I Found Out What My Dog Is Allergic To With Pet Medella’s Bioenergetic Scan

It might surprise you to learn that I recently had Missy scanned for allergies and environmental sensitivities using her DNA. After all, I constantly brag about my little cancer survivor’s excellent health, right? So why question it? 

Well, for one I was naturally curious to find out what the scan results would be, but I was also intrigued by the holistic nature of the test. I mean, I DID incorporate many lifestyle changes following the cancer scare, the most important one being the switch from feeding kibble to a raw diet. However, I had yet to seek advice from a holistic practitioner such as PetMedella, so I was glad that we were presented with this opportunity.

Who Is PetMedella?

PetMedella is headquartered in St. Paul, MN and was founded by Samantha Stupak. Samantha first developed a system of identifying major stresses in humans using BioEnergetic testing of hair and saliva, and founded Balanced Health.

She did so after having battled Lyme Disease for four years and learned about the importance of a holistic approach to health. The company has over 60 years of natural health experience between its technicians, coaches, and practitioners, and recently expanded into scanning pets using the same BioEnergetic approach – PetMedella was born!

Disclaimer: PetMedella provided us with a free Wellness Kit in return for an honest review. Here on K9sOverCoffee, I only share information I feel is relevant to my readers & always provide 100% honest reviews. PetMedella is not responsible for the content of this blog post.

Here’s what the process looked like:

1. We received the wellness kit in the mail
2. Missy went online to www.petmedella.com/mypet and answered a series of questions regarding her current health
3. We collected a hair and saliva sample from Missy and mailed it back to PetMedella
4. A few days later we received an email with a link to our results
5. We had a follow-up phone consultation with a PetMedella practitioner to review the results 

1. Our Wellness Kit

The Wellness Kit we received in the mail consisted of a sterile saliva collection swab, a ziplock baggie to collect a hair sample, an ID card, and a pre-labeled & stamped return bubble mailer.

2. Answering Our Kit Questions Online

Once we had checked out the contents of the wellness kit, we went online to www.petmedella.com and answered the following questions about Missy’s current health:

• Is your pet aggressive towards other animals or people? Describe 
• Does your pet show any unusual behavior? 
• Where did you get your pet? How old were they at the time? 
• Is your pet on any diets? What is your pet eating and how often? 
• Does your pet get ‘people’ food? Do they get regular treats? Describe
• Known food intolerances? 
• Number of bowel movements per day

• • Describe your top concerns and when they started
  • List any vaccinations your pet has received
  • List any allergies your pet has
  • List any illnesses or surgeries your pet has had
  • List all current medications or supplements being taken

After answering those questions, we had to come up with a password and agree to PetMedella’s terms of service. They essentially state that we understand that PetMedella’s employees aren’t veterinarians.

We were then emailed a confirmation with our unique ID number which we wrote down on the ID card included in the Wellness Kit. 

3. Collecting Missy’s Hair & Saliva Samples

Next up was the active, fun part – the hair & saliva collection. Missy thoroughly enjoyed getting brushed for her hair sample and willingly let Mommy poke around her cheeks and under her tongue to collect the saliva sample.

4. Our Report Results Were Ready A Few Days Later

We snail mailed the samples back to PetMedella and received an email notification just a few days later stating that the results of Missy’s hair & saliva analysis were ready to be viewed. We hopped online and logged into our unique dashboard where we found Missy’s detailed report.

I have to admit that at first, those results left me dumbfounded. After all, Missy’s teeth are super clean and her skin is glossy & shiny, both of which I attribute to the raw food diet she’s been on for the past two years. Just an FYI: She’s never needed a dental cleaning and her 6th birthday is coming up.

5. Phone Consultation With PetMedella Practitioner Rochelle

After thinking about it for a moment and talking it over with Rochelle, a PetMedella practitioner, I realized that Missy’s thyroid cancer treatment must have impacted those areas of her body that came up as being stressed.

She had her last chemotherapy treatment over two years ago in March of 2015, yet despite that time span, the toxic cocktail she was injected with apparently continued to haunt her, albeit invisible to the human eye. Now THAT was quite the epiphany for me.

I ended up being on the phone with Rochelle for about 20 minutes. Besides walking me through Missy’s report, she also suggested a homeopathic remedy called Lympho Code to rebuild Missy’s lymphatic system. I haven’t bought it just yet, but will do so in the near future. The cost is affordable with a $26 price tag.

Any Cons?

There’s only one con I can think of, and that would be the $150 price tag of the Wellness Kit, especially in a multi-pet household.

I do, however, believe that investing into health always makes a lot of sense and that the return on this particular investment is a good one. Missy’s test results are the prime example – I didn’t realize she had any sensitivities or stressors until the results of her scan came back.

Bottom Line

I found this bioenergetic scan to be fun and educational. I was particularly interested in the results as Missy had just aced her annual wellness checkup at our traditional vet’s. The checkup included a full body exam, test for heartworms and other intestinal parasites, lyme & ehrlichia test, as well as a CBC (complete blood count). It wasn’t, however, conducted by a holistic veterinarian or nutritionist. 

Thanks to PetMedella, I now know that Missy doesn’t do well with lamb, pheasant, margarine, cow milk & cheese mixes, that she’s sensitive to bleach, ammonia, lawn chemicals, mold, & cigarettes AND that her sinuses, teeth/jaw drainage, and skin are experiencing some sort of stress.

Over the course of the last two years she has only been exposed to lamb for a duration of about two weeks when she taste-tested new raw food from Darwin’s Natural Pet who we order from on a monthly basis.

I didn’t notice any obvious intolerances like diarrhea or throwing up, so maybe she’d only be visibly affected if she ate nothing but lamb. I’m not sure, but I made a mental note not to purchase lamb on a regular basis. 

As far as her environmental sensitivities are concerned, she’s safe here with me 😉 I don’t smoke (used to but quit cold turkey seven years ago) and never use bleach and/or any harsh cleaning products containing ammonia, and I also don’t treat our lawn with any chemicals.

P.S. Analyzing My Own Human Health

As mentioned above, PetMedella also has a human side of the business and identifies major stresses in humans using the same system of scanning hair & saliva samples as demonstrated in Missy.

I plan to get an analysis of MY very own health (human scans cost $195). While I don’t suffer from a chronic illness (that I know of!), I have noticed that my body does better on some foods than on others.

I did, for example, notice that I feel much better after having eliminated milk with cereal and (greek) yogurt from my life. I used to love both, but always felt horribly bloated after consuming them.

So I’m essentially curious to find out what other foods I may want to eliminate from/introduce to my diet. Stay tuned – I feel a blog post about my own health coming up 😉