As part of the Healing Touch for Animals certification process, I needed two letters of recommendation. In addition to 50 treatment sessions, I wrote a case study on Tanner, the golden retriever with heartworms and separation anxiety. The following letter is from his foster mom, on how his Dog with Heartworms Helped with Energy Medicine.
06.07.2011
To: Carol Komitor
Letter of recommendation for Elaine Garley
I am very pleased to endorse Elaine Garley’s application into your program [Healing Touch for Animals®].
I foster Golden Retrievers and Golden mixes for a local non-profit breed specific rescue. The majority of these dogs come to us with issues, some physical and some psychological. Occasionally some dogs such as Tanner a recent foster, have both. Tanner came to me as a stray having been picked up by animal control in a rural town. He was most likely used as a breeder and had many of the typical puppy mill traits. Unfortunately for Tanner, he tested positive for heartworm, stage 2. I agreed to foster Tanner knowing that successful heartworm treatment would require keeping him calm and quiet for the duration of the treatment, roughly 2 months. The greatest risk is of pulmonary embolism from the dead and dying heartworms. Normally dogs undergoing heartworm treatment are kept crated or kenneled 24/7 other than for leashed trips outside. My plan was to crate Tanner during his recovery time.
When Tanner first arrived at my house it was very obvious he had never been inside a house before. He was not housebroken and was afraid of every noise and person….including me. Lucky for me he quickly bonded to my resident labs and learned that I would not hurt him. He was however still very nervous, unsettled and stuck to me like Velcro. Crating Tanner was not an option as he became very agitated, barked, cried and tried every way possible to escape the crate. I knew I needed to help Tanner to relax and settle so he could undergo successful heartworm treatment, so I asked Elaine to help us.
After just two sessions of working with Elaine the changes in Tanner were very noticeable. He became much more relaxed and calm, still followed me everywhere but didn’t have to be within 6 inches of me at all times. I could see the change in his expression as it went from furrowed brow to normal relaxed brow. I was able to leave him in the house while I did simple chores like take the garbage outside or shovel the driveway without him barking and getting frantic. As Elaine continued to work with Tanner I saw improvement with each visit. It was so good to see the transformation in Tanner, now he would play with toys, wrestle with my resident labs and was very accepting of all the visitors both human and canine that came to my house. Common noises no longer bothered him and he slept through the night.
I am happy to report that Tanner tested negative for heartworm at his 4 month checkup. My vet said typically it takes 6 to 8 months for a negative heartworm test and I have to believe Elaine’s work with Tanner also helped him to rid his body of the heartworms sooner than average. Tanner was neutered and adopted to a wonderful family and is now living the Golden life as he should.
Elaine’s work with Tanner was always very professional and she always respected Tanner’s needs…tailoring her treatments to fit Tanner’s specific issues and needs. Elaine is a very kind and caring person and it shows in how she worked with Tanner. She is highly skilled and a very effective communicator. Her work with Tanner was nothing short of amazing and helped turn a shy, scared, unadoptable dog into a happy, confident dog that was able to be adopted into a forever home.
Elaine’s sensitivity, diligence, energy and sense of humor made working with her a joy. I highly recommend her as a welcome addition to the program. Please feel free to contact me for additional information or with any questions.
Sincerely,
Denise Anderman
Fantastic post but I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more
on this topic? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Appreciate it!
Thanks for your feedback. Please let me know what information would be helpful for you.