This week I’m delighted to share a post on the topic of Zoopharmacognosy by the fabulous Rachel Windsor-Knott. I’ve been fascinated with this modality since I heard Rachel speak about it at the Animal Energy World Conference last year. Here’s what she to say about it.
Zoopharma What?
Yes, that’s the usual response when I say I’m a Practitioner in Applied Zoopharmacognosy.
So what does it even mean?
Zoopharmacognosy refers to the innate ability of all animals to self-medicate on the medicinal compounds in plants to prevent and resolve disease. Animals have been doing this since the dawn of time, but we have only recently started to recognise it and given it a name.
Your domesticated dog, cat, horse, rabbit, gunieapig and ferret all know how to heal themselves on Nature’s pharmacy but unlike wild animals, they don’t have the freedom to roam so often dis-ease becomes more deep seated before we notice the symptoms on the surface.
As a practitioner, I bring the compounds to the animal so they can guide their own health and well-being.
The beauty about this process is it gives animals a voice.
And once they know we are listening to what it is they need, they begin to communicate even more. It’s empowering for both the animal and the human as we finally feel we are able to help.
As a rule, we only notice what’s happening on the surface and generally only treat the symptom but allowing them to self-medicate not only allows them address the root of the problem, it also gives them the opportunity to prevent problems taking hold.
It’s individualised medicine so what is right for one, isn’t necessarily right for the another, hence the need to offer a choice of remedies.
This process isn’t a substitute for vet medicine rather is beautifully complementary.
It is known to have been successful for animals experiencing problems such as anxiety, stress, fears, depression, separation, pain, skin and stomach problems, allergies immune deficiencies and many other conditions.
This week’s video
In this week’s video I hang out with Rachel to find out out even more about the wonderful world of Zoopharmacognosy.
About Rachel: Rachel is a Practitioner in Applied Zoopharmacognosy for dogs, cats and horses. She is passionate about giving animals a voice. Her career with animals began at Battersea Dogs home where she worked as a Rehomer and behaviour assessor. She then went on to run her own home boarding and walking business and then trained as a dog behaviour therapsit. Her concern has always been understanding the feelings and emotions behind the behaviours so when she finally came across, Zoopharmacognosy, everything fell into place.
Her goal is for self-medication to become a normal part of caring for an animal along with feeding, exercise, grooming and vet care.
To find out about her services and UK workshops, visit her website at http://myanimalmatters.co.uk
[…] (where the pet self selects from herbs and oils, you can find out more about that in this post I wrote last year ). That felt like the perfect approach, but in my ‘desperation’ I […]