Magic Potions and Dogs

Hello! My name is Hazel, and I am a miniature schnauzer. I came to Minnesota from Texas. I love to go outside, but it is hard to do when winter hits! I do love the summers and falls here. Summers don’t get as hot here, and fall has pretty colors. These past two years have been quiet. We don’t go out as much, so winters are the hardest.

My breed came from Germany, where we work on German farms. Our job is to detect and catch rodents. I have around 300 million olfactory receptors, and a significant portion of my brain works to detect and analyze in parts per trillion. I also separate nasal air passages; one is for smelling, the other for breathing. The inner lining of my nose produces mucus that keeps my nostrils lubricated. When I inhale, the mucus traps scent particles, and I absorb them.

           We train two types of medical alert dogs and bio-detection dogs. We train using clickers and reward-based methods, which fine-tune the dog’s brain. It is excellent for a dog to do this, although I train the people instead of them training me. For instance, I would go under the dining room table when they were trying to create me. They just let me go, and when they got home, everything was excellent! I trained them so that they would get some exercise. When I needed to go out, I would sit in the dining room after they opened both doors, and I would make them chase me outside. 

         Now that you know how our noses work, we will discuss what we can detect. We can detect all types of cancer, diabetes, migraines, seizures, and Parkinson’s disease. I know firsthand about Parkinson’s as one of my owners has the disease. Every time she gets out of her chair, I get out of bed and move away from her.

         Magic potions are also known as an elixir, magic bullet, sovereign remedy, elixir vitae, magic formula, and quack medicine. Magical potions have been part of folklore for thousands of years. Hazel liked the story George’s Marvelous Medicine. This story takes place when George stays with his witchlike grandmother. He remembers to give his grandmother her medicine, but He makes a unique recipe using various household items. When she drank the mixture, she disappeared.

         Hazel was also fascinated by the transforming potion developed by Dr. Henry Jekyll, which allowed him to separate the good and evil aspects of his personality. He was thereby able at will to change into his increasingly dominant evil counterpart, Mr. Hyde.

         Wise Women or “witches” made healing potions for everyday people. These wise women made it their lives to medicinal potion-making because they were outcasts from society. Medicines were produced using herbs, spices, and resins. Some plants were used for specific disorders, while others cured multiple diseases. In many cases, preparations were made of many different herbs. Potions did have a magical element; medieval herbalists would chant over their herbal tinctures and then give them to the patient. The magic essence in potions was the words uttered over them and the magical qualities of the life within the plant itself.

.          Monks also made herbal cures called ‘blessings.’ The monks would make the sign of the cross over the herbs. The blessing invoked the name of various angels. The blessing stopped when the church said it conflicted with the doctrine of the medieval church. However, by the 13^th century, priests were asked to stop putting these spells.

         Hazel was somewhat surprised that herbal medicine is still around today. Herbalists, chiropractors, naturopathic physicians, pharmacists, medical doctors, and practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine all may use herbs to treat illness. They train in post-graduate institutions that combine courses in conventional medical science with clinical training in herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, and lifestyle counseling.

         If they are used right, they can treat conditions such: as allergies, asthma, eczema, premenstrual syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine, menopausal symptoms, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, and cancer. They are available in most stores in different forms, such as teas, syrups, oils, liquid extracts, tinctures, and dry extracts.

         Hazel was not surprised to find that herbal plants are used as potential therapeutic agents against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. About 4.16 million people have died from covid, and some essential herbals helping with this fight are in this link. Herbals VS Covid-19.

         Hazel was amazed at how magic potions had developed over the years and became essential to our world today. Starting with Dr. Henry Jekyll’s transforming potion, which helped them go from good to bad. It was also impressive to see how the European witch-hunting area influenced modern medicine. During this time, people who could not afford to go to a doctor relied on midwives.

         When medicine started to be regulated, around 1200 women were barred from formal medical training at universities. The ones who still practiced medicine were labeled as witches. The Quechua people of Peru gave us quinine for malaria. Also, the Chinese gave us ephedrine for asthma.

         She was excited that all dogs, including Schnauzers, could detect many illnesses and conditions that help save people’s lives. She also thought of the vital work that dogs do as drug detectors. One of the top dogs with this job is the Giant Schnauzer. Dogs perform many services for people; they are service dogs, emotional support dogs, therapy dogs, and last but not least, the psychiatric service dog. All of these dogs play an essential part in helping people.

         While magic potions are great tools for storytelling, it is good to see them evolve over the years and be used as an essential part of medicine. Now we have dogs to detect all types of health and stress issues that we experience. Hazel is also thankful for these potions that have helped with the corona-19 virus, which has caused so many problems for the whole world.

Hazel was happy to write this story. It allowed her to let the world know that stories about magic potions were great to read. Children love hearing them at bedtime.