’ll ever face.
There is often more on the table than you’ve been shown.
Sometimes you just need someone to help you see it.
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