My First Experiment!

My little angel Chimi (a 10lb. Chihuahua who literally makes me so happy, I can barely stand it) has had a hotspot on her front left paw for months.  I keep treating it with foams and bandages and Animax but somehow nothing seems to work.  So while I've begun research on all these herbs and plants and their medicinal qualities I ran across Aloe.

Chimichanga

Now, I originally come from Florida so I know A LOT about sunburns and Aloe.  In fact, I can't remember going to house in Florida that didn't have an aloe plant in a pot somewhere on the property or growing in the yard.  With that said, I began to read a little deeper about this magic succulent.  Aloe does wonders for the skin- taken both internally and externally.  It soothes and heals- which is what Chimi needed.

Chimi's hotspot!

First, I looked up on the ASPCA website and they have it listed as toxic- other sites have it listed as ok... I was stressed.  In the last moment of my hesitation I noticed on the hotspot foam for dogs that it was made of Tea Tree Oil and... ding, ding, ding- ALOE!  So, I have figured if it can be added to an over the counter medicine for dogs than it must be at least externally non-toxic. I had no intention of letting her eat it to begin with- mostly because I don't want her to devour my aloe plant.

I took a breath and decided that if she acted sick at any point I would discontinue immediately.  I put some fresh squeezed aloe from the leaf right on her hotspot and to my delight she didn't seem to mind at all. (I just bought my lovely little plant from the market- I have named him Edward.)  I was so thrilled!  To boot, the next morning all the redness was GONE.  I've been treating this for months and never once did it lose it's redness- not with a tea bag, or antibiotics, or cortisone, or hotspot foam! (Though the teabag did ease the irritation and seemed to be soothing to her- she would also lick it and then have... digestive issues.)  I am so pleased with this experiment that I may have to make Aloe the herb of the week next week! Woot!

Edward... my Aloe plant

I will post a photo of Edward the Aloe Plant as soon as I take one.