 Biography : Testimonials : Discussion Group In September of 2007, Charlie was diagnosed with multicentric Lymphoma. He was 4 years old. We were referred to a vet oncology center and they felt that Charlie would be a good candidate for chemo. We began chemo immediately. I always felt that diet would play an important part in helping Charlie to deal with the chemo, and in his long term outlook.
I had become concerned about the quality of commercial dog foods. The lack of any government regulations meant that there was no way for me to know exactly what my dogs were eating. My dogs are like my children so I wanted to provide them with a healthy and nutritious diet made from all natural, quality ingredients. This can be a scary endeavor so I turned to Catherine Lane so I could be satisfied knowing that they are getting a balanced diet formulated for their needs. There is a tremendous sense of satisfaction when I feed my dogs meals that I cooked from all natural ingredients. Seeing Sophie and Charm enthusiastically lick their bowls clean tells me they are even happier about their diets than I am. The greatest benefit comes from having two strong and healthy dogs. Since switching to a home-cooked diet they do not get skin or ear infections, which Sophie used to be prone to. They have beautiful, soft and shiny coats and more than enough energy to support their active lifestyles.
This past summer LuLu, my four year old Leonberger, underwent an emergency cholecystoenterostomy to remove her ruptured gall bladder. For several weeks following her release from the hospital she experienced tremendous gastric upset, requiring ongoing antibiotic treatment. Bloodwork also revealed that her liver enzyme levels were dangerously elevated. It was obvious that dietary intervention was required. I contacted Cat and she quickly put a diet plan together for my girl. Within just two days on the new diet we started seeing improvement. The real proof, however, came a week later when we redid LuLu's bloodwork. I'm pleased to report that her alkaline phosphatase values had come down by 50% and her ALT values were almost normal. Needless to say, my vet and I were very happy with this news. It is now one month since LuLu has been on her new diet and she continues to do well. Her energy levels are terrific, and she hasn't had any major gastric upsets either. She is due for more bloodwork later this week and I feel very confident that her liver enzyme values will be down even more, if not altogether normal. I have Cat to thank for this. Her professionalism, expertise and compassion are second to none, and I am so grateful to her for all that she has done for us.
It was with great excitement that we finally got our first West Highland Terrier, Elsie. I knew Westies were prone to allergies but when Elsie started chewing her legs and licking her paws constantly I knew we had to do something. We tried many brands of high quality grain-free kibble but that didn't seem to help, Elsie's allergies got worse. She developed an ear infection/chewed all the fur off her front legs and licked her paws until it drove us crazy. Then, without warning, she developed anal gland issues resulting in an abscess and had to undergo emergency surgery. After this episode I changed her kibble again, thinking another brand might give us better results, but she continued to have issues with her glands. When the tainted dog food scandal hit, that was a wake up call. My immediate reaction was to start cooking for Elsie but I quickly came to realize I needed help, my intensions where good but I had no idea what I was really doing and it was overwhelming....enter Catherine Lane.
Zena, my warrior princess, came to our home after living and working for 3 years at a Florida racetrack. My poor greyhound's body was riddled with scars and old injuries. Her back legs and stomach were completely bald. The rest of her fur was lifeless and slowly falling out. She constantly bit her paws and sometimes refused to eat. Our veterinarian prescribed thyroid medication and recommended a special kibble. The medication helped but instead of kibble I asked my vet for the name of a canine nutritionist so that I could cook Zena a homemade diet. The only nutritionist she knew worked for a commercial dog company and she told me to stay away from a home cooked diet.
My dog Ellie is a Border Collie mix and she's close to 16 years old. She has had a good life with over 20 acres of land to romp around on. She has eaten everything in nature, but I never gave her table scraps.
Wanting the best possible diet for my German Shepherd puppy, I enlisted Cat to formulate his diet. He could not have been in better hands! For the first couple of weeks she was making almost daily adjustments making sure the diet met his exact needs. With Cat you aren’t just another customer. She takes her work personally and gives the same attention to her clients’ dogs as she would her own. I will be seeing Cat for the diets of all my pups from now on!
I found Cat Lane through The Possible Canine about two years ago, never expecting to have to use her professional services. I have an 8 year old St. Bernard named Bailey, who has a compulsive foraging problem and has had to undergo several bowel surgeries. In December of 2006, she was also diagnosed with a mast cell tumor on her ear. The vet did not want to amputate her ear and took the tumor off alone and I decided to use a home prepared diet as well as supplementation to help her through. Cat helped enormously by supplying me with all the information I needed as well as many recipes, tweaking them along the way to Bailey’s needs. Without her help I may have given up on Bailey, but a miracle has occurred. The foraging is now very minimal and food related when and if it occurs, and the mast cell cancer is gone. Bailey owes her life to Cat, and she has my utmost respect and appreciation for her knowledge and dedication.
