Kindred Tales | Lilo and Samba | Holistic Vet Nurse
Lilo is a Norwegian veterinary nurse living in London. Her dedication to holistic health combined with her long experience and excellent nurturing and caring skills, gets her patients back to their healthy equilibrium. Her journey began in 2009 when her puppy Samba suffered with poor health, after months of working with a holistic vet Samba was free from his issues and Lilo decided she needed to learn more about this natural approach and become a Vet Nurse, laser therapist and nutritionist.
Her overall aim is to improve your dog’s health, wellness and happiness, through an holistic approach aligned with knowledge & cutting edge technologies tailored for your dog’s need.
Tell us a bit about your work and what inspired you to become a vet nurse?
My journey started already in 2009 when I got Samba as a puppy, he suffered with poor health and immune system. He had chronic ear inflammation, nail root inflammation and just generally poor health. After seeing a number of vets who couldn’t help - I finally met a holistic Vet who helped me treating the root cause and change his diet. After months of working with this vet Samba was free from the inflammations. I was convinced I needed to learn more about this, and have since then become a Vet Nurse, laser therapist and nutritionist.
Why is a holistic approach so important to a dogs wellness?
I believe in the philosophy that ‘well-being’ is a state that affects our body and mind, and that in order to be well – to be happy and healthy – we need to nurture the two in tandem. This is just as important for us as it is for our dogs. A holistic approach is a way of working with nature, rather than against it. To use food as medicine. My aim is for our dogs to be happy and healthy, and with tools like nutrition and laser therapy – we can support our dogs to build the strongest foundation possible.
We see the same lifestyle related illnesses in our dogs, as for us humans. Studies has shown that choosing real foods, not processed ‘food like’ products is key to nourishing the body´s tiny workers (the cells), this way we give them the tools they need to repair, strengthen, support, clean and do all their daily duties to maintain a strong immune system for optimal health and well-being.
Not to forget: Happy gut; happy mind. There’s a strong and proven link between the foods we eat and our happiness. The gut is where 90 per cent of the serotonin, the ‘feel-good hormone,’ is found. Serotonin affects how your dog feel, act and sleep, as well as depression and anxiety are all associated with altered serotonin levels. It is believed that the gut bacteria can both, directly and indirectly, influence these levels, so choosing to feed your dogs gut real foods, not processed ‘food like’ products is a great way to begin nourishing the microbes that help regulate our serotonin
Tell us about Sumba and how he came into your life.
Samba came into my life when he was 9 weeks old, from a breeder in the mountains of Norway. He was the gentlest and best-behaved puppy I’ve ever met. He slept through the nights and was housetrained almost immediately. He was such a blessing, and has been by my side through ups and downs for almost 12years now (his birthday is on 31st January). I like to believe he came into my life to show me my path! I’ve learned so much from him, he has brought me so much love and happiness. Its easy to say I’m so grateful having him in my life, and I’ll do everything I can to keep him as healthy and happy for as long as possible!
How does having a dog fit into your general working day?
I’m lucky as I work a lot from home, so then we can spend the day together and go on nice walks during the day, the days I’m seeing clients he is happy being home alone. Generally, I try to take him with me as much as possible, as I know that’s what makes him happy and it gives me less guilt of leaving him home alone (even though he’s perfectly fine and calm at home). Bringing him with me is such a pleasure as he’s so calm and falls asleep on my lap or in his bag easily.
When you’re not working where do you like to head out to with the dog?
I love Battersea park, we go there almost daily. I wish I was better at getting out of London, as we both love long walks within nature.
What essentials do you always have on you when heading out for a dog walk, and what do you carry them in?
When I’m going on walks I prefer to bring as little as possible, I don’t want to carry around on heavy unnecessary things. So I stick with keys, wallet, leash and poop bags, perhaps some treats - preferably in my pocket or a small purse.
