- I have friends who got acupuncture, but it's not something I would necessarily, you know, choose to do myself. So we were, you know, a little skeptical but we had some friends who had good experiences with it and decided to give it a shot.

 

For a little more than a year, Maddie has been a regular visitor to a veterinary acupuncturist in Fairfax Virginia. Vet Marilyn Khoury inserts needles into points on Maddie's body to relieve pain or to create therapeutic effects. Her goal is to relieve inflammation and stress on the spine to help Maddie keep walking.

 

Nice, so there is a very nice point hmm...at the heel that links two meridians:  the bladder and the kidney. And we actually go through and through here.

 

Despite the many needles, Maddie drifts into a relax state during the 20-minute treatment. Acupuncture doesn't yield instant results but the Clays say Maddie has regained strength. It's walking well and doesn't need steroids much anymore.

 

- I really dislike the word alternative medicine because it suggests you have to make a choice and I think that should not be the case. I think you should be given all the options and you should go with those that do the least harm.

 

And some veterinary acupuncturists have even revived the traditional doctor's house call. Caroline Karcher's 19-year-old Siamese cat Mariquita has been getting regular acupuncture treatments for about a year and a half.

 

Mariquita has severe constipation leading to hospitalization and an enlarged colon can lead to grave health problems. Karcher says the only other choices were to let the cat die or surgery which could have hastened Mariquita's death. Other than an occasional growl she puts up with the needle treatment. The acupuncturist inserts more than a dozen needles and runs a low electric current through them. Karcher says the treatments along with Chiropractic therapy and injections helped Mariquita little by little.

 

- As we continued with it, it wasn't like overnight she was better. It was a long process.

 

A rescued Saint Bernard Aris wears a protective boot to keep him from dragging a hind paw. Nerve damage in his back left him unable to walk. His owner credits acupuncture used with other therapy with helping restore the dog's ability to walk.

 

- I think almost every illness can be addressed by integrated medicine, complementary medicine anything from a developmental problem, for example, a limp deformity at birth to allergies.

 

Lipton says her Washington D.C. location is ideal for an integrated health approach since there are many open-minded people who can afford to care for their pets. She originally treated animals only with traditional veterinary treatments, but found they didn't always do enough to improve the pets' quality of life. Now she mixes traditional treatments with acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, herbs and other treatments. Treatments range in cost, depending on the length and type of therapy.