Health_Sept16

Daily Thrive
YOUR PET
Eastern Medicine for Man’s Best Friend
A look at acupuncture for pets
By Caren Burmeister I Photography by Craig O’Neal
Pets plagued with allergies, arthritis and hot spots often don’t respond well to conventional veterinarian
medicine. But holistic medicine, well, that just might be the cat’s meow.
Some pet medical
conditions that respond
well to holistic care are:
• Seizures
• Fecal incontinence
and feline cystitis
• Cancer and post
cancer treatment
following
chemotherapy or
surgery
• Allergies, autoimmune
diseases and hot spots
• Arthritis, hip dysplasia
and degenerative
diseases
• Weight control
and gastrointestinal
ailments
Acupuncture, laser therapy, chiropractic, massage and nutritional
care can be very successful for chronic, degenerative diseases
and overall wellness, say Jenna Castner Hauck, who practices
holistic therapies at her Jacksonville Beach clinic, Veterinary
Acupuncture and Wellness.
While some conditions respond best to traditional Western
medicine, others do better with acupuncture and nontraditional
therapies.
“The dogs and cats really respond to it,” she says. “They
realize what we’re doing for them and it really makes them
feel better.”
Just ask Pooker. The 10-year-old dachshund could barely
walk when she was brought to the wellness clinic in April. Two
months earlier she had jumped off a sofa, causing a slipped
disk. Soon after, she began to drag both feet on her right side
and fall down. When Pooker’s condition didn’t improve, her
veterinarian suggested a neurological
evaluation and surgery. She was
brought to the wellness clinic for
less invasive treatment. For the next
seven weeks, Castner Hauck treated
Pooker with Chinese herbs and
electroacupuncture, a procedure in
which a small electric current is passed
between pairs of acupuncture needles.
With each visit Pooker’s condition
improved, Castner Hauck says. After
seven visits, Pooker walked out the
clinic on her own. Castner Hauck
recently checked to see how she was
doing.
“She’s truly 100 percent normal,”
Castner Hauck says. “She did awesome.”
A veterinarian, Castner Hauck
became a certified animal acupuncturist
a decade ago after noticing that
pets with allergies and chronic degenerative
issues weren’t improving with
steroids and antibiotics.
“I was feeling that I wanted other options,” she says.
“Conventional medicine wasn’t really helping them heal. I felt
like I was putting Band-Aids on things, and now I really feel like
I’m helping animals heal.”
Acupuncture recognizes an imbalance before it becomes a
disease, Castner Hauck says. An ancient form of Chinese medicine,
it works on the premise that chi, the vital force that flows
through the body, travels along energy channels called meridians.
Acupuncture opens these meridians and stimulates the blood
supply. Performing acupuncture on animals is nothing new.
Hundreds of years ago it was practiced on horses in China to
keep them healthy and ready for battle, she says.
Dr. Jenna treating Dexter, a 10-year-old Airedale Terrier for general
wellness and he was also treated for being a little lethargic.
For more information, visit Veterinary Acupuncture and Wellness at
vetacuwellness.com
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