Cat Lane has been a godsend to me and to my beloved canine friend Mystic. My conventional vet delivered the shocking cancer diagnosis in April 2007. I was told that Mystic would quite likely only live two weeks and that I should feed him whatever he would eat (regardless of food quality) as his appetite would quickly diminish. Determined to give him the best possible quality of life, I turned to a holistic approach and by divine intervention found Catherine Lane. In my first conversation with Cat I found hope and a multitude of ideas and foods to get Mystic eating again. I had been taught for years that I should only feed Mystic dog food and by this time had exhausted almost every kind of food on the market. He refused to eat any of it. Much to my surprise and joy, Mystic would eat the recipes that Cat offered. Weeks went by and Mystic’s appetite steadily increased. It has been six months since that dreadful diagnosis was made and Mystic is healthier, stronger and livelier than he has been in some years. We have hit some bumpy patches along the way when his interest in food waned and Cat would always find a solution - usually something that I would never have thought of on my own. Cat continues to advise me on the foods and supplements that Mystic needs and even reminds me what’s missing when I’ve let things slide myself. Cat gives way more of herself than anyone I’ve met and offers a unique and essential service. Cat, I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for what you have done for Mystic and I. I am quite certain that he would not be here to share my life today had we not been blessed with your great skill, your generosity and your absolute dedication to the animals that come to you for help.
When my beautiful chocolate lab was diagnosed with mast cell cancer in September of 2004, I couldn't accept it. I wasn't going to give her up without a fight. She was only seven years old and a hard bodied athlete. She was up for a fight, too. We scheduled surgery for her two tumors. One could not be completely removed. She was given a year to live. I was on the computer night after night trying to find a way to save her. Time after time I would run into "cancer diets". Diets that were suppose to help your cancer dog live longer. The diets would have some ingredients the same but differ in others. I couldn't add everything to her meals that I read about. I needed a canine nutritionist to help me sort it all out. Armed with what I had gained in knowledge, I started looking at nutritionists. Janie didn't have the time and I didn't have the money to waste on making the wrong choice. I settled on Catherine Lane. Cat didn't make suggestions on what I should do for Janie without backing it up with links to research done on supplements and current articles on canine nutrition. The food and supplements she suggested were chosen specifically for Janie's problems. Not just the type of cancer but arthritis and allergy issues, too. Not long after she started her new regime, she started feeling better and her fur grew thicker and shiner. She has gone from bad bouts with allergies three times a year down to once a year, and that isn't nearly as severe as it used to be. It is three years now after her original diagnosis. Janie has had a few rough spots, but Cat has always been there to make changes to her diet and supplements. She always rebounds. I KNOW we owe these precious three more years with Janie to Cat.
My 11 month old yellow lab was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia and bilateral osteoarthritis. She was on 25 kg of metacam per day and if she missed a day she would limp. I went to a talk on nutrition and that's where I met Catherine. I was so impressed that I approached her afterwards and the rest as they say is history. I started homefeeding Stella in mid April and we also introduced supplements. The first thing I did notice was her level of energy, it was amazing. I started to ween her off the Metacam(slowly) and she is now Metacam free for 2months. There is no limping and her energy level is just getting better and better. Catherine is a remarkable woman and I am so grateful to her for what she has done for us.
"My heartfelt appreciation and admiration to Catherine Lane for all the help and guidance I have received, while restoring my beloved collie Bella to health. Bella has always eaten a home-prepared diet put together from simple guidelines provided by her breeder, generic recipes and probably a lot of luck with the help of a very basic knowledge of human nutrition. She has generally been healthy and has won several blue ribbons, both in shows and other dog activities. She has, however, had numerous episodes of gastro-intestinal problems that have required antibiotics and has always been more or less high strung. As she grew older, she began to change, became more withdrawn, sensitive and nervous, refused her food often, had a general lack of energy and less desire for the things she had always loved to do. She just didn’t feel good.On the internet, I found the idea of feeding a raw-food diet in order to perk her up so I decided to try. Initially, the change was quite dramatic in all respects, physically and emotionally, so I was convinced that raw food á la BARF was the panacea for all her ills. However, after this initial “honeymoon” improvement, even though she loved the food, her health again took a turn for the worse. She became very thirsty, restless and very easily upset and/or excitable, was constantly panting and paced around at night. Needless to say, neither of us slept well. I could get no concrete guidelines from the internet lists I was on, my vet at the time just wanted her on cortisone because of possible “allergy”, which I refused. I was at my wits end with a 9 yr old dog who was not thriving and getting worse. This is when I happened upon Catherine’s list. It did not take me long to realize, that here was a lady who knew what she was doing and who was giving trustworthy information, backed up with knowledge and documentation. She was genuinely concerned and helpful and not afraid to challenge the ideas that I had bought into. I hired Catherine to do a full protocol and I am sure she saved my dogs life and sanity, as well as my own. During the 3 months that we worked together intensively, my Bella made a dramatic improvement, calmed down and regained her appetite and has become calmer than at any other time of her life.Bella, now 10½, is a healthy and active collie, although retired from public life. Since she is totally dependant on me to make intelligent decisions about her diet, I have gradually become more proficient in preparing nutritious and varied meals for her and in my understanding of how important good nutrition is. In fact, there is nothing really more important to a dogs health than providing a healthy and balanced diet. I can highly recommend Catherine’s competent and knowledgeable guidance for achieving this noble goal."
