Wanda May Pulver

“Animals deserve the same care and the same holistic healing approaches as humans. The power of medicinal mushrooms knows no species boundaries—it can help dogs, cats, and horses just as much as it can help us. Their full potential for animal health can only be realized when we combine rigorous scientific analysis with an awareness of their millennia-old tradition and practical applicability.”

This conviction has shaped the life’s work of Wanda May Pulfer—a veterinary naturopath and author who is now the first in the German-speaking world to have systematically applied mycotherapy to veterinary medicine. With her book *Mycotherapy for Animals—Medicinal Mushrooms: Healing Power, Effects, and Applications* (Thieme Verlag), she has elevated veterinary mycotherapy to a level that is both scientifically sound and practically applicable.

Scientific Roots

Born in Zurich in 1978, she developed an early interest in understanding how animals function and how different healing approaches can be integrated. This curiosity formed the foundation for her diverse education and continuing professional development in animal naturopathy, with a focus on body therapy, Chinese medicine, dietetics, and naturopathy. Her own dog’s arthritis in 2007 later drew her attention more strongly to how medicinal mushrooms can work in animals, why conventional treatments reach their limits, and how holistic healing approaches can be integrated. This experience sharpened her interest in holistic animal health, which incorporates the body, energy, nutrition, and various healing traditions.

Personal motivation

In her professional work, she focuses on the practical application and dissemination of knowledge in the field of veterinary mycotherapy. She collaborates with veterinarians, animal naturopaths, and pet owners to share knowledge about medicinal mushrooms, their effects, and their potential applications in animals. In doing so, she places great emphasis on a practical approach and on integrating scientific findings with traditional healing concepts from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Consulting, Standards, and Research

A central focus of her work is the practical application of medicinal mushrooms in various animal species. She examines dosages, forms of administration, indications, and the integration of these mushrooms into holistic treatment approaches, and supports therapists in developing evidence-based treatment protocols.

Currently, her clinical work focuses on the adjunctive treatment of tumors in animals using medicinal mushrooms. At her practice in Zurich, she continues to gain experience and shares this knowledge with the professional community through lectures and seminars. Veterinary oncology is considered a particularly challenging yet promising field for the use of medicinal mushrooms.

The Standard Reference Work – Mycotherapy for Animals

With her book *Mycotherapy for Animals – Medicinal Mushrooms: Healing Power, Effects, and Applications*, Pulfer has produced a work that has become a standard reference in the German-speaking world and serves as the first in-depth introduction to veterinary mycotherapy for many veterinarians and animal naturopaths. It combines scientific research with practical recommendations for use, thereby making the world of medicinal mushrooms accessible to animal owners. The book presents 14 selected medicinal mushrooms with specific dosages for dogs, cats, and horses—Pulfer succeeds in conveying complex knowledge in an understandable way while remaining scientifically sound. As a result, *Mycotherapy for Animals* is now regarded as the standard reference work on veterinary mycotherapy, used by both professionals and interested pet owners alike.

A particular strength – networked thinking

She knows how to combine scientific expertise with practical experience and advocates for an integrative approach to animal health—viewing it as the interplay of the body, energy, and nutrition. Her personal story makes it clear that medicinal mushrooms are not merely a field of research for her, but also a concrete source of hope for animals with chronic illnesses. At the Mycoverse Foundation, she contributes her expertise in veterinary mycotherapy, practical application, and knowledge dissemination, helping to responsibly integrate scientific findings into veterinary practice.