How it all began
In 2002, one of my seven dogs, Tom, a 60lb hound/retriever mix (he was 6 years old at the time and my eldest), was diagnosed with heart disease; he was given only 6–12 months to live. I was devastated. My dogs are my children, so I could not accept his prognosis. I was already practicing holistic care and was very knowledgeable in the power of herbs to support the body, but my education had focused on helping humans, not canines. I, like many other dog owners, thought dogs were dogs; they were fed kibble, brought for walks, given vaccines, and they would live into their teens, hopefully dying in their sleep.
Since all my dogs were still young and relatively healthy up until that point, I never had to think about using herbs and natural health protocols with them. Since the Vets had given me no hope for Tom and actually told me flat out, “There is no cure for heart disease.” I felt I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands and put a program together for Tom to help his body. I drew from my education and designed a program based on what I would do for a human in the same situation. I acquired such great knowledge from my mentors and teachers, Dr. John Christopher and Dr. Richard Schulze, and I put it all to work in Tom’s program. I started Tom on the program immediately. Six months after starting the program, I had another ultrasound performed, and I was told his heart looked great. They told me that I did not have to come back to get another ultrasound done unless his health changed. Tom went on to live for 8.5 years past the date he was diagnosed. He died naturally at the age of 14.5 years.
Having seven dogs at the time, I was involved in many doggy activities and knew many other dog owners, so by word of mouth, I began helping others who were concerned about their dog's heart health. I quickly realized that I had to make this same program available to other owners. After its launch in 2002 CanineHeartHealth.com was soon helping hundreds of owners who had concerns about their dogs' hearts.
In addition to this, many had concerns about their dogs' kidney and liver health. The Liver and Kidney herbs that are part of the Canine Heart Health Program were helping support the healthy function of these organs. To help my customers and their dogs, I decided we needed separate Kidney, Liver, and Heart Health programs for dogs that needed individual support.
That is how CanineKidneyHealth.com and CanineLiverHealth.com were born.