Page 7 - Autumn 20

And yes, I tried to make a picture of his paws – and didn’t succeed. I could take a look but had to be very quick then he would hide them from me again. He also would not react to any of my attempts to make contact with him. It took about 20 minutes into the appointment until HE decided to check me out.
Very early on in the anamnesis I thought of a lanthanide (a high level of independence, not wanting to be confined – even when it came to his paws – AND the autoimmune mediated problem with his claws) and with all the symptoms and specifics of this exceptional character I decided to use Gadolinium and combined it with Sulfur, so we ended up giving Gd-sulf.
Gadolinium is stadium 10 of the Scholten Element scale, so mostly middle to the right where individuals are in harmony and self-sufficient. They feel content with themselves and in sync with the world. Other words used in this stadium are shiny, noble or on top, which certainly describes parts of his character perfectly. The Sulfur was fitting some of his other – mostly emotional – symptoms. I did, however, expect another remedy to come through once the lanthanide had done it’s course.
He received one dose of Gd-sulf in C200 and I also prescribed Scilla maritima in D4 for two weeks, as it is known to specifically help with problems regarding nails.
Six weeks later his guardian wrote me an email, which started with the words ... “Fenris is more or less back to his old self.” And that made me smile. Then it continued: “He wants to take long walks and has stopped limping. His nails don’t look great, but he doesn’t care and I still can’t make a picture of them. What is new is that he now offers contact instead of control even though I think that in the end he will still decide on his own.”
For me it was a wait situation so we agreed to do just that.
He came back to my practice six months later with some of his claws still broken but he didn’t limp. His guardian said that some of his very old symptoms had come back, like not wanting to be touched, like always needing distance. His haughtiness had increased, you could see it in his eyes and even at my practice, he resided – you can’t describe it any other way – in the middle of the room, his head high, his claws carefully hidden.
And then it hit me.
He just didn’t want me to see his imperfections. He didn’t want them on a picture!
His guardian also told me that he was cryptorchid and that one of his toes was crippled from the start, which had not come up at the first appointment. And yes, I had tried to check him over, but even at the first appointment he didn’t want me to touch his lower belly (!!) and as he had just been at the clinic for a thorough check up I decided to not fight with him.
With this in mind and his whole appearance I prescribed Aurum met. C200, which had also been in my mind during the first interview.
Aurum metallicum – if we talk about Jan Scholten’s table of elements – is one row up from the Lanthanides. In homeopathy it is a remedy related to intense depression and thoughts of suicide – the ultimate self-destructive act. Destruction is a huge part of the remedy (nails breaking off), but also failure (cryptorchidism) and loss of self-worth and public image (hides his less than perfect paws). Their wish for perfection can almost turn manic, and they often hide it under extremely haughty behaviour. Remember that even his guardian described him as haughty?
Four weeks later I received the following message “Fenris has changed yet again. Two weeks after he received the
remedy he crawled into my bed for the first time ever. I now can have him on a leash in the forest (he likes to hunt!) and he does not bite it off once he feels confined. Instead he looks at me (offers more contact) and then surrenders with a sigh. This is huge! His paws are more or less fine. One nail broke off a few days ago, he licked it for a while but he never felt any pain, was never limping. He is not back to his old self he is a much-improved version now. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
I have to say that I was not surprised so much by the Aurum (I see that from time to time in German Shepherds) but the Lanthanide. German Shepherds have been selected and bred for decades to connect and heed to every word the guardian says. They are the epitome of the classic police dog, who just waits for his next order. Fenris was completely different. The really interesting thing? He comes from a long line of police serving dogs and yet turned out so very much his own (man) dog. He was not selected for police work because of his cryptorchidism and that really makes you think and wonder and says a lot about individuality and the same symptoms on all three planes (physical, emotional and mental) of existence. All three were touched by the Gd-sulf and by the Aurum – the last remedy giving him a chance to open up and find a real relationship with his guardian, something dog-training had failed to establish.
Aurum metallicum
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