I have no opinion on this one way or the other; was wondering what you folks thought. Acupuncture is one of those things I would never have done myself, but it wouldn’t raise my eyebrows that anyone else does—but pets? Hmmmm . . . .
GRAFTON, Mass. (AP) - An increasing number of pet owners think they have pinpointed the right treatment for their dogs’ and cats’ aches and pains: acupuncture. They are turning to the ancient Chinese therapy for such pet ailments as allergies, arthritis and chronic pain. “They find it useful for themselves, so they want the same treatment for their pets,” says Mary Rose Paradis, an associate professor at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, which held an animal acupuncture course for veterinarians this summer.
The course is the second such program to be taught at a veterinary school. Colorado State University first offered the course three years ago. “Of all the animals that come to me with problems, I’m able to make a difference in a visible and meaningful way in about 85 percent of them,” says Dr. Narda Robinson, a physician and veterinarian who designed the CSU course.
In animal acupuncture, pet owners usually pay about $45 for half-hour treatments. Leslie Grinnell’s 8-year-old Doberman pinscher was immobilized by protruding discs in the dog’s spine. “She came downstairs one day and just stuck to the kitchen floor,” Grinnell says. “She couldn’t raise her head and her legs were spasming.” The Greenfield woman didn’t think her dog would survive the trauma of surgery. So Grinnell, who had undergone acupuncture herself for treatment of depression, figured it might help her dog. After about a month of treatments, the dog was able to stand again, she says.
Despite many success stories, the American Veterinary Medical Association says there are not enough scientific studies to determine whether animal acupuncture really works.
