Your Dog Needs a Spiritual Cleanse, According to Ecuador's Ancient Healers

Your golden retriever’s been acting off since that encounter with a neighbor’s cat. Maybe he’s stressed. Maybe he needs a vet. Or maybe—just maybe—his chakras are blocked.

In Quito, Ecuador’s capital, this isn’t a joke. At the San Francisco market, traditional healers have tapped into a booming market for anxious pet parents willing to explore alternative remedies for their furry companions. They’re offering something called a“limpia”—a cleansing ritual rooted in ancient Andean tradition designed to banish physical, emotional, and spiritual blockages from dogs, cats, rabbits, and just about any creature that walks on four legs.

The treatment works like this: a“curandero,”or healer, uses medicinal herbs, smoke, and raw eggs to open up an animal’s chakras. Nancy Correa, a 57-year-old fifth-generation healer from a family of female“curanderos,”works with plants like amaranths, rue, nettle, and eucalyptus—all chosen because they grow in ravines and therefore“hold the energy of water, air, and sun.”Her patient Lucas, a one-year-old golden retriever belonging to 49-year-old architect Ximena Tixi, has already been through two sessions and is noticeably more active, less fearful, and considerably more tail-wagging than before. Now on his third appointment, Lucas trots into the stall ready for another round.

Fellow healer Amparo Lugmana takes a slightly different approach, rubbing petals, an egg, and herbs over her patients’fur before finishing with a ribbon adorned with Amazonian huayroro seeds—a spiritual safeguard against evil spirits. She’s worked on cats and rabbits and even sends treatments to the countryside for owners of unproductive cows and chickens. The cost? Between $5 and $10, depending on pet size.

Is it placebo? Maybe. Is it rooted in cultural tradition and genuine belief in the power of natural remedies? Absolutely. What’s undeniable is that pet owners in Quito are voting with their wallets, and their animals seem—at least from their perspective—better for it. Whether that’s chakra alignment or simply the calming effect of being gently handled by someone who believes in their well-being is a question each pet parent will have to answer for themselves.