Tom Knight (Tamarindo, Costa Rica) on 01/31/2009

The following is a copy of email recently sent to the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the American Veterinary Association.

I filled out the form on your website. I could not copy the below email and paste it into your "comments" window...so here it is if you want to use it. I think it is important as it is a simple cure that I have now found sucessful on another dog other than mine also.

Hello to all my Vet friends,

When all else fails.....!!!

I came upon this purely by accident. This cure will not make you any money, but it sure will make you lots of friends with your clients.

I am no casual pet owner. I have shown, field trialed and hunted champion German Shorthair Pointers for 45 years, plus being owned by an assortment of mixed breeds, cats and an assortment of other exotic critters. In the 1970's I was one of the first to breed large falcons in captivity.

My present dog, a mixed breed, short-haired medium-sized (Tamarindo Purebred...) had severe skin problems since he was around nine months old. His full brother/litter-mate is neighbor and enjoys the same, virtually identical environment, so I know the dog's living situation was not the problem.

He developed a severe rash on his "hot spot." To which he continually chewed, and then started chewing his tail to the point of its having no hair at all, and other parts of his rear anatomy. He had a severe flea problem. End result was a neurotic dog with no hair on his tail and rump, constantly chewing and biting himself there and other parts of his body. He was loosing skin in nasty dried chunks and flakes like a huge case of human dandruff. I tried several local vets who provided a variety of creams, soaps and lotions. None worked. I tried human skin products from the local pharmacies. None worked...after considerable financial expenditure. His neighbor brother remained unaffected. I was seriously considering putting him down.

Then, I remembered that when I applied vegetable oil on my sunburn (I now live in the very hot and dry tropics of NW Costa Rica) it immediately soothed it and no peeling of my skin occurred. I tanned nicely, despite the severe sunburn.

So, I looked around the house and found a 1-inch paint brush I had been using for a "meat baster" in the kitchen. I also found a stiff laundry brush. I then brushed him from back to rump and gently on tail to remove loose skin. Then I put some cheap cooking oil in a small plastic tub. Using the paint brush, I gently massaged the oil onto the affected parts.

He immediately stopped biting himself. Within a day, I could see the redness in the skin start to dissipate. I continued bathing him with a flea/tick soap.

Soon, the redness disappeared altogether. I continued this treatment nightly. Within a week the amount of dead skin started to ease up. New hair started to appear. I also scrubbed oil (with the soft paint brush) into the hair and skin in all areas where I saw fleas...mostly under the tail around the lower rump. Within a couple hours, there is no oily feel to the hair...it has been absorbed by then into the skin.

Today, just over a month of daily treatment, all his hair is back. His tail now does not look like a rat's. He is completely flea free. He chews no more and his coat is glossy. He was also very skinny. Now, he has put on many pounds and is in the pink of health.

My Conclusion: I think the veggie oil acted as a systemic. It penetrated the skin and suffocated the mites under it that were eating the hair follicles and roots. It also did the same for his skin as it did for mine. The oil also suffocated the fleas to the point they now no longer exist.

Correct me if I am wrong. I would love any input. I thought this treatment was of significant importance that you folks should know. Maybe you do already. However, try this next time on one of your client's dog.

This experience might make a useful entry for your newsletter.

Regards,

Tom Knight
Tamarindo, Costa Rica