Throughout the duration of The Sick Pet Project, Jumbo the sick Chihuahua, was fed based on my method of feeding. The primary meats fed were beef and chicken. The supplements used were EggShellent Calcium, FloraZyme LP, Pet GO, Rena GO, Thyro GO and Trace AniMinerals.

Jumbo doesn't even want to bark today and really doesn't want to move. He's almost listless. However, he does get up and walk a little. The open sores have healed over and there are scabs now. His forearms on his front legs are swollen just below the knee and before the wrist. The skin is kind of purplish. I wanted to take a picture but it is more important that jumbo rests, doesn't feel stressed, etc. Even though no picture was taken of the swelling, the previous pictures show just quite well the condition of his body.

The blood pimples are a lot less now and his eyes seem dry, but you sure can see his cataracts clearly now — or what I thought were cataracts (the reason why I say I thought they were cataracts is because once you get to day 43 you will read about his eyes detoxifying!)

Since Jumbo has been having a hard time, I've added a few drops of a homeopathic kidney remedy to his diet today. Additionally, I added some aloe vera juice, some essential fatty acids plus some bentonite clay. I am hoping that this will help his body detoxify more efficiently, help his kidneys work better and heal faster. Plus the bentonite clay can bind with toxins and so I am hoping that less toxins will leave through his skin and instead through bowel movements. I did not give a lot of these remedies. I just gave a small amount to help get his body healing a little faster — it's obvious that his body needs extra assistance. As I've mentioned before, I just thought Jumbo was an unhealthy dog, but now I realize he's actually a very sick dog. While most pets only need the basic supplements such as the EggShellent Calcium, FloraZyme LP, Pet GO, Rena GO and Trace AniMinerals, in Jumbo's case, he needed a little more support.

Based on Jumbo's level of detoxification, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a few kidney stones. So I warned the owner that there may be a day when Jumbo will be frantically trying to urinate but can't due to the fact that he might be passing kidney stones. I also warned the owner that possibly Jumbo may urinate red sediment and not to be alarmed. The red sediment being the beginning of kidney stones. Most people think it's blood when in fact it is just sediment from the kidneys being flushed out.

I've also begun to wonder if the extreme itching, the swollen lymph nodes when we first started and the cataracts are signs of something more serious such as lymphoma? The reality is that we will never really know what plagues Jumbo unless we got lab tests done. But regardless of whatever his problem might be, we would still need to feed a wholesome diet and the sad reality is, the vets in the Philippines (and most of the vets back home) can do nothing to help Jumbo. The sad fact is, most vets are simply not trained in holistic health and healing. Most vets simply don't understand the underlying causes of problems and subsequently, they also don't know how to heal problems. All that most vets can do is give a drug to suppress the symptoms or suggest you change the diet to another commercially prepared brand. But we — we want to solve the underlying problem by feeding a wholesome raw meat diet. Luckily, although most vets are not trained in diet, nutrition or in how to determine the underlying problem of a health problem, there are now many vets who are trained in holistic veterinary medicine.

Overall, Jumbo has improved today but there is still a long way to go. His appetite is still good.

Jumbo is doing better today. His skin is healing nicely although there is still much more healing to be done. His front legs are still swollen and his skin is purple in color. It's as if he has bad blood that the body is trying to clean out.

The wounds around his neck are getting smaller now, he is not as itchy and has a little bit more energy. Jumbo is still not barking, wagging his tale or anything like this. He is still very lethargic and wanting to rest. However, he does get up and walk a little. He tries to run slowly but he has to limp due to the swelling in his front legs. Overall, a good day for Jumbo.

Although not a bad day, his appetite was very small tonight. Will he eat more tomorrow? Has his food intake reduced now to a new level? Is his body detoxifying so much that his body wants less food so more energy can be put into detoxifying?

In talking to the owner today, I discovered a new clue as to the underlying conditions that have been affecting Jumbo. It's amazing what people neglect to tell you because they don't think it's important. But in health, all of the details are important — even something as simple as having a wart or fears is important to know about. Many people assume that because they can't feel or see something affecting them right now that there is no problem or nothing to be concerned about. When in fact, all things, great or small, past or present, impact one's health right now at this very moment.

