Trixie: Acupuncture for a Tough Spinal Issue

Distraught after leaving the local veterinary school and being informed of our dog, Trixie’s need for spinal surgery, we travelled to a local holistic veterinarian’s office. The office was closed, but we peered into the office to see “if there were stars and moons on the walls.” There were no such decorations, but much to our surprise the veterinarian had stopped by to pick up some things and came out to talk with us.

As Trixie sat in my husband’s arms, we explained the situation. We didn’t want Trixie to have surgery and we couldn’t afford the thousands of dollars for the procedure. On the verge of tears, we advised the veterinarian that we hoped she could do something for our beloved little dog.

She invited us into the office and did a complete examination and neurological evaluation. She told us that Trixie had neurological deficits, but she still had sensation and pain recognition.

She was optimistic that she could help her with acupuncture, which was something we never even thought of for use in dogs. We were relieved and agreed to give it a try. How lucky was it that we stopped by at that exact minute and thank God we had not opted for euthanasia because little Trixie took her acupuncture needles and felt better immediately. When the needles were put in, Trixie relaxed and slept deeply for the first time in days. To see her pain relieved made us so happy and hopeful.

Our holistic veterinarian advised us to keep Trixie confined to a little crate and to be careful about moving her about when she was outside the crate. She said we would need to come in weekly for several weeks and follow strict confinement and exercise restrictions. If all went well, we would look for slow, steady neurological improvement. Trixie never looked back and on her recheck visits, she rushed in so quickly that we were afraid she would injure her back. She made a full recovery in far less time that we expected.

We are grateful for finding a veterinarian that does acupuncture and wish that more people were this lucky. We hope that through supporting the AHVM Foundation we can get more veterinarians trained in such techniques. Thanks for all you do!