Welcome to Joyfully Healthy Pets

I am a Small Animal Naturopath, which is different from a Veterinarian.   I educate people about the 8 Laws of Nature and how they impact the health of their animals, and I love working with people so they can have vibrant health for their animals and in turn for themselves.

I am so happy that you have joined me on this journey I have begun. My name is Joy Eriksen and I am a Certified Small Animal Naturopath. My passion is helping people with their companion animals. Keeping them healthy and vibrant for a long and happy life.

I thought in this first post, I would talk a little about who I am. I have been around animals all my life. I was born in rural Pennsylvania and was exposed to many animals, including farm animals. But for me, it has always been dogs. When I was nineteen, I trained my first dog in obedience. “Gypsy” was a natural at it. Sadly I lost her to a spinal injury when she was only four years old. Five years later I trained my first English Springer Spaniel, “Trixie”, for AKC obedience competition. I put a UD title on her and she had two High In Trial wins. The summer she was four years old, she was ranked number 4 in the country in obedience for Springer Spaniels. A few years later I trained and showed my first Golden Retriever, “Rontu”, putting a CD on him.

It was at this time that I became a State Humane Officer and I went to work for my Local Humane Society. About a year later I started working for one of the most progressive Humane Societies in my state of California. I worked there as one of their Animal Control Officers for several years. Then In 2005 I was diagnosed with an auto immune disease and my life’s journey took an abrupt turn. My doctor treated me with diet and supplements. I dove into nutrition and health and by 2008 I was declared to be in remission. I was hooked, I studied all I could on nutrition. I joined the Weston A Price Foundation and attended several of their conferences.

However, it took until 2011 and the death from cancer of my Golden, “Josephine” , to connect the dots for my dogs. A friend told me about raw feeding. I was skeptical , no, I was terrified, at first. At the time I also had an eight year old English Springer Spaniel who was a seizure dog and on high doses of two medications. I started feeding him raw and saw an immediate improvement. His seizures stopped and with the help of my vet, I was able to drop his meds to about 1/8 of his original doses. He lived another three years with no seizures. Unfortunately, the high doses of meds damaged his heart and it failed him at 11 years of age.

I dove into raw feeding and health for my animals. I learned in the trenches how to feed this “new” way. Eight months after losing Josephine, I brought home a ten week Golden Puppy named “Harriet”. I started her on raw her first meal home. When Harriet was three, I brought home an 11 week old English Springer Spaniel who I named “Dottie”. Dottie was from a Naturally Rearing Breeder and was weaned to raw. both these dogs are incredibly healthy.

I was determined to learn as much as I could and enrolled with The American Council of Animal Naturopathy in their small animal program. In December of 2018, I became a Certified Small Animal Naturopath. Now I have the pleasure of working with owners to educate them on proper feeding, lifestyle for their pets, and a little training thrown in for good measure.

I am by no means done learning. I am always studying, reading and furthering my knowledge of raw feeding and Naturopathy. So please join me as we learn together.