So today I discovered that Jumbo has experienced all of the health problems in the past. The owner told me that before Jumbo was quite sick and had all of the symptoms that he has now but worse. I was shocked that I was not told this before we started the project but at the same time, it didn't surprise me. Anyway, this is why Jumbo lost his hair and why his skin has scars — like a great mystery, all of the pieces to solving it are starting to come together. In the past, Jumbo scratched himself raw and a lot of puss came out of his body. The owner said she was able to stop the symptoms from appearing but of course, the symptoms just went underground and were suppressed.

Since feeding a wholesome raw meat diet, the body has been reproducing many of the symptoms Jumbo previously had — and although the pictures look bad, according to the owner, Jumbo's current condition is not as bad as before!

I forgot to mention that Jumbo has lost quite a bit of weight. When the body is sick and/or going through a healing crisis, the body will either gain weight or loose weight. In Jumbo's case, he's lost a lot of weight. But that's okay. Once his body has finished detoxifying, he will put the weight back on.

Jumbo has been drinking a lot of water the last few days indicating or suggesting that his kidneys want a good cleanse. I watched Jumbo drink a large amount of water too. In talking to the owner also, I discovered that prior to feeding jumbo a raw meat diet, his lymph nodes had been swollen for a long time.

I was able to take a picture of Jumbo today because he seemed to be feeling better or at least, a picture wouldn't stress him as much. As you can see, from the pictures, Jumbo is hiding in his cubbyhole that is acting like a den for him — a place to hide, to rest, to heal and to feel safe during his time of weakness.

The pictures below show how Jumbo looked on day 40.

Jumbo is getting smart. He knows that I am putting some aloe vera, a kidney remedy, some bentonite clay and some essential fatty acids in his ground meat and so he is choosing, with his sense of smell, what food to eat and what food not to eat. It's important that he gets these nutrients right now. So I am trying to outsmart Jumbo. I get Jumbo to eat the food with the supplements in it before eating the meat without it — but he's smelling the supplements somehow and refusing to eat it. He's okay with eating the food that only contains the EggShellent Calcium and FloraZyme LP and he also happily eats his Pet GO, Rena GO and Thyro GO — but there is something in the other remedies I bought that he does not like. Perhaps he can smell the alcohol from the homeopathic kidney — I am not sure. Oh well, no big deal — I will find another way to get him to eat his supplements. Saying that, Jumbo had a good meal tonight.

The swelling on his two front legs is way down and his legs are virtually normal. While still lethargic, he does have some more energy now and he is cleaning his whiskers after eating, he is wagging his tail, moving around to get comfortable and going for short walks. Some new areas of skin eruptions have occurred on his hind legs and along his spine. These new eruptions are in their early stages. The owner believes these new eruptions are due to me feeding him chicken, but it's not. It's just that he is still cleansing. What I have been trying to explain to the owner for the longest time now is that cooked chicken will cause problems, but the raw chicken will help heal the problems.

Overall, he appears to be getting better. He is still drinking water, but not as much as before. You can really see hair growing now on his body. Not a thick coat, but the hair that has begun growing is getting longer. Now, all we need is for his skin to heal completely, his energy to get back to normal and for his personality to come back. Although not there yet, it's coming. It's nice to see a sick dog get healthy even though he's going through such turmoil to become healthy.

Jumbo was hiding again today and so I didn't really get a good look at him. I didn't want to pull him out from his little den to take a look at him. However, he is much the same — still lethargic, but good appetite. He still has the same skin problems and his front right leg is tender and swollen — he limps on that leg. He's been going through a much stronger detox than I ever thought he would. The detox is showing just how sick he really is or was because undoubtedly he is getting healthier and stronger, although it just doesn't seem like it yet.

