Stories

In 1987 I changed direction in life. I wanted to help people re-align their bodies, ease physical pain and revitalize energy. In the beginning, my only skill was the energy from my hands. It was not a tangible and (I thought) not a reliable method. I enrolled for a Diploma Course in Shiatsu – a good down-to-earth practical method of healing. Meantime I often appealed to the “Universe” for a sign that my “energy” method was actually doing some good. People said so, but I wanted proof. Proof did manifest and I was forced to re-evaluate my scientific approach.

In 1999, an adorable German Shepherd puppy called Panzer joined our family. He had strength of character and potential in both obedience and showing. At 14 months he was not moving freely and showing signs of stress when gaiting. Panzer attended a specialist Vet for X-rays and adjustment. I remember the shock of being told that he had a fractured pelvis; he would be in constant pain; perhaps we should seriously consider having him put down; nothing could be done. There were more traumas in Panzer’s life before I realized that I could do something for him. The intuitive part of me dared to hope, but the scientific part said “dogs are different!”

Since I changed my attitude Panzer has gone on to gain his Endurance Title, his CD title, passed his Tracking Qualification Test and is currently working towards his TD (Tracking Dog). He got his A stamp for hips (an impressive score of 2:2) and his Z stamp for elbows (0:0). He passed Breed Survey gaining a Class 2 and has been awarded two Excellent Medallions in the specialist show ring.

In the spring of 2003, Chyna (Panzer’s full sister), gave birth to 14 puppies. Puppy number 12 was less than half the size of her siblings. Despite 18 years of experience, my sister’s efforts to revive the pup and establish normal breathing had failed. The pup lay limp; lungs strained for air as her mouth opened and closed involuntarily. I held her in my hands, hoping she would feel warm and protected as she took the final breath. Energy flowed from my head to my hands and into the tiny black form, cold, but still alive. An hour or more passed, and nothing seemed to have changed, but when I dared to look, the breathing was no longer laboured. Dead? No – she was a little warmer and her breathing had stabilized. Honey and water was offered and her tiny tongue licked keenly. Another hour of healing and we dared to hope. Bach puppy rescue remedy was given and half an hour later she quickly drank two droppers of milk formula. I held her gently for the next hour. When energy flow to my hands began to wane I knew it was time to give her back to her mother. Chyna licked her thoroughly creating emotional bonding and physical stimulation. Her energy sufficiently stirred, puppy number twelve eagerly sought and found a teat to feed from.

I am grateful to Minna. She reminded me that in essence, a dog is no different from the human species. The dog spirit knows how to accept love, kindness and help with his/her healing process. The dog spirit also knows how to give love, and it does so unconditionally.

As you massage your furry friend, have confidence in your ability to comfort and heal. May the bond between you grow into the realization that you are truly kindred spirits.

“Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but only in contradiction to that which is known to us in nature”

MORE ABOUT MINNA

Minna weighed just 6oz. at birth and her 13 litter mates were between a pound and a pound-and-quarter. She was the size of a large newborn kitten! At the time, I truly believed it would be impossible for such a tiny puppy to survive in this incredibly large litter without supplementation and special attention! Despite her smallness the only time she received rescue remedy and milk supplement was during the first 4 hours of her life. Within 2 hours of joining her litter mates she had latched onto a teat and never looked back. She possessed incredible physical stamina, keen natural instincts and remarkable mental strength which enabled her to develop crucial survival skills. Quite out of sight and snug, she often lay in the channel between her mother’s teats. The moment a pup sucked less vigorously or nodded off she would quickly emerge from her hiding place and push it off the teat. Once there, not even the biggest pup could dislodge her. If not sleeping in the aforementioned favourite spot she would be somewhere beneath the pack, but incredibly she always had a teat. By the time she was two weeks old my only fear was that she would be carried out of the whelping box when her mother vacated the den. She had such a tight grip on the teat and hung on longer than the others.

