Please meet Jane Yoo. She is a very special pet parent for us at NHV Natural Pet Products. But this blog post is not about us, it’s about her. How she goes ahead and does what many of us preach. That is…adopting a senior pet.

Losing a furkid leaves an impact deep inside. It takes years for that ache to turn into smiles. Looking at everything, their collar, their bed, their toys, their pictures, makes your heartache in a way nothing else does. You look for signs of their presence, you wonder if they knew how much you loved them. It’s a heart-crushing experience and it never seems to end. But soon you are ready to adopt again. Excited to help another life take its first steps in your home. Jane shows that those first steps don’t always need to be of a puppy or a kitten. Sometimes they can even be the wobbly walk of a senior pet.

We remember when Jane brought Bartles home. She had recently lost her dog of 17 years Piri, to cancer and kidney disease.

She was still overcoming the grief, but instead of trying to fill the void by bringing home a puppy, she rescued an old dog with Cushing’s. Just like Piri, Bartles had his own personality and even though health pulled him down and made even day-to-day tasks difficult, he still managed to charm everyone with his puppy face and big eyes.

We all expected Mr. B to be around for another 3-4 years, even with his Cushing’s and age. Mr. B left for heaven after 7 months. Jane was heartbroken again. This time the discomfort was deeper. Bartles’ health had demanded a lot of changes to be made in Jane and her husband’s routine. Things around her doggie daycare and hostel that she runs too were changed to suit Bartles’ needs. With Bartles gone, the void had gotten bigger. But once again, Jane decided to love. Once again, she opened her arms to another beautiful senior girl, Lady.

Lady is a graceful senior cocker spaniel. Very gentle and very warm. She loves her food and she gets along with all the doggie guests at Jane’s daycare. She is playful in her own sweet old lady way. She has established a very special bond with Jane’s husband, her dog dad. She takes NHV supplements Milk Thistle (for healthier liver, important at her age) and Old Timer (for joints and movement support). Jane recently wrote a beautiful blog about Lady’s meal with NHV Supplements. We felt it is a great read, especially for pet parents who are still thinking about going holistic and have questions on their minds.

“Lady was found with high liver enzyme values. She was put on medication and her levels normalized and it was found that the condition wasn’t permanent and was probably high because she was foraging for food as a stray. But for precaution and maintenance purposes we decided to put her on Milk Thistle to help keep her liver healthy. 

Bartles was also on Milk Thistle as his liver values were also high (because of his Cushing’s) and his values significantly decreased while on this supplement. It is a highly effective and respected supplement. 

Old Timer is just for her to keep her spunk. At age 15 she definitely has some and more.

Turmeric we plan on adding as we are seeing that she has slight limps with her front leg when she just gets up from the bed (she’s fine afterward).

So with my boys, I ended up taking their NHV supplements, mixing in a small dog bowl, adding just a little water to dilute it, taking a dropper, and squirting little bits directly into their mouth. They hated it but were good sports about it. And they always got a yummy piece of treat afterward. 

With Lady, it’s super easy. I just squirt it right into her food (she eats Stella and Chewy’s Frozen Raw but on this day – her birthday – she got a home-cooked meal of chicken and vegetables) and she will gobble it up. Lady too picks out certain things, like her [pharmaceutical name removed] pills, but she seems ok with the NHV supplements. The recommended dosage is by weight and it is given two times a day. The bottles also need to be refrigerated and have a life span of 6 months.

Other suggestions to give NHV supplements include adding to yogurt if they eat it as a treat.

I’m not against medicine and I do believe it does help but I am also wary of over medication. I was looking through Piri’s old vet records (I kept all of them since he was a puppy) and am shocked at how many antibiotics he has taken for skin and ears. I wish I had known more about natural, holistic methods and included them in his daily maintenance routine. But I guess it is never too late to learn and include what works for us.”

Jane talks about a few other supplements in detail like NHV All-Clear Ointment and how she thinks it helped Bartles. She also talks about caring for her senior dog with Cushing’s. We have included some excerpts from her blog here but we recommend heading to Jane’s blog and reading the whole article here: http://meyouandpirisplace.blogspot.com/2018/03/meals-with-nhv-supplements.html You will also get to read interesting bits about her life as a dog mom with Piri, Bartles, and now, Lady. You can find her on Instagram as @janeeliayoo.

We wish this selfless pet mom and her family all the best, always! We thank her for trusting us and letting us love her pets like ours.