AT first glance Dave Smith seems like any other pet shop owner, but behind the unassuming exterior is a man who devotes much of his time to helping animals that suffer from a variety of ailments particularly skin, digestive and hyperactivity problems. He looks at what they are eating, combined with their ailment, then finds a dietary solution, involving foods which are free, as far as possible, from colourings and additives. Nothing unusual in that, you might think. But what makes Dave Smith different is that he combines finding dietary solutions with dowsing, or crystal pendulum. This involves moving the pendulum over the animal's fur, and depending on how it moves, he matches the animal's fur to the foods or remedies in front of him. For him, the dowsing is merely a tool which helps him decide the suitability of a particular food for the pet he is treating. “A lot of what I do is done by sight, feeling the coat, its general condition and an instinct of what direction to go in and the dowsing just backs that up,” he says. “I also talk to the owners, but the most important thing is to consider whether an animal needs to be seen by a vet.”
Starting young
He revealed that as a boy he spent a lot of his time with the local gypsies, rather than going to school at times, saying that he learned a great deal from them. “They have a different instinct for how animals are and how they feel,” he said. He also believes that he has always had his dowsing ability, although it wasn't until 15 years ago, when an elderly dowser and healer recognised his potential and encouraged him to use it. Dowsing is considered by some to be “weird stuff”, and some people who bring their pets to see Dave aren't too sure what to expect. But once the owners see a transformation in their pet, they quickly become converts. One client, Clair Pengilly, commented: “My husband was rather sceptical at first when we took our dog, Ringo, to see Dave. We had spent over £3,000 on vet bills, with the dog no better and the vets with no real idea of what was wrong. We had been told we could do another course of treatment, or put Ringo down. Dave saw Ringo, saying it was a gluten allergy, gave advice on what diet he should have, and within 24 hours Ringo was a different dog. If it wasn't for Dave, Ringo would have been put down years before it was necessary.”
Everything in moderation
Dave fervently believes that we are what we eat, and it is the same with animals; that nowadays we have lost a lot of what was handed down by the older generations, from homeopathic remedies to what we eat, keeping it simple and everything in moderation. Over the past 20 years the pet food industry has changed dramatically, and there has been a swathe of specialist diets flooding the market, channelling many dog foods down one path, although all dogs don't have the same needs. Dave said: “You have working dogs, big dogs, small dogs and so on, and they each have dietary needs. Working dogs eat different foods to pet dogs, as pet dogs cannot handle the power of the working food as it has too much energy, which is needed to be burnt off. And because of this, over the years dogs have developed allergies and intolerances; intolerances to red meat, white meat, maize, wheat and rice, which are then treated with medication, when all that is needed is a change of diet.”
Furry Clients
But it appears that the best thing that has happened to the pet trade in the past couple of years is what Dave calls the 'Jamie Oliver effect', with people becoming more aware of what they are eating and what they are feeding their pets. With many people considering their pet to be the most important member of the family, they want them to have the best possible diet, which is a healthy diet. As well as the furry clients he has in Dorset, he helps cats and dogs all over the UK, his client list growing by word of mouth. He even helps dogs in France, the USA and Australia, with clippings of their animal fur sent by post for his opinion. However, it all boils down to being something very simple for Dave, who generously doesn't charge for his dowsing: “For me, the best part of my job is helping animals - it's my fix.”
Jane Norman, Blackmore Vale Magazine
Picture caption: Dave Smith with Clair Pengilly and her Labrador puppy Bosworth.
Dave Smith, Dorset's dog whisperer