Who is Bimble?

I would like to introduce you to lovely Bimble, she is a 13-year-old female West Highland White Terrier, who I had the pleasure of working with. She has a lifelong history of severe skin issues, recurring ear infections, and dry eyes. Despite various veterinary interventions and long-term medication, her symptoms remained ongoing, leading her guardian to seek a different holistic approach with herbal support to help with her complex health challenges.

 

 

Life history & background:

Bimble’s story began with a difficult start; she was surrendered into her current guardian’s care at four years old, Bimble was underweight, in significant pain from severe skin and ear infections, she had raw skin and was emotionally shut down. Through her guardian’s dedication and love they began her rehabilitation, but with so many physical challenges their journey wasn’t easy. Bimble slowly began to find her voice over time, and her physical and mental health improved. But ever since Bimble’s guardian battled to keep her as comfortable as she could exploring various other treatments/therapies to help support her. And in May 2022 Bimble faced a life-threatening event of developing a pyometra which required emergency surgery. Bimble and her guardian would visit the vets regularly roughly 2-3 times per year for repeat medication prescriptions.

 

 

After carrying out my initial assessment it is clear that Bimble is a Fire element character type, according to the Chinese medicine, five-element philosophy. Fire element types are friendly, intelligent, and like interaction, playfulness, and physical affection. While they naturally seek connection and admiration, they can really struggle with social isolation. They like excitement and being the centre of attention. Understanding an animals five element character type helps us to see how we can read them as an individual and understand how they might respond to certain situations, what foods best suit them, their most suited learning style, help in choosing which botanicals may be beneficial, and what environment they need to thrive.

 

 

 

Bimble’s Meridian Balance Assessments:

(By allowing Bimble to show me directly which of her meridians are blocked or off balance, I gain a clear picture of the energetic imbalances within her body and what natural botanicals should be offered, with her guidance.)

 

 

1st Assessment – (August 2024)

Bimble had imbalances within 6 of her meridians and she indicated that her kidney was the priority imbalance for her at the time. The kidney is considered the ‘root of life’ from a TCM perspective, storing our ‘jing’ (often called ‘essence’, which is our deepest vital energy), the kidneys govern the bones, hair, teeth, ears and are connected to the emotion of fear. This made sense the kidneys being Bimble’s biggest imbalance due to her hair loss & thinning of her fur, lack of energy, arthritis in her hind leg, tooth loss, fearfulness and recurring ear issues.


Natural botanicals that were chosen to be offered for self-selection:

Rose (Rosa Damascena) hydrosol – Balances the physical and emotional body, allows the heart to be more receptive. Helps animals let go and release past physical or emotional neglect, releasing energy blocked because of emotional wound’s/trauma. Yin nourishing and has a powerful affect on the hormonal system.

Carrot seed (Daucus carota) hydrosol – It has a very deep connection to nourishment and helps encourage the production of healthy tissue in smooth muscle. It is very reparative to damaged skin.

 

Response to the botanicals:

Initially the hydrosols were diluted in separate bowls and left out for Bimble to choose from. The first day she drank half of each. For the next couple of days, she showed more interest in the rose hydrosol. But for the next 4 days she didn’t touch the bowls that were left out for her. The guardian felt she wanted to lick them directly off her hand, so she offered her each of the hydrosols to lick from her hand, once a day. Bimble showed keen interest in both of them for the next 6 days.

 

 

 

2nd Assessment – (September 2024)

While some of Bimble’s meridians had re-balanced since her first assessment, she still had imbalances within some of her meridians and this time she indicated that her heart was the priority imbalance for her, showing us that she’s ready to work on another level of her healing.

 

Natural botanicals that were chosen to be offered:

Bimble wanted to create two bespoke flower & crystal essence blends for herself.

The first essence mix was to be offered for 3 weeks, twice a day.

The second essence mix was to be offered for 2 weeks, twice a day.

 

Response to botanicals:

Bimble really enjoyed choosing to have the flower essences stroked onto her skin & fur along her back area each day. They supported her emotionally and energetically which then helped to support her physical health.

 

What are Flower & Crystal Essences?

