LUTZ, Fla. — Keeping your pet healthy is a priority and taking a holistic approach may be the answer to a longer happier life.
"I've helped everything...lizards, owls, possums, raccoons, chickens, geese, pigs, rabbits. I haven't helped any fish yet. Lots of birds," holistic medicine educator Angela Ardolino said.
And you'll probably see many of those animals at Fire Flake Farm, Ardolino's rescue farm in Lutz. There are even some roosters and chickens from Ybor City.
"Here on my rescue, I take a lot of senior citizen dogs with lots of problems like cancer, arthritis, seizures and I've been able to completely heal them, put cancer in remission. Completely with feeding them real food and then treating them with plants and mushroom medicine," she said.
Ardolino turned to holistic medicine 20 years ago after losing her first dog way too young.
"I found out that I put my dog's health in someone else's hands, so that kind of taught me that to take her health and all my pet's health and then my own health in my own hands," she explained.
Ardolino has studied holistic healing for years now and advocates for pet owners to learn more about it so they can help their pets live longer.
"Because a lot of times conventional medicine doesn't work for everyone, especially our pets," she said.
She says learning about holistic treatments is not a replacement for a vet, but a valuable tool.
"What happens is, you become an empowered pet parent so when you do go to the vet, you know what to ask for. You know what you're looking for. So it's really about education," Ardolino said. "I think the biggest blessing for me was to learn when you have to go to the vet and when you don't have to go to the vet."
"It's just a beautiful thing to watch these animals heal naturally," she added.
There's an event this Saturday in Oldsmar where Ardolino is teaming up with world-renowned holistic veterinarian, Dr. Judy Morgan. To learn more about the event, click here.