My veterinarian referred me to Catherine Lane early this winter. I strongly believe in home cooking and the health benefits of good nutrition. My 9-year-old dog was diagnosed with diabetes in the summer, this diagnosis added to the list of health concerns he has, a heart murmur, hyper lipidimia and a tendency to have pancreas troubles. I was told to give special commercial dog food for diabetes. Unfortunately he did not like this food at all and having him eat was a challenge. Having a dog eat at regular intervals and the proper amount is crucial when dealing with diabetes and insulin injections. I phone Catherine who helped me right away, she took all of his health concerns into account and began her research, and she worked closely with me and with my vet. Catherine has created menus that were easy for me to make and that is a challenge given my crazy shift work schedule and limited cooking ability. Catherine has also helped adapt the same menus to work for my other dog who does not have the same health concens. Zeus loves his meals and eats with gusto the proper nutrition at regular intervals. He has not had any pancreas type issues since being on the diet and his blood sugar levels have improved.Catherine has helped me with supplements, questions and more questions. She had given me great information and has taught me a great deal. I am very grateful to my vet for introducing me to her. I intend to have Catherine help me with all the dogs to come in my life from healthy puppy to my next geriatric dog. I highly recommend her to anyone with a dog.
"Catherine Lane helped us through a very rough time with our Lab/Dal Cori, who was finally diagnosed with an auto-immune disease after 7 months of working with a traditional vet. During the time we had not one clue what was going on with Cori, Catherine was very helpful in suggesting foods, supplements and modalities to make her more comfortable. TTouch relieved Cori's pain from arthritis and her difficulty in moving. A variety of herbs and supplements allowed her to eat, not lose weight, and to help her feel better. And during all those months Catherine's understanding and sympathy helped me to deal with the anxiety and fear I was feeling. I highly recommend Catherine as a nutritionist; she has a wide breadth of knowledge and experience, knows a wide range of people to contact for further support and information, and is tireless in helping pets (and their humans). That energy is what sets her apart from others who may have knowledge of holistic practices. Contact her, use her; you and your pets will be helped in so many ways!"Charlotte Matteson - Nantucket
"Catherine Lane has more energy than any two people I know and has pursued both formal and informal education so that she is knowledgeable in many areas, including nutrition and the use of herbs and other supplements, TTouch, and energy work, along with impressive familiarity in a variety of diseases in dogs.... I am especially impressed with her proven ability to deal with serious disease from a nutritional standpoint and respect her willingness to use traditional allopathic medicine when necessary. Most recently, she described at ThePossibleCanine why she places such emphasis on purity of ingredients in supplements and I found myself learning more than I had expected and coming to understand and value the depth of her expertise and her commitment to excellence. Working with Cat I have come to better understand more what holistic means and how integral balance is to that discipline. " Frances Qualls MilwaukeeFrances Qualls - Milwaukee
"Catherine was enormously helpful when I was dealing with severe allergies with my Golden Retriever Emma. She introduced me to the world of natural health and feeding and we enjoyed great improvement in Emma's condition as time went by. I would highly recommend Catherine to anyone with a dog!"
"Connor was truly an olympic-athlete of dogs. Healthy, intense and extremely physically fit, his diagnosis at 9 years of age of incurable, inoperable liver cancer was a enormous and unexpected blow. Initially, he was given barely a couple of weeks to live. In the end, he outsurvived people with similar cancer, even without converting his "extra" time to dog years. Catherine was literally a lifeline for Connor. From initial veterinary consultation, through the long stages of "holding" (never technically identified as remission) and into the final stages of palliative care, Catherine provided the research, analysis and emotional support that I believe directly contributed to his well-being.Make no mistake: until the very last days, this was a dog experiencing an excellent quality of life overall. Just a few months before he died, people at beaches across Canada asked me how old my puppy was (he was 12 going on 13 at that point). He had boundless energy, enjoyed his play and got over whatever short-lived malaise he experienced from time to time. Thank you Catherine. I know Connor thanked you too -- your compassion reached through to his quiet soul and he felt a sense of connection with you, something he graced few people with."Carol Lane - Wakefield, Quebec |
