Presenting "Beach Blanket Amigos"

Everyone will enjoy this feelgood movie about Ollie, a little black mutt, as he introduces Lara, an English lab used as a backyard breeder, and Barney, a severely neglected St. Bernard, to new friends at Dog Beach in Del Mar, Calif.

The Trailer

The Movie

"Lean On Me." Lara and Barney Enjoy First Party

Lara and Barney enjoyed their first party last weekend -- to celebrate Joey's 18th birthday. A couple of apologies: I'm new to video taping and couldn't figure out how to end the clip at the conclusion of the performance. Also, the video file was too big for my blog, so I uploaded it to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S69qOhEwJXs

Note my third dog, Ollie, taking care of Barney's oral hygiene (drooling). "The 3 Amigos" made such a good impression that one friend said she was going to talk to her husband about adopting a second shelter dog.

The lady petting the pups is friend Kathy Herington, formerly with The Mar-Dels. The background singer is friend, Laurie Lehman, a former blues singer turned social worker. The cockatoo is Lucy, Joey's new booking agent.

Rancho Santa Fe Turkey Rescue, Sept. 13, 2009

Today when Lara, Barney, Ollie and I returned from a long hike at San Dieguito County Park, we heard cooing as we approached our van which was parked at the lower level entrance on El Camino Real. I looked up to see a brilliant white hen and tom turkey standing on the far side of the road. I saw a couple of people trying to block them from crossing the busy thoroughfare, so decided to lend a hand.





One of the Good Samaritans was Karen Carhart, a volunteer with the San Diego Humane Society, Large Animal Rescue. She called Leslie Buncher, a fellow volunteer who arrived with a cage. A passerby said she had a dog kennel we could use to house the tom temporarily. It went very smoothly with minimal stress to the birds. Leslie explained that he was transferring the couple to the humane society with the hope that their owner would claim them. If they don't, he assured us that both birds would be adopted out together since they were obviously mates, and pets. It was a great outcome. You can view a video of the birds on my other blog, Lillian's North County Notes.

Lara - The Movie

Minus 19 lbs. and Dropping

Lara's followers might remember the trouble we had on June 29, trying to get her to mount the scale at Acacia Animal Health Center. That day she weighed 100 lbs., down 2 lbs. from her starting weight.

At one point it took 3 of us to get her on the scale. Not so any more. She steps right up these days following direction from Julene, the receptionist at Acacia. Over the past 3 months, Lara and the front office staff have become quite fond of one another. The weight loss no doubt has also made her feel younger and more agile.

Dr. Harrison was pleased to report that a month after her last adjustment, Lara remains in perfect alignment except for one small part of her neck. "I expected that," he said. "Everyone goes out of alignment at some point. This happens when there is more muscle tension on one side of the neck than the other."

"This can be applied to the human condition -- muscles are being tightened and pulling vertebrae into states of tension and structural fixation," Dr. Harrison said. "This is why the adjustment of veterinary orthopedic manipulation (VOM) is so helpful because it remobilizes that joint system for better movement and nerve coordination between the brain and the body."

Feeling happy and fit, Lara will return for a follow-up appointment in a month.

Lara & Friends Are Treated to Dowsing and a Dose of Mono-Atomic Minerals

Lara's first experience with dowsing at Sunnybrook Farm Holistic Pet Care July 11 was so fascinating that I asked practitioner Rebekah Peterson if I could bring my cockatoo, Lucy, and my nephew's ferret, Dezi, for a reading.

In dowsing, also called divining, a pendulum is used as an antenna that receives information from the vibrations and energy waves emitted by the animal -- whether it is a bird, ferret or human. This is done after simple questions are posed by the practitioner. Rebekah cautioned that she can't say for sure if these are issues belonging to the animal, or its guardian. "Animals mirror who we are," she said.

Apparently, Lucy's path is to see God in others and to accept an outer teacher, Rebekah said. Lucy could benefit from bananas, a homeopathic form of echinacea and the color violet (color therapy).

Dezi, Rebekah advised, needs to eat less. He will also benefit from the healing effects of umeboshi plums.

Bach flower remedies were developed in the 1930s by English physician and homeopath Edward Bach. A small amount of flower material is diluted in a solution of 50:50 water and brandy. It is thought that the energetic nature of the flowers can be transmitted to the user to treat conditions such as depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress. Dezi's guardian, Joey, had been out of town for several weeks which could have caused some or all of these problems. Rebekah gave Joey a sample of oak, elm and mustard essence with which to treat Dezi. She also suggested that Dezi learn to let go. "The easier it will be for both of you," she added.

Lara was happy to see her friend, Rebekah, again and was eager to lie down and begin treatment. Rebekah advised that Lara needs to resolve problems and set limits. There are insufficient demands on her emotions and she needs to love herself. Lara could benefit from jasmine (aromatherappy) and black and brown (color therapy).

Rebekah sent me home with a gift of Mono-Atomic Minerals, organic supplements manufactured by Eleven Elements.

Later I spoke with Dominique Brutsche to inquire how the product could benefit Barney, the St. Bernard I am fostering who was infested with maggots and was grossly underweight when he arrived.

She started by explaining that the product not only has key vitamins, but more than 80 minerals and trace minerals.



"Vitamins work much better with a host of minerals to support them. Nothing in the body works alone, each element is connected," she said.

"If Barney is 50 pounds under weight, he is most likely deficient in many things, not just iron, so a host of different vitamins and minerals will be very beneficial. The Mono-Atomic Minerals are easily absorbed by the cells, so they can be utilized immediately, it will also allow the nutrients from Barney’s food to be absorbed and utilized more fully. The high concentrations of fulvic acid are largely responsible, allowing nutrients to be absorbed into itself and passing through the cell membranes quickly and easily, so the body can utilize them. Research shows that fulvic acid is one of the most powerful antioxidants and free radical scavengers in the world, it enhances enzyme development and function, restores and helps maintain a healthy mineral balance in the body, oxygenates the blood, boosts immune function and increases the assimilation of all other nutrients so healthy cells, tissues and organs can be created throughout the body.

"The formula also supports all of the metabolic processes in the body with enzymes, amino acids and all of the B vitamins as well as vitamin C. The B complex vitamins help support neuro function and are essential to running the body. Vitamin C is crucial to boosting the immune system, building healthy muscles and joints, and keeping his skin healthy. Dogs do produce some vitamin C, however not enough to support them during times of stress. Most other animals increase vitamin C production during times of stress but dogs (and cats) do not. Therefore, they need to be supplemented with it.

"Another component of the Mono-Atomic minerals is silver. Silver has been used for thousands of years as a natural anti-biotic and anti-parasitic. It helps to boost the body’s immune system, so Barney can fend off those unwanted fleas & maggots without killing off the good bacteria. After the heavy duty antibiotics Barney is taking, I suggest building his beneficial bacteria up again. There are some probiotics in the Mono-Atomic Minerals, but after such infestation and then heavy antibiotics it is clear that his immune system is very compromised, and he may need an extra boost."

Dominique suggested other products manufactured by the company. For more information visit: www.eleven-elements.com or call (866) 376-0008. You can also email: questions@eleven-elements.com.