At 6 weeks of age the litter was having chicken wingettes for breakfast. At first I separated Minna from them at feed times but she refused to eat alone. So reluctantly, I put her in with them where, true to form, she honed up her survival skills. She would wait till one of the pups had softened the wingette by chewing on it. Then, in one quick movement, she would dive underneath the pup from behind, snatch the morsel and dash away to a secluded corner or into the kennel to eat it.

The next thing that concerned me was the possibility of her being injured by her much larger litter mates. Initially she became the target of rough play but learned very quickly how to defend herself. She gave as good as she got and pretty soon, even the largest puppy knew not to pick on her. Her strategy was to, where possible, avoid confrontation but once her tolerance level was exceeded her determination, skill and fighting ability was impressive!

The trip to the Vet for vaccinations and general health check was the next hurdle and caused me a degree of anxiety. I mentally prepared myself for the worst considering the strong possibility that her small build may be due to a heart problem, possibly a hole in the heart. And I hadn’t ruled out that her condition may be due to some form of dwarfism! But none of these fears came to fruition. She was as healthy, if not healthier than her litter mates. In fact, none of them had a problem; no hernias; no retained testicles or any other minor imperfection!
However despite a clear bill of health, Minna was still so small when it came time for the pups to go to their new homes that nobody wanted her. And at 7 weeks, her ears were too small to tattoo. So I ran her on with my pick bitch called Risky. I still had both of them at 5 months of age when Risky decided showing was not for her. She just didn’t have the attitude and was a lazy dog in the show ring. Although she had a better fore-quarter than Minna and potentially better reach she couldn’t be bothered using it. Minna on the other hand, was not quite as well put together yet she moved much better. The difference was in attitude! Minna has loads of enthusiasm; she loves to run and uses everything she has to full advantage. And, of course, stamina is her other great asset along with a strong will and temperament. Not that Risky had any problem with character or temperament. She just didn’t have the fire or the necessary willingness to run.

Remarkably, at 5 months of age Minna was only a couple of inches shorter than her sister. She had certainly done some rapid growing and had developed incredibly good bone and a strong head. She was no longer the “weed” of the litter! She is now ideal medium size and standing at around 58 centimeters at the wither.

Minna (Bozeeb Real Spirit) has become the key to the future of Bozeeb kennels!

She is now definitely a permanent resident.

Her Mum (Bozeeb Mystic Belle “Chyna”) has always been fed an All Raw (BARF Diet) and Minna was weaned on the Bozeeb Puppy Diet which is based on the BARF principle. No doubt this, and her strong constitution and spirit, is one of the factors that enabled her to survive.

And of course there’s the sister factor!

The method my sister (Lyn McAlpine) used on Minna shortly after birth is called Reiki! It doesn’t involve anything that one could call tangible or physical or even logical! It is a method of heat and energy transfer which relies on a high degree of mental focus, meditation and concentration combined with a hands on approach. All I can say is it worked because, had it been any other pup on any other day it would have died!

Minna is definitely our little miracle!

Panzer (Bozeeb My Panzer) is a full brother to Chyna (Bozeeb Mystic Belle) who's the matriarch of Bozeeb Kennels.

At the 29 th National German Shepherd Dog Show (Victoria 2001) Panzer was called out in 10 th place in Intermediate Class by SV judge Herr Rudiger Mai. It was a very large class of 30 dogs, but after extended gaiting he became lame and dropped to 13 th position.

The injury was old. We suspect it occurred at about 4 months of age when Chyna knocked him off his feet causing him to fall heavily against a concrete edging. He lay winded and for a few moments we thought he was dead. Then he got up, shook himself and walked away as if nothing had happened. On inspection he had a graze below his ribs but no other visible signs of injury.

He was in Baby Puppy Class at a local All Breeds show the following week when it was noticed he had become lame. We took him to a local canine manipulator (a greyhound man) who made adjustments to his back, croup and shoulders. After that he seemed okay, but every couple of months he required further treatment and the issue was ongoing. He always looked loose and ungainly when he gaited and sometimes fell heavily on the forehand. At the time, I thought it was normal puppy looseness and he would grow out of it. He was a very big boy with large bones and a well-developed chest for his age.