Unsure of what his problem underlying is, I asked Dr. Seliski, ND what the possible cause might be. Of course, the only way to know for sure is to take Jumbo to a vet and get tests done. However, that would put Jumbo under more stress and the reality is that whatever the problem may be, we still need to continue doing what we are doing. Anyway, Dr Seliski, ND said that perhaps he might have a weak heart leading to cyanosis. Dr. Seliski told me that 25% of the blood goes through the kidneys with every heartbeat. An inefficient heart or irregular heartbeat would lead to an inability to get rid of wastes through the kidneys leading to the toxins coming out through the skin and the lymph nodes working overtime. Hard to say for sure if this is the problem, but it might just be. Nonetheless, we will continue to work to help get Jumbo healthier and stronger.

Jumbo decided he was feeling better and wanted to go outside. Then, when the owners went out for the afternoon and then came home, Jumbo was at the door waiting to greet them. He then wanted to go outside and let his friends know that he was still around by barking up a storm. This lively activity was followed up with a decent meal after which he sat down in his favorite location and relaxed.

He is still walking with a slight limp but this is the moment we have been waiting for — or at least I hope it's that moment — the end or the beginning of the end of the lethargic period. It's been my experience that when the lethargy begins to end or go away, that the body is on its way to healing and recovering. Of course, there is still a long way to go before this dog looks like a puppy let alone a dog again, but at least, this dog is recovering now.

It's hard to believe that it has been essentially 14 days of solid detoxifying with at least the last 7 days being really intense. The owner was quite happy to see Jumbo greet her at the door, which only helps make the healing process faster and easier — love is, after all the best medicine.

The owner was actually shocked to see Jumbo so energetic today, but as I told her, the day would come when Jumbo would bounce back from lethargy to energy. I hope it continues, but as I told the owner tonight, tomorrow he may be lethargic again as his health is like a wave right now — we never know when or if another big wave or tsunami will hit. The good news is that we have left most of the stormy conditions behind and it should be, for the most part, smooth sailing from now on. However, his urine is highly concentrated indicating quite a bit of toxins are still leaving the body.

Jumbo just vomited some clear bile. Really, I don't know what caused the vomiting. It happened almost 18 hours after his last meal. Nonetheless, it wasn't a major concern but since he did do some walking in the yard today, perhaps he ate some grass.

Some of the scabs around his face are now falling off and he still has some open sores around his toes and other parts of his body. But he has more energy and even plays a little.

There is one huge zit like pimple on his back. It's like a volcano and you can just see the puss or something like that under the skin just wanting to come out. In fact, later that night, I could see the liquidy substance oozing out of big pimple.

Each day, I am amazed at how heavy this dog's detoxification has been and still is in some ways. His urine is still quite concentrated and he still likes drinking lots of water.

Jumbo had another decent meal. He seems happy now or at least happier. I am sure he will be happier, as we all will be, once his detox ends and he begins looking like a dog again.

Well, Jumbo didn't feel like moving much today but that's okay. I can see the difference in his skin, although he was hiding under the sofa while sitting on a pillow. His skin is looking better, not perfect, but compared to what it was and what it is now, the skin is definitely better. His urine is still very concentrated and his appetite is still good. The whole time of his detox, his appetite has been quite good.

The big pimple that was on his back yesterday seems to have disappeared. I couldn't really tell because Jumbo was hiding a little but from what I could see, it was gone or at least disappearing. He still has a little bit of swelling on one of his hind legs, but it's not as bad as before — and when I think back to how much swelling or edema he had, he is doing quite well now.

I am not sure why Jumbo wanted to rest today, but it's okay — rest will do him good. This sick dog has gone through a very strong detox, much stronger than I thought he would, but it's also an indication that his body is gaining the strength needed to heal. This is all a good sign showing how the power of wholesome nutrition can help the body heal. The way in which the body heals never ceases to amaze me.

To continue reading my notes or to view pictures of The Sick Pet Project, just choose a link. You can start from the beginning, the middle or the end — the choice is yours:

• Introduction
• The Sick Pet Project Begins
• It's Starting
• It Takes 30 Days For The Skin To Heal
• A New Clue
• Eye Witness Healing
• He Smelled Like Death
• The Mystery Has Been Solved
• It's Mating Season, Not To Mention A New Beginning
• The Hair Is Growing