Healing hands

When conventional veterinary science doesn't help, some pet owners turn to alternative therapies

Jennifer Heick, a Waterloo chiropractor, gives Benny, a shepherd cross, a chiropractic treatment. Heick has treated him for a variety of ailments.

Desiree Chen use a slender acupuncture needle to work on Jackie, a sheltie, at the King Street Veterinary Hospital in Cambridge. Chen uses both traditional and alternative health therapies in her veterinary practice.

Veterinarian Desiree Chen uses a tiny acupuncture needle in her treatment of Jackie, a sheltie, at the King Street Veterinary Hospital.

Sheila Batty's Labrador retriever, Molly, was eight months old when she began to limp.

"We wondered at first if she had hurt herself playing with our other dog," Batty said.

But when Molly began to whimper when she walked, Batty knew her pet's problems were serious.

Molly was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, a serious, painful congenital joint condition that affects up to 50 per cent of some large breeds of dogs.

Batty's veterinarian, Desiree Chen of Cambridge, suggested that adding vitamins to the dog's diet might help prevent further deterioration, but advised that acupuncture might be the most promising treatment.

Batty says Molly's improvement after acupuncture was "miraculous.''

"After the first treatment we could see a dramatic change," she said. "That night she was playing and could actually run. It was obvious she was not in pain anymore."

Molly continued weekly acupuncture for two months and now, at almost three years of age, she requires only maintenance treatments several times a year.

Batty is one of a growing number of local pet owners seeking chiropractic, acupuncture and homeopathic treatments when conventional veterinary medicine doesn't achieve their goals.

Chen, a veterinarian and certified veterinary acupuncturist, and Waterloo chiropractor Jennifer Heick are among the professionals reporting a steady increase in clients exploring alternative therapies to improve the quality of their pets' lives.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chen graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1985. She set up her practice using western medical techniques, but was also influenced by the philosophies of traditional Chinese medicine.

After receiving acupuncture certification through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society in 1999, she began treating animals in her Cambridge clinic. She sees primarily large-breed dogs like Labs, German shepherds and golden retrievers, and notes that acupuncture is often the last resort for a pet's chronic problems.

''Most of my clients have been through the traditional route -- X-rays, anti-inflammatory medications and steroids, with little response,'' Chen said. ''With only surgery left as an option for younger dogs, or euthanasia for elderly ones, some pet owners decide they have nothing to lose by going the acupuncture route.''

Chen begins treatment with an examination of the animal, using both western and Chinese medicine techniques. The latter employ what she calls "strange questions," probing the animal's temperament, eating, drinking and sleeping habits.

Then, targeting the acupuncture points of the body, she inserts hair-thin needles in the animal's legs, feet, neck, body and head. As with humans, no sedation is required. Chen said animals usually appear relaxed, even sleeping during treatment.

Results may be dramatic, as in Molly's case, but Chen said other pets may require several treatments to show improvement. While weekly treatment is recommended to begin, most animals maintain their improved health with several treatments each year.

While the $40 cost per treatment may seem steep, proponents say it is money well-spent. In fact, acupuncture is a favoured treatment for show and race horses.

Although she has also treated cats, Chen said the feline muscular-skeletal system differs significantly from dogs, and cats rarely suffer from degenerative diseases like arthritis.

Barbara Leslie, acting registrar of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, said veterinarians are free to provide complementary treatments, including acupuncture, but they must obtain informed consent from the pet's owner before treatment begins.

"Informed consent entails the owner signing a form which states that the complementary therapy has been thoroughly explained by the veterinarian," she said. "It also requires the owner to acknowledge awareness that the treatment is considered by the College of Veterinarians to be non-conventional due to lack of scientific validation."

Animal acupuncturists are not governed by the rules of the college, Leslie said.

Only 27 veterinarians in Ontario are certified to perform animal acupuncture. Chen said acceptance of acupuncture by the province's College of Veterinarians has been slow, but she sees change coming.

"Acupuncture is now being offered as a course at the University of Colorado's veterinary school, so I believe it will just be a matter of time before we see it up here," she said.

Meanwhile, in Waterloo, chiropractor Heick devotes Tuesday evenings and Saturdays to the treatment of animals. Her client base of more than 60 small animals includes dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets and a skunk, which she treats at a rate of $25 per session.

At one time, Heick wanted to be a vet, but because she didn't like blood, she opted for human chiropractic medicine. However, her love of animals drew her to the relatively unknown field of animal chiropractic and she attended training seminars in Illinois to receive certification.

She opened the doors of her human practice to small animals in 1997.

One of Heick's early patients was Nancy Hall's dog, Benny, a year-old shepherd cross. When he was rescued through the Chatham Humane Society, Benny was a sorry sight. His coat was matted and patchy, his ribs showed and he dragged his hindquarters when he walked. Hall's veterinarian prescribed Bufferin for Benny's pain, but the dog soon developed ulcers from the medication.

Hall then consulted a naturopathic veterinarian, who suggested glucosamine sulfate, vitamins C and E, and referred Benny to Heick.

Working on Benny's spine and hip area, Heick performed chiropractic adjustments to correct his misaligned joints.

After several treatments, the young dog was running and playing normally, and Benny now returns only periodically for treatment.

Animals stand while Heick locates the misalignment (subluxation) and performs a short rapid thrust to the vertebrae or joint. While the animal may feel a momentary twinge as the bones move into alignment, she said most seem to feel immediate relief.

Dogs with hip dysplasia or arthritis make up the bulk of Heick's animal clients, but she said chiropractic is beneficial for other conditions, too.

For example, Nestle, a two-year-old chocolate Lab, was chronically incontinent.

Frustrated by Nestle's soiling in the house, but realizing that the pet's problems were not related to behaviour or training problems, his owner took him to Heick.

"I was the last resort for Nestle," Heick said. "I could feel that the last two vertebrae right before his tail were severely out of alignment and this, most certainly, was causing his problems.

''These vertebrae have a direct connection to the bladder and, due to the bad misalignment, the dog probably did not have the sensation that his bladder was full -- hence the incontinence."

After the first adjustment, Nestle's continence improved to 90 per cent, she said, and after several more treatments he had normal bladder control.

Heick said she has found widespread support from conventional veterinarians, who refer animals to her.

"So many people have had chiropractic treatment themselves and see how much it has helped them, so they accept it as beneficial for their pets, too," she said.

Despite the caution showed by veterinary governing bodies, owners like Batty are enthusiastic about alternative therapies.

"Our family and friends laughed at us at first when we started to take Molly for acupuncture. Now they are believers themselves after seeing how much Molly has improved," Batty said. "It's been amazing."