Back to the future with DOGGED determination
(published in BELLA magazine)

Sheryll FitzPatrick's dog Gus used to scratch and shed his way through summer with flea and eczema problems. It drove both of them crazy. So using the knowledge she'd gained from a Diploma in Herbal Studies, she created a potion for him. Worked a treat. He stopped scratching and his coat was healthy and shiny too.

Soon Sheryll's friends were asking her to help their animals including one whose dog had such bad skin problems, the vet said the dog had no quality of life at all. It was a case of Sheryll to the rescue with her homemade natural remedy and it's a story with a happy ending – the dog's skin cleared up and he lived happily to the end of his natural days – and Sheryll had created a business for herself.

She started commercially marketing her product as Crickelwood Herbs but marriage and a move from Taranaki to a farm in the Waikato meant things went on hold for a while. She kept busy with a new baby, family and friends but admitted to feeling understimulated.

"I woke up at two o'clock one morning and knew I wanted to create a whole range of products for animals," she says. And from her kitchen bench and a table in the corner of her bedroom, Sheryll began creating digestive formulae, bacteria busters, healing and pain creams, eye and earcleansers, soaps, animal coat deodorisers and even a mite scale ointment for poultry. "I only had one rule. All the products had to be natural with no chemicals. I bought in the cream bases but constantly checked them to ensure they were all natural. The feedback was amazing. People are turning to complementary options for their own healthcare needs and they want the same for their pets too," she says.

And then an interesting thing happened. People started using Sheryll's animal creams on themselves. "One woman had a bad reaction to a deodorant while another's skin flared up dreadfully with a foundation makeup or moisturiser. She was a mess. Both used the animal skin soothing cream and it worked within hours." Sheryll headed back to the kitchen to create safe and natural products for people. Things like headache and stress bath oil, lip balm, moisturising cream, soaps and soothing creams, shower creams and body lotions and even bug repellents and headlice formulae. And they don't cost the earth.

"I feel really strongly about the price. I believe natural health products should be available to and affordable by everybody. I, don't agree with people making lots of money out of complementary medicine," says Sheryll.

She's happy to share her knowledge in the hope it will make this planet a better place to be.

"Mother Nature has created so many natural things we can use for good health and I have a strong respect for that. But we have to look after her or she'll turn on us. I've always loved nature and the spirituality that goes with it and I've always loved animals. The choices I've made with the products are fundamental to my beliefs and making and sharing them has become a passion and a way I can push other environmental messages close to my heart," she says.

"There's big interest in going back to old fashioned remedies and healthcare options. Women have always been the carers. They were the herbalists of times gone by and many of them were burned as witches, but the interest in things natural is coming back – I think women will always be like that. If any of us can do something to change the world in a positive way, that's good."

There's a wonderful smell wafting from Sheryll's kitchen. "Oh, that's my natural dog biscuits and they're becoming quite popular. They contain olive oil, wholemeal flour, parsley, sunflower seeds, kelp, free range eggs, brewers yeast, coconut. They're good enough to eat!"