Lizzie was found in an overcrowded pound in Cyprus. She was very thin weighing just 8.5kg, half her current body weight, and was dirty and terrified. She had a horrific infected leg injury – probably caused by being tied up too tightly by a rope. She was on strong antibiotics for Ehrlichia canis, a serious bacterial infection that is transmitted through tick bites.
For the first year, her leg scar was not troublesome and although the skin was like tissue paper and split easily it usually healed. However, a year later, the split had grown considerably and antibiotics failed to get the infection under control. The wound increased in size and covered the scar tissue area, and became heavily granulated. After discussing the options and prognosis with a homeopathic vet (with the full backing of our conventional vet), we decided on surgery to cover the scar with skin from her abdomen.
![]() Pre-surgery, heavy granulation |
![]() 6 months post-surgery |
Unfortunately, two years later, the original scar tissue (not covered by the skin graft) started to split and would not heal. It became redraw, weepy and inflamed, and Lizzie developed stiffness and limited mobility in the joint. After repeated trips to the vet and many courses of antibiotics (which had no effect despite a swab to establish the most appropriate ones), we agreed that continuous antibiotics were not an effective long-term treatment plan. We had run out of conventional options except for one – surgical amputation.
We turned to our homeopathic vet, again with full backing of our conventional vet who gladly sent off Lizzie’s full medical record in the hope that amputation could be avoided. He thought that amputation was extreme and there were alternatives we should try first. We provided a full history of Lizzie’s life, lifestyle, personality, habits, and answered questions about what she liked and disliked. Afterwards, Lizzie was given two remedies, one to be taken each morning, the other in the evening, for a month to stimulate tissue healing, regeneration and repair. We were also given a third combination remedy should any sign of wound infection appear (to avoid using antibiotics). We didn’t need to use this.
Within two weeks, the wound had scabbed over, the infection, hotness and weeping had disappeared and Lizzie had full mobility again. And best of all, she kept her leg! Galen myotherapy helped to break down the scar tissue and release the muscles and, along with proprioception work, Lizzie gained full use of her leg. Lizzie has needed no antibiotics since she took the homeopathic remedies. You can read more about Galen myotherapy in our Fire Dog Kai blog.
Lizzie’s recovery was supported by raw feeding, blood titre tests rather than vaccinations (that showed strong antibodies despite having only had one course of injections in Cyprus), and faecal worm tests rather than chemical wormers.
Sceptics of course say that it is mere coincidence that the wound healed as soon as homeopathy was prescribed and that the collective residual antibiotics finally, several months after not working and the courses had finished, removed the stubborn infection.
But we know which treatment worked: the one that gave almost instant and long-lasting results – and kept Lizzie on all four legs!