Monday, July 12, 2010

Acupuncture for Dogs


One of Sam's other rehab therapies is acupuncture. He gets weekly treatments with his vet Dr. Janice Crook at Mosquito Creek Veterinary Clinic.

We first discovered the effectiveness of acupuncture with our Sheltie Max. Max had developed arthritis that got so bad by the time he was about 7 years old that he could barely get himself up. Our vet at the time putting him on anti-inflammatory drugs but because he had already been showing abnormal liver readings for , we were reluctant to put him on it because of the potential for liver and kidney damage.

We went to Dr. Crook and began acupuncture treatments to see if it would help. Hopeful, but not entirely convinced that we would see any improvement we arranged for a series of 6 treatments as a trial. We knew that at least there wouldn't be any adverse side effects.

To our great relief and amazement, after 3 or 4 sessions, Max exhibited much greater mobility and decrease in discomfort. Needless to say, we continued the treatments, weekly at first and then less frequently once his condition had stabilized. He regained mobility and could walk and run and chase our other dog around the yard again. Even after sustaining a knee injury a few years later, Max remained healthy and mobile well into his 13th year and passed away at age 15.

Sam has great heart and surprises us daily with what he can do even with his current limitation. Along with nutritional support, passive physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and his regular visits to his chiropractic vet, Dr. Jewell, acupuncture is also giving his body the best chance to heal.

For information about acupuncture for dogs: