The Sacramento Bee Acupuncture Treatments Prove to be a Blessing for Senior Dogs: For an ailing, older dog, acupuncture's not so far-fetched by Gina Spadafori, Globe Correspondent March 10, 2005

As a native Californian, I am used to the sometimes silly stuff that seems to catch on in the Golden State, giving people elsewhere plenty of chances to roll their eyes and snicker. When I lived in the Deep South, I heard those snickers. This is probably why, when I came back to California four years ago with an old, arthritic dog in tow, I was not quick to act on a friend's recommendation that I take Andy to see a veterinarian who specialized in acupuncture. Of course, there's nothing new or trendy about acupuncture, but its practice in veterinary medicine is anything but mainstream. It's part of a collection of healing techniques lumped together as "alternative" or "holistic," and traditionally regarded skeptically in the nation's veterinary schools. The long-established Chinese medical practice involves the insertion of needles to stimulate the healing process or release hormones that help with pain or inflammation. In veterinary medicine, acupuncture is most often used on chronic health problems, such as gastrointestinal disease, feline asthma, skin conditions, and kidney disease. I knew all this, but wasn't much interested. I had -- and still have -- a good working relationship with my veterinarian, and I knew he was doing all he could for my 14-year-old dog. But it hurts to see a beloved old dog in such pain, and I came to realize that for Andy, we'd reached the limits of Western medicine. In the context of my having to consider putting Andy down to end his suffering, alternative treatment seemed worth trying. And so, I went to see Dr. Signe Beebe, a graduate of Purdue's school of veterinary medicine, an officer in the Army Reserve, a longtime expert in emergency veterinary medicine -- and an enthusiastic practitioner of acupuncture. She made my old dog feel so much better in just a couple of visits that he started demanding a daily walk again. And on those walks, even my neighbors noticed how much more easily my sweet old dog was moving and how much happier he seemed. The acupuncture turned Andy's life around and kept him feeling good until the night before he died of congestive heart failure at almost 16. It was the kind of experience that gives you a fresh perspective on something you'd never much thought about. Beebe acknowledges that I am one of the two types of pet owners she sees in her practice -- the person who isn't sure about non-Western medicine but who is driven by love to try anything that might ease an animal's suffering. "I also see people who have had acupuncture themselves," she said. "It has helped them, and now they want it for their cat or dog." Since many of the problems acupuncture works best on tend to pop up in older pets, it's no surprise that geriatric patients make up a large part of a veterinary acupuncturist's practice. Four years after seeing how much acupuncture helped Andy in his last few months, I am now back seeking treatment for my nearly 11-year-old retriever, Benjamin. I know I can't turn back the clock, but I want for him what Andy had: a good quality of life until the end. Ben is already doing better with acupuncture, especially when it comes to managing the pains of old age. When you have an old dog, you know you won't be getting a cure or even much in the way of time. But every day an old pet feels better is a reason to believe -- and to celebrate.

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