June 27, 2005
Acupuncture for dogs
Slate's Jon Katz wrote an intriguing article about how a "holistic vet" helped change the personality of his Border Collie:
"When we go to see Stephanie now, he bounds out of the car, darts into her office, jumps up on her platform, and lies down for his needles. Within minutes, he is dozing peacefully. When the last needle is removed, he hops off the table and sits eagerly by the cabinet where Stephanie stores the treats. Then he lies down under her desk while I pay for the visit."
The UIUC Veterinary School quotes one of their second-year students' experiences with acupuncture for her dog, who suffered from lumbo-sacral disease: "It was great! Before acupuncture, he couldn't even make it up the stairs. We had to carry him, and that was quite a feat considering he is an 80-pound dog! Now, after acupuncture, he runs and jumps up those steps."
I'm still skeptical, mostly because acupuncture for me has been mostly painful and unhelpful. Then again, my acupuncturist never gave me treats!
LINK: [Slate]
LINK: [uiuc.edu]
posted by miranda at 10:49 PM