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Alessandro Battigelli, Italy, followed, speaking to us about the the ‘role of homeopathic veterinary medicine during the epic crisis through medicine in the co-evolutionary process of interspecies and interprofessions of health’ The basis of this presentation is that in the 20th century medical scientific thought was monopolised by positivist reductionist dogma, and ‘Enlightenment mechanistics’ in a materialistic world conception increasingly detached from philosophy. This exclusion is unprecedented in the history of the evolution of medical thought and is a large factor conditioning scientism. In veterinary medicine there is an increasingly worrying tendency to delegate to technologies, artificial intelligence, and statistical evidence, replacing the primacy of the clinical relationships, and in conflict with the rational resort to reason with respect to complexity and subjectivity. In essence the archaic relationship between humans and our domestic animals inherent in the therapeutic relationship, something which is integral to homeopathy, has been lost. This is such an important message, identifying an issue of the highest importance, and hugely important light which homeopathy carries for the veterinary world.
Lavra Kreacic, Ilze Petersone, Helene Widmann, Don Hamilton, Miriam Blatnik
Our own Ilze Peterson, Latvia, then delivered a presentation on the Materia Medica of Cannabis indica and Peyote (Anhalonium Lewinii).
First Ilze introduced us to Cannabis indica: the plant and its nature, its history of use and abuse, and the differences from Cannabis sativa. Then we were enlightened about the homeopathic use of Can. ind. and the keynotes related to this use – mainly taken from human medicine – as well as some key rubrics.
Then she presented the interesting and ‘rare’ remedy Peyote – a member of the Cactaceae family native to the desert of Texas and Northern Mexico. The plant contains more than 50 alkaloids. Mescaline is the main active compound and a strong hallucinogen and the plant has therefore been used traditionally by native tribes for religious and healing purposes. Ilze finished by describing the homeopathic use of Anhalonium, according to Vithoulkas and Sankaran, with the symptoms alleviated by the remedy.
The next lecture was a joint one between Misa Sandri and Bruno Stefanon, Italy, both working at the Department of Agrifood, Environmental and Animal Science at the University of Udine. Their topic was ‘Diet and maternal factors shaping puppies’ microbiome and driving their health to the adult age’. Here we actually got ‘ammunition’ towards promoting species-appropriate food both to mothers but also (and maybe especially) to the puppies in their early life and beyond. The gut microbiome of puppies is influenced during pregnancy by the diet and gut microbiome of the bitch, the type of delivery, the diet of the mother and the environment during lactation and weaning. These factors may influence the incidence of allergies, misbehaviour and enteropathies, including intestinal bowel disease (IDB) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) later in the life.
Following this, our very own Peter Gregory, Wales, spoke on Incontinence: a life and death issue. He started with a light-hearted look at the more precise English term
‘inappropriate elimination’, illustrating the term with a look at the fates of England, Wales and Italy in last year’s World Cup. Rather more serious is the reality that an animal who defaecates or urinates in the house can finish up losing its life, particularly if they are old. Peter described the remedies he has found most useful for this condition, with particular emphasis on Benzoic acid, which can be life saving for old dogs who leak foul smelling urine.
Our newly elected president, Don Hamilton, USA, then took the stage to talk about ‘Grief and loss connected to the mother figure: two cases of Placenta Humanum’. Unfortunately, domestic animals are subject to the limitations of their caregivers, and sometimes these limitations become severe. When Placenta is needed, it seems the connection between the guardian and the companion animal is artificially strong, limiting the animal’s capacity for autonomy and balance. The first case was about bereavement of a guardian close to Sammy the dog years before. He first got Ignatia, which helped dramatically at first, then Lyc, Nat-m and Puls was tried before the ‘mother’-connection was clear and Placenta was prescribed and turned Sammy into ‘a different dog’! The second case was a Blue and Gold macaw, Corey, and the carer’s bereavement of his special friend. The carer stopped caring for the bird properly because of grief. Because of the loneliness and feeling neglected Corey was first treated with Nat-m without any positive results on his
Miriam Blatnik
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