I remember one of my very first clients after vet school coming to me with a dog with recurring bladder infections.

I happened to know this pup’s mom and dad were getting a divorce, and I had a hunch the stressful environment in the home was at least in part causing this dog’s recurring bladder infections.

But in vet school, we were taught not to look at the emotional side.

Our job was to focus only on the physical symptoms the animal was presenting and prescribe drugs to treat those.

So I took out my pad and pen and wrote a prescription for another antibiotic.

My heart sank 😕

It felt like a missed opportunity to really get to the root cause of what was going on for this spaniel.

15 years later, I would be running my own integrative wellness center for pets, and my team and I vowed to take care of both the emotional and physical side of the pets who came to see us 🦄

So when Makani, an anxious Belgian shepherd, bounced through the doors of my wellness center, I knew I needed to ask about her home life.

Makani’s parents had brought her to see me because she’d been having seizures, and they’d been getting even more frequent.

For anyone who has witnessed a seizure, you know how scary they are.

I discovered that, like most people, her parents had spent the past two years during the pandemic working from home, so Makani was used to having them around all the time.

And now that they were going out during the day, Makani’s separation anxiety skyrocketed.

High anxiety is an often overlooked factor when it comes to seizures.

The seizure medication her conventional vet had prescribed wasn’t working, and her parents really wanted to address the root cause of her seizures instead of trying to suppress them with drugs.

So that’s what we did 💁‍♀️

We started doing behavioral therapy with Makani, building up her confidence and teaching her that she was safe even when her mom wasn’t by her side.

Makani took a special traditional Chinese herbal formula specifically for seizures.

We also started healing her microbiome, and balancing vitamin and mineral levels.

And her parents started feeding her a diet of raw, minimally processed foods that supported detoxification and further enhanced her microbiome.

The results?

Makani’s seizures gradually reduced in frequency and intensity.

Today, this bouncy girl is seizure-free and drug-free (she long needed those seizure medications!) 🎉

If your pet is having seizures or know a pet that does, please book a consult with us 💜

We know how scary it can be, and we’d love to help.

Your Unicorn Vet,

Dr. Lily

Starlight Stories