This Woman's A Natural, And You Won't Forget Her

She has that little-girl twinkle in her eyes yet speaks with the charismatic wisdom of a legend.

An octogenarian, Juliette de Bairacli Levy has written 18 books (her first, a volume of fiction, "Look! The Wild Swans," at age 17), on natural care for man and animal, and earned a worldwide reputation for excellence with her Turkuman Afghan hounds.

As well as being a botanist and passionate herbalist, de Bairacli Levy is an anthologist of gypsy lore and the subject of a documentary film, "Juliette of the Herbs," in production.

Veterinarians and pet-food manufacturers cringe when they hear her name, since she is an advocate of natural diet - "the general feeding rule for dogs is small amounts of highly concentrated foods, for which raw meat is one of the foremost" - and believes "vaccination has an insidious effect on general canine health." In fact, she adds, "I read somewhere that a vaccination will last as long as a treaty between the Israelis and Arabs."

Unblemished record

"In over 60 years, I have never lost one of my hounds from illness," she beamed during a recent Seattle visit.

A resident of Faial Island in the Azores, this charmer has concocted herbal treatments that have saved the lives of countless animals in crises, plus devised ("the medicine of mankind as acclaimed in the Bible") numerous Natural Rearing herbal products, which are distributed worldwide.

Born in 1912 in Manchester, England, she was reared in a wealthy family with butlers, nannies, chauffeurs, governesses and gardeners and educated in the best schools.

But she learned quickly wealth can't buy happiness. At age 4, after the "horrific death" of her beloved puppy, Juliette vowed to become a veterinarian and help relieve suffering for others' pets.

But a crook in the philosophical road emerged in the early 1930s, and she left veterinary school after three years in disgust over vivisection practices and frustrated because she was not being taught how to heal.

An awakening

"One of the instructors asked me to inject an animal with a hypodermic needle and I just couldn't do it. It was like a reawakening. I recognized I couldn't be the kind of veterinarian they wanted me to be.

"Those needles are evil. Anything foreign pushed into the blood stream is a shock to the immune system. It doesn't allow the body's natural protective resources to do their job.

"I knew there had to be a better way to heal," de Bairacli Levy , a vegetarian since 18, says. So she took to the fields and befriended nomadic and peasant people close to nature.

She smiles proudly while recollecting how her herbal concoctions saved the lives of thousands of sheep suffering from black scour in England decades ago. Then there was the farmer's border collie dying of distemper. "The farmer was crying, telling me how veterinarians told him nothing could be done for the dog. I asked if he'd be willing to let me try something and he agreed."

A combination of offerings of honey and water several times daily, plus crushed garlic three times a day helped cure the animal within a short time.

"The gypsies taught me that garlic is about all you need to be healthy. They eat it raw and seldom get sick." In lieu of immunizations, de Bairacli Levy says a garlic and wormwood pill compound mixed with grated or ground almonds have kept her animals free of rabies, feline leukemia and feline AIDS.

"Years ago, I discovered in the Balearic Islands that these herbs had a remarkable protective quality. The wise animals seemed to prefer bitters and wild garlic and never became ill."

In her "The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat," de Bairacli Levy, says, "As to the value of herbs - why should they possess the wonderful curative properties that I claim for them? The answer can be summed up in one sentence: They, the herbs, are manufactured by nature, whereas drugs are manufactured by man. Now thinking people cannot deny that, try as he may, man cannot improve upon, or even hope ever to equal, the miraculous creations of nature."

The back-to-nature movement requires an owner commitment, admits de Bairacli Levy.

Easy way out

With our chaotic lifestyles it's easy to choose the commercial route, admits Kerry Fuizzotti, a de Bairacli Levy disciple who will be teaching natural pet-food classes at Puget Consumers Coop, Sept. 15 and 21 and Oct. 5 and 13; All the Best Pet Care, 8050 Lake City Way N.E., Sept. 25; and University of Washington Experimental College, Oct. 19 and Nov. 16.

She feeds her two chows a mix of bulk organic oats, organic or natural meat and organic herbs and vegetables. Five nights weekly the dogs are fed chunks of raw meat, usually beef.

"The biggest misconception people have is that the preparation requires a kitchen full of pans and several hours. Once they see in class how few supplies and little time it takes to get a week's meals together, I've broken a psychological barrier. Our time is valuable but eventually it becomes a matter of prioritizing our pet's health.

Following de Bairacli Levy's recommendations, once monthly the dogs fast completely with nothing but water.

"In their natural environment, carnivornres rarely eat every day," she adds. "This allows their bodies to shift gears and cleanse themselves rather than digest."

Fuizzotti concluded, "Juliette is an amazing person. What many people tend to complicate, she's able to simplify by using common sense. She has an enormous respect for all life, yet is willing to call a spade a spade when she's convinced a product might affect a creature's well being.

Bird fair

Sally Blanchard, an avian behavior consultant, is one of several speakers scheduled to address the Pet Bird Club's educational fair Saturday at the Holiday Inn, 101 128th, in Everett.

Blanchard has spent more than two decades working with pet birds and is the author of numerous magazine articles on the subject. Five area avian veterinarians will discuss basic health care, diet and treatment of assorted ailments.

Birds of prey

Sarvey Regional Wildlife Care Center near Arlington will operate an educational booth featuring live birds of prey. Numerous vendors will be selling the latest in avian supplies.

General admission is $5 per person. Blanchard's lecture is $25, which includes the admission fee. Show hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Grief group

If you're grieving over the recent loss of a beloved pet to an illness or an accident, consider attending a Pet Loss Support session at the Seattle-King County Humane Society.

Meetings are held every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the facility's library, located on the second floor of the shelter's Education Center, 13212 S.E. Eastgate Way, Bellevue.

While it is normal to grieve over the loss of a family member, those mourning a deceased pet often receive little or no support from close friends and co-workers, often being told it "was only a pet" or "just get another one."