One of the most gratifying aspects of the publicity the Vicktory dogs have received is the outpouring of support, sympathy, concern and generosity from wonderful people all over the country. I have been especially appreciative of all the kind individuals who have written me to offer their suggestions and help in healing the emotional wounds some of the dogs are showing. The help we have been offered has been quite a fascinating array of methods, styles, and techniques, and I thought you might enjoy seeing a sampling of them.

• One of the more popular suggestions is homeopathic remedies and herbal (sometimes specified as Chinese herbal) formulas. Practitioners of these methods have seen significant benefits in healing mental and emotional distress of various causes.
• Another suggestion is also relatively well-known: animal communication. For those unfamiliar with this technique, the practitioner establishes a communicative connection with an individual animal, and through this communication receives information about what the animal is thinking, how he or she is feeling, and what they would like us to do for them to make them feel better. Some communicators work by being in physical or visual contact with the animal, while others claim to be able to work telepathically over distance – such as a phone line – using just a minimal amount of information about the animal they are doing a "reading" on.
• It will be little surprise to learn that acupuncture has been suggested to us. The benefits that acupuncturists strive to achieve is the alleviation of fear and stress in the dogs.
• Another popular suggestion is the use of flower essences. The benefits that proponents of flower essences have claimed is improvement in emotional strength, stability, and balance. In addition, the animal (or person, for that matter) becomes better able to cope with stresses in their lives.
• Training methods have also been suggested to us. All-positive training (all reward-based, no punishment) is a common suggestion (it is, by the way, the only method we use here at Best Friends). Other methods that are not all-positive have also been suggested to us.
• One person wrote to suggest that we use the help of Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. She has autism, and because of this has a unique perspective on how animals view their world. Dr. Grandin put many of her thoughts together in her bestselling book "Animals in Translation." I was also very fortunate to have her contribute a chapter to my textbook "Mental Health and Well-Being in Animals." She is an extremely gifted person.
• We received an offer of help from a Vibration Therapy specialist. Using harp vibrations sequenced in specific ways, this form of therapy is designed to stabilize heart rate and blood pressure, calm anxiety, induce deep sleep, and reduce stress reactions.  It is claimed to be very effective with dogs, horses, cats and other mammals, and used by veterinarians to calm and comfort animals.
• Another suggested, though less well-known, form of therapy for trauma is known as EMDR (which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Practitioners of this method believe it to be very effective in treating emotional disturbances, negative emotions, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In this form of therapy, an external stimulus is used to elicit psychological benefits. Although eye movements are the most commonly used stimulus, therapists often use auditory tones, tapping, or other types of touch stimulation.

I thank all of those who have offered suggestion to us in their sincere effort to help heal the Vicktory dogs. I must, of course, point out to the readers of this blog that in sharing these intriguing treatment methods with you, we at Best Friends are not attesting to their effectiveness or safety, nor endorsing their use. Some of them may ultimately be useful for our work with the Vicktory dogs, but right now we are using a specially designed treatment program for emotionally healing. I share these ideas with you solely because of their fascinating nature.