Thursday, November 8, 2012

Acupuncture Rocks!

Acupuncture for a dog. Who Knew? It was not something I thought I would ever try. I understand Eastern Medicine and know it has its benefits over the long term. Izzy's issues have always been of the emergency variety, needing an immediate Western Medicine solution. Anaphylaxis from many, many food allergies are always our biggest concern. Then there is her blindness, skin infections, ear infections, her general terrier insanity that has her in constant trouble... its a long list of things we always seem to need a medicine for NOW!

A few weeks ago the sister of a neighbor suggested trying acupuncture. She works in a Veterinary office where there is a new doctor who recently received a degree in Eastern Veterinary Medicine and was looking for new patients. I am always game for a new treatment attempt. I figure that we will eventually find something that will work for Izzy. I scheduled an appointment not knowing what to expect but with great hope.

Since I don't like to use real people's names without permission, I will call her The Doc. The Doc was a very soft spoken Eastern European woman who ushered us into a quiet room. She wanted to let Izzy free to roam the room so she could observe her while we spoke. We discussed Izzy's medical history and her personality traits. Izzy has always had a very bad temper, especially if she does not get her way. She will hurl herself with full force at the door and howl like she is being murdered if we confine her to a room. If you have a small terrier, you know this noise well. Imagine the sound of someone being stabbed with a knife in the belly while eating a mouthful of jello; who's head is inside of a megaphone. Try to take a sock away from her? Good luck with that one. Don't plan on keeping all of your fingers. We talked about Izzy's aloofness when she first came to live with us. Balls were far superior to people. She would tolerate a hug for a millisecond and then race off to play.

The Doc continued to observe Izzy as she first investigated the room with her nose to the floor and then fixated on one point on the wall and froze. She sat down, with her nose brushing the wall and stared at that spot for the remainder of the visit, like a child who has been put in the corner for a time out. The Doc thought it was incredibly unusual. HA! That's our Izzy.

The Doc made a chart of the systems of the body and how they are all interconnected. The details of the chart are unimportant to this story, only that it was clear after the appointment that Eastern Medicine could possibly be the solution we have been looking for. Acupuncture and herbal tinctures.

We are three weeks into Izzy's acupuncture treatments. So far so good. Although, as I type this she has leaped from a chair onto Morgan's head trying to kill her again. Uh Oh. Gotta go.

Namaste (please?)

2 comments:

  1. I have heard so many wonderful things about acupuncture for pets. Hope that things work out well for your pup!

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  2. Thanks! I will keep my readers posted!

    ReplyDelete