Acupuncture for Your Companion Animal

In Vets Turn to Acupuncture for Ailing Pets (AP), Marcus Wohlsen reports that supply and demand is alive and well in the vet business. Increasing numbers of vets are pursuing training in holistic or complementary medicine because their customers (the people–not the animals) are demanding alternatives to traditional Western medicine.

As regular readers know, I have a traditional vet for things like: surgery to remove Violet’s cataracts and replace her lenses with synthetic onces, and the time(s) I thought Charles broke his foot (but he hasn’t so far). So for blood and broken bones, I’d go to a traditional vet. They fix things. But I go to a homeopath for everything else. Rather than giving Violet Rimadyl for her arthritis, I take her for acupuncture and gentle chiropractic adjustments. I bring a book and sit on a cushion on the floor while Violet lies down next to me for 30 minutes with 20-30 needles stuck in her back end. When we’re done, Violet has much more energy, more fluid movements, and she can lie down without crying. The homeopath has also decreased Violet’s need for insulin, using herbal remedies.

When my neck and upper back are kinked, seemingly irreparably, several times a year, and I’m convinced that if I move I’m going to die or become paralyzed for life, I go to an acupuncturist (the 100+ year old Dr. Chi, believe it or not), and though I might have to be carried into his office, I always walk out. A couple of treatments later, I’m good as new.

If you want to find a vet whose first line of defense isn’t drugs or surgery, go to the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association. And even if there is a holistic vet near you, let your traditional vet know that you wished s/he offered more alternative modalities. They will listen if they want to keep your business.

Say it with me: Supply and demand.