Wellness Story: Phoenix & Chelsea

Phoenix and Chelsea

Dr. Lori Blankenship has been caring for the four-legged members of my family for more than four years, and I often wonder what we did without her. We began seeing her when Phoenix, my 11-year-old Weimaraner, began to have problems in his rear legs.

I was fairly new to Culpeper at the time and visited a conventional medicine veterinarian in the area, who said Phoenix had arthritis in his hind quarters. I was told to give him regular aspirin to ease the pain. That seemed to work for about two weeks, after which he collapsed again.

I returned to the same clinic, where I was given a prescription medication and advised that I might want to consider euthanasia in the near future. Needless to say I was not ready to give up on Phoenix and he wasn’t ready to give up either.

Fortune was right around the corner. I found Dr. Blankenship listed in the Holistic Veterinarian Association. She was not willing to give up on Phoenix either. With a regiment of herbs and acupuncture, he thrived until his passing at age 13. I truly know he would not have been in my life those extra two years without her care and compassion.

My 11-year-old Weimaraner, Chelsea, whom I adopted when she was 4, came to me with itchy, patchy, flakey skin. The fur around her ears was almost absent and her ear canals would fill up with a waxy discharge. Conventional veterinary medicine did little to alleviate any of these conditions.

Thanks to Dr. Blankenship, Chelsea has no bare patches today. Her skin is finally healthy and the waxy discharge is nothing more than a bad memory. Dr. Blankenship treated her with Chinese herbs. What all the prior prescription medications couldn’t do, the combination of herbs accomplished. This is not because a miracle occurred, but because of the knowledge, hard work, dedication and caring of one special doctor, Lori Blankenship, DVM.

If you want a veterinarian who will spend more than 10 minutes with you and your beloved pet and won’t quit until she finds the right treatment for the condition afflicting your friend, I highly recommend you make an appointment with Dr. Blankenship. I am quite certain you won’t find disappointment, just an answer. I always have.

— Tracy | Culpeper, Va.