Some cats at twenty years are just hitting their stride at holistic sanctuary

Frazier

You could easily say that Frazier beat the odds. When this  long-haired tabby died, he was 34 years old, an exceptional age for a cat by conventional feline standards. A cat that suffered for four years from an aggressive face cancer, Frazier fought death many times, according to Gail Pope, founder of BrightHaven, the sanctuary in Santa Rosa, Calif., where he lived. In his last hours, Frazier died peacefully in Pope’s arms, ever the master of his own destiny.

While Frazier’s longevity was undoubtedly surprising to many, it was not to Pope. At BrightHaven, a nonprofit organization, which Pope and her husband Richard founded 15 years ago to care for senior and special needs animals, many of their beloved animal ‘family members’ live to an age far beyond what we expect for most cats and dogs. Another cat, Beauregard, was 28 when he passed.

Ask Pope what she attributes to such longevity and she explains that BrightHaven is not a conventional sanctuary. It is a healing arts center and hospice based on a philosophy that includes natural feeding, holistic treatment and modern medicine, not to mention an exceedingly large amount of love and respect for each being. It's a recipe for care that took many years of study to perfect, including allowing the animal family members to educate their human counterparts about what they need both in this life and to peacefully move onto the next.

Today the BrightHaven family includes about 30 family members, mostly cats but also dogs, horses, geese, chickens, goats and an 800-pound pig named Harley. All the animals live out their lives in the sanctuary’s peaceful environment, free to roam indoors or outside in the enclosed gardens.
 

Beau

Finding Her Calling
As Pope explains, her path to BrightHaven was not direct. Transplanted from the UK to Southern California when her husband’s job moved the family there, and not feeling fulfilled in her work with the airlines and also the entertainment industry, Pope was restless for something more meaningful. One day she and her daughter visited a cat sanctuary where 100 cats lived. On the ride home, she knew she wanted to build her own sanctuary.

In 1989, Pope established Cats Are People Too; she changed the name to BrightHaven in 1993. During this time, she also went to work for a veterinarian for three years to learn about medicine so she would be able to minister to her own animals. Subsequently, the family and BrightHaven relocated to Northern California in 2000.

Richard and Gail Pope and Joey

A Holistic Approach
Pope says that her quest for an alternative way to care for the animals grew out of her own confusion over the failure of modern medicine – the best available – to prolong their lives. Pope began exploring a more natural way to care for her family both in terms of diet and medicine.

Based on the fact that cats and dogs are carnivores and if in the wild would be living off of other living creatures, Pope switched from commercial pet foods to feeding her animals primarily raw meat balanced with a small amount of vegetables and added supplementation and essential fatty acids (EFA). “We started to see shining fur and gleaming eyes and so much more energy – and this from cats into their 20s,” she says.

Soon after, the Popes experienced firsthand the healing powers of classical veterinary homeopathy when Christina Chambreau, DVM, treated one of their cats, Cindy, who was just hours away from death. Cindy lived on to tell her tale. Dr Chambreau then recruited many other veterinary homeopaths to help the Popes in their quest for the wellness and balance of the BrightHaven animals. The Popes became inspired to explore world of energy healing, and soon added animal Reiki, flower essences, T-Touch, chiropractic, acupuncture and much more to their daily regimen of care.

Drugs soon almost disappeared from BrightHaven. Pope says, “We don’t use conventional medicine very much these days other than diagnostically and in supportive therapy, such as subcutaneous fluid administration to support hydration, and always in the case of an emergency. There is nothing finer. We prefer to work with holistic medicine, which treats the entire body. We believe the body produces symptoms as clues of its ‘out of balance state’ and can often heal itself given the right stimulation. With that in mind we do not strive to palliate symptoms but utilize them to help towards healing the body, mind and soul.

“Euthanasia is a difficult subject," she continues. "We rarely euthanize our animals, all of which have shown us that they know when it’s time to leave. As they begin the dying process, the other animals and we are with them until they pass on. Of course, they are well supported by holistic care and with a classical veterinary homeopath on call all the time.”

A Learning Center
Pope’s work with the natural diet and medicine has not been lost on the traditional as well as holistic veterinarian communities. She speaks at veterinary medical conferences and has been a frequent guest on animal radio programs. She has written articles and guidebooks, including “As Time Goes By” about the secrets for caring for aged animals and “Into the Light,” which explains about hospice care for a pet. Both are available for purchase.

As we are learning more about alternative diet and healthcare for our companion animals, BrightHaven is helping to instruct and provide guidance in these areas. You can find out more about BrightHaven at http://www.brighthaven.org/index2.html.