So, after the 29 th National Show, Lyn was devastated when the Vet (an acknowledged expert on bone development) showed her the X-ray plates. The pelvis was so badly mis-aligned because of the fracture he believed there was no way Panzer could gain a pass for hips. He was of the opinion the injury was so serious the lameness would get progressively worse and Panzer would become temperamental and unpredictable because of the pain. He should not be allowed to go up and down steps and a walk around the block once or twice a week would be more than sufficient. She couldn’t even do obedience work with him. She was therefore advised putting him down might be the best option!

But there was worse to come. The Vet prescribed anti-inflammatory tablets to which Panzer had a severe reaction. Within 24 hours he started vomiting and bleeding from the bowel and was placed on a drip at the local Vet. It was touch and go as to whether he would make it through the night! After five days he finally came home.

Then she rallied and took Panzer to a “doggy” Naturopath who had an entirely different view of the situation and put Panzer on a course of herbal mixtures and tablets. She also took him regularly to a local qualified canine Chiropractor who did some excellent work.

Panzer achieved his A-Stamp with flying colours: a reading of 2:2 on hips and 0:0 on elbows.

Then he amazed and bemused everyone by gaining his ET title (Endurance Test) on June 29 th 2002.

No doubt this is his greatest achievement. To qualify for the title he was required to gait at an average speed of 11 kilometers per hour to complete the 20 kilometer course. Vet checks were made for each dog at the completion of each section of the circuit.

In August of 2002 he got his Breed Survey Class 11. At times, he was still affected by the injury and inclined to pace. And, unfortunately, the day of the Survey he did not present himself well in movement. The Breed Surveyor recommended that we re-present him if the gait improved at some point in the future.

His next amazing achievement was in November of the same year. He was Graded Excellent by Hans-Jurgen Bieger at the Working Dog Club of Victoria Championship Show and received his medallion.

Then, on August 2 nd, 2003 he gained his CD (Companion Dog) Title. On the same day, his sister Chyna qualified for hers too.

Unfortunately, in the All Breeds ring, he was unable to attain his Australian Championship. He did get three Challenges and two Best of Breeds. Many All Breeds judges are prejudiced when they observe a more curvaceous topline on a German Shepherd Dog. This, perception is unjustified because overline is only ONE aspect of the dog. Other breeds exhibit various styles of topline and get their Championships with relative ease. And, for this reason Panzer’s sister, Chyna, is still chasing 7 points at the ripe old age of 8!

Panzer has always been fed an All Natural diet (BARF – Bones And Raw Food) and no dry food at all. Since 18 months of age he had been given Naturopathic remedies to assist the healing process and to strengthen muscle and ligaments.

I am firmly convinced had he been on a commercial (dry food) diet he would have developed arthritic changes and the damage would have been irreversible. The good quality natural foods and the correct balance of minerals and vitamins the body extracts from them effectively protected his bones from deterioration even after serious physical injury. And, no doubt, the chiropractic work assisted this process.

Full credit must go to my sister, Lyn McAlpine, for having the determination and foresight not to give up even when faced with insurmountable odds.

But, the positive side is he was with us for 5 years longer than predicted by Vets and other so-called experts! And, during that time, he achieved a lot. He also sired one litter and currently has a number of Grand-children.

Of course, I have to ask the question as to why he succumbed to cancer when on such a good diet. There has to be a reason for everything and I do have some theories.

The cancer involved his spleen and digestive tract. The latter was severely damaged by the anti-inflammatory tablets and it could well have been this trauma that was the instigator.

Also, at one point in time (under the age of 2 years) Panzer was over-vaccinated having been given a 12 monthly injection for heart-worm. Maybe this, combined with his normal yearly inoculations, could have set the stage for cancer.

As for my sister, she now has Panzer’s niece Bozeeb Tessabelle “TESSA” who was born on August 24 th 2007. But no dog can really replace Panzer!