Pet corner
Folklore teaches lessons for your pet's care
November/December 1999
By Randy Kidd, D.V.M.
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Herbs can help animals cope with infections and anxiety.
Photo courtesy of W. Morris
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Mullein was considered the “herb of protection” and the
“herb of love”
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HERBAL MYTHOLOGY is fascinating, and it’s a
good way to gain an understanding about herbs when you first decide
to start using them with your pet. Virtually every medicinal herb
has mythical stories, but the few that follow especially caught my
eye.
Echinacea (Echinacea spp.) grows wild in
Kansas, where I live, and it was once the “medicine cabinet” of
several prairie Indian tribes. Native Americans and frontiersmen
used echinacea to cure snakebites and rabies, although I’m
suspicious about its ability to heal those afflictions.
It was also used for coughs, colds, sore throats, infections,
chronic conditions, and arthritis—all maladies for which I might
recommend echinacea with the pets I treat today. Echinacea is my
favorite immune system balancer, and I recommend it often because
many of my “pet patients” have immune system imbalances.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is another of
my favorite herbs. It’s truly a magical healer, and I enjoy poking
fun at my urban friends who use chemicals to rid their yard of one
of nature’s most potent medicinal herbs.
Dandelion’s name may have come from the proclamations of
Wilhelm, a surgeon in the 1400s who thought its powers were as
potent as “lion’s teeth,” which translates to dens leonis in Latin.
Or the name may have come from the fact that the leaves resemble
the canine teeth of a lion—dent de leon in French. I also like the
French common name for dandelion, pissenlit—or “pee in the bed,” so
named for its diuretic effects.
I use dandelion for pets with liver ailments, but it’s also a
good choice for a general systemic tonic. Pets that retain water
benefit from dandelion because it’s a mild diuretic. And most
animals seem to like the taste, so it’s easy to administer. I
sprinkle a pinch or two of the chopped root over their food, or
pour a mild dandelion tea, made with 1 teaspoon of the root, over
dry food several times a week.
Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) has long been
considered a sacred herb, beginning with the story that it
furnished Jesus’s crown of thorns. In ancient times, hawthorn wood
was used to build funeral pyres, allowing the souls of the dead to
escape through the thorns and ascend into heaven.
I use hawthorn berries for all types of cardiac problems I
encounter in my veterinary practice. It helps improve coronary
blood supply, complements metabolic processes, and can help
normalize arrhythmias. I recommend hawthorn on a daily basis for
pets with heart problems because it has few side effects. A pinch
or two of the ground berries or a tea made from about 1 teaspoon of
them can be sprinkled or poured over a pet’s food.
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