Have you ever felt that there’s no more hope for you? Life is full of ups and downs, and it’s the downs that take their toll on everyone. Depression was first diagnosed a short while ago, and with that diagnosis came a wealth of information. Before this diagnosis, people who were depressed were believed to be sick. They would even go so far as to try some very unusual healing methods, often with unsuccessful results.
Depression in animals started to be diagnosed until very recent times. Animal studies had not been carried out before, and there was very little which was known on the subject. The first cases where depression was found in dogs, were the ones where their owners had passed away. Dogs that had grown up with only one owner showed the most pronounced cases of depression.
There were cases where these dogs got severely ill a brief time after their owners passed away. There were even some cases where their owners had passed away from cancer, and then the dog would develop cancer and pass away from it as well. When they analyzed the dog’s body to try to determine what was going on, they found that in fact, the dog had developed cancer out of the blue. The dog’s veterinarian commented that the German Shepperd had been a very healthy dog until then.
This case sparked interest in many experts and they started to learn more about the subject until they became dog psychologists. Dog psychologists are very common these days. Although some of them have become famous for appearing on TV, their techniques are within anyone’s reach. Dog psychologists gave way to cat psychologists and then to animal psychologists. Their field of study started broadening as more and more cases became case studies and got documented.
Soon enough, horse breeders started to use the services of these professionals. Their horses would sometimes get sick out of nowhere, and after a few days would pass away. The breeders thought that it was some sort of horse disease that wasn’t being detected by veterinarians until it was too late. But it would turn out that it was depression all along. The episode had been triggered by the death of one of the mares in the stable, and it had affected the horse.
The next case might just be related. One girl and his mother were driving one day when they decided to go off their usual route home. They drove through a clearing when they discovered something lying in the grass. They thought it might be a dog from a distance, but were stunned to find a horse! The horse was severely emaciated. Many of his bones were showing just under his skin, and he had a look in his eyes that broke their heart. The horse lifted his head and then lowered it again accepting his destiny. The girl and her mother could not let this poor horse finish his days like this. They decided to do something about it and this is their story!
