Being the naturalist that I am, I usually know where in nature to turn when I feel a little ruff. A certain rumble in my tummy tells me to chew some grass, a few licks to a hurt and I’m as good as healed.

Humans, like us animals, have always turned to nature when it comes to treating ailments. While we keep things simple: eat grass, poop out, they use more sophisticated methods: get in shiny horse, herd bottles, consume insides of bottles like treats, etc. I don’t know what’s inside those bottles, but I know those little treats don’t grow on trees by themselves! Humans, being the masters, take their grasses and leaves and make treats, drinks, and baths as remedies. I bark: whatever makes you better, friends.

As simple as I am, I know that there are some things that I can’t always fix. What I end up needing is a dose of those humanified treats/drinks/baths to help me. Take for example the time when I had an itch that I just couldn’t scratch. It was late springtime, aka flea season, and I had become a complete flea-bag. Not only could I not sleep (have you ever tried to zzz through a nocturnal 3-ring circus? I almost lost my doggie-mind), but I kept my family awake with my obsessive itching and licking. Itchyitchyitchyitchyitchy!

After one particularly mad all-nighter (imagine a burning inferno to the tune of da da dadadada da da da da on warp speed for 8 hours), my human Sage took matters into her own hands. I’m not one for baths, but my instincts told me that the bar of soap in her hand, smelling like a bad onion, was exactly what I needed. She lathered, I soaked, and I watched as hundreds of those flea-clowns jumped ship. That night all was cool and quiet on my back and front, and my itching-scratching-licking-biting was minimal. I slept like a pup.

Turns out my human (hot dog she’s smart) had used a special soap with the bug-busting herb,neem. An evergreen tree found in India, neem has been a natural pesticide and bug repellent for centuries. All parts of the tree are used: seeds, leaves, flowers, and even its bark (no pun intended). Humans use neem to treat their own pests, too (worms, pimples, and fevers). I understand that the oil and parts of neem can be made into soaps, shampoos, and even teas and treats. I myself have been the dogful recipient of Neem Soap , and since the circus came to my town I have been almost flea-free.

I could have done my doggie business until the cows came home, but I never could have evicted those critters myself. Thank dogness for Sage and her Neem Soap! It wasn’t my odor of choice – I prefer wet dog or fermenting food – but after relief like that I’ll odorize with bad onion any day. And I’ll take human help whenever I can get it!

Love, Buster