Flower and crystal essences are very gentle forms of natural vibrational medicine. Each essence carries the life force and vibrational imprint of individual flowers or crystals, each one has a specific healing, strengthening, and balancing effect unique to that specific flower or crystal.

 

 

 

Nutrition Suggestions:

During this time, we also implemented some nutritional changes for Bimble. Originally, she was fed a tinned supermarket diet, but she suffered from a poor appetite and would regularly ‘go off’ her food. This diet did not fully suit her needs or give her all the nutritional nourishment she needed. So, after having a discussion with her guardian about suitable options for her lifestyle, time, etc. The best option for both Bimble and guardian was to transition her on to Different Dog Food—a fresh, 100% natural, hand-cooked food, consisting of fresh meats, vegetables and superfoods. I suggested gentle easy to digest proteins like chicken, fish, and turkey and the food being cooked meant it was energetically warming for her digestive system. Bimble transitioned with ease, and started to thoroughly enjoy her meals. We also incorporated bone broth into her diet, which is highly nourishing, for an extra nutritional boost; it naturally supports gut health, and contains essential nutrients, while helping strengthen kidney energy.

 

 

 

 

Chinese Herbs Assessment – (October 2024)

I then started working on a much deeper root level with Bimble by supporting her with a bespoke blend of Chinese herbs.

Following a thorough assessment, Bimble was showing energetic deficiencies in three main areas, her kidneys, heart and spleen, so the aim was to give energy & nourishment to support these organs, among some other aspects to support her overall wellness.

🌿 Bimble was first offered her herbs at the start of October, she started with less gradually upping to a comfortable amount.

 

Week 1: Her skin became less flaky, and her overall mood significantly brightened.

 

Week 2: Mobility improved; she enjoyed full walks without needing to be carried. The scratching disappeared, digestion stabilised, and her fearfulness decreased. This meant her guardian chose to begin reducing her medication.

 

Week 4: New fur began growing in previous bald patches, and her coat thickened overall.

 

Week 5: Bimble experienced a brief digestive upset when her guardian returned from a break away—a known stress trigger for her. Bimble decided to take a few days break of taking her herbs, this meant her ears flared up and the change had unsettled Bimble.

Bimble soon started taking her herbs again and was back on track. Her confidence started growing, and she was showing a much less fear and nervousness during her walks.

 

Week 8: Bimble’s guardian then thought it was appropriate to wean her completely off the medication. As she was doing so well selecting her herb blend, she didn’t feel she needed it anymore. Her eyes were also clearing up and a lot less dry, her ears were good and all clear.

Bimble’s guardian went on her next holiday. This time, Bimble experienced no digestive upset when they returned, showing that her ‘inner’ Earth element (according to the Chinese five element philosophy) is coming back into balance and her stress levels have significantly decreased.

 

Over the next few months of Bimble selecting her herbs, she remained physically and emotionally stable. Her skin, ears, and eyes were clear, and her fur almost entirely grown back. Her guardian said many people now comment on the remarkable improvement in her coat and fur condition.

 

 

 

3rd Assessment – February 2025

Meridian Imbalances:

Bimble had no imbalances or blockages within her meridians.

 

Natural botanicals chosen to be offered:

To continue with her Chinese herb blend as long as she selects it.

 

 

 

✨ Final Outcome ✨

Bimble’s transformation is remarkable. Her skin is clear, her coat has grown back thick and vibrant, and her energy levels have greatly increased, allowing for longer walks and more play time! She is emotionally more confident, no ear infections in sight, and has clear eyes. Most significantly, she has successfully transitioned completely off her medication, remaining stable on her herbal formula for ongoing support, Bimble’s overall physical, mental and emotional wellbeing has significantly improved.

This beautiful transformation highlights the incredible healing that is possible when a holistic approach & animal-centred care meet the commitment of a dedicated guardian.

 

 

 

Feedback from Bimble’s Guardian

“Working with Fliss to help Bimble has been an absolute pleasure. Fliss is thoughtful, caring and very conscientious. She’s always on hand to ask questions and she follows up regularly to make sure that Bimble has everything she needs. She always goes above and beyond to make sure that Bimble is happy with her herbs. She’s very easy to work with and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending her to other animal owners.”

 

 

 

By Felicity Stenson | Earthly Animal Healing