Jack, a 3-year-old Dalmation mix, could not sit properly and had a great deal of difficulty rising from a down position. His past treatments included Rimadyl and Deramaxx with no response at all. When he came to see us, Jack's X-rays showed mild arthritis in his spine and in both his knees, possibly due to an old knee injury. Fortunately, his hips were fine. We adjusted his back and acupunctured his knees. Five days later Jack's owner reported that the treatment had helped. We repeated the acupuncture one week later, and again in two weeks. The final acupuncture treatment was given one month later. All symptoms of stiffness and pain are now gone. We see Jack every 3 months for a spinal adjustment to slow the progression of the arthritis. He has not had further trouble with his knees. Jack is one happy dog!

Finn is an 8-year-old terrier mix who had severe neck pain and held up his right front leg when he initially came to see us. He cried out wherever he was touched. Before Fin saw us he had been to two other vet hospitals where he was treated with painkillers, and both Rimadyl and Deramaxx. The treatments had not been effective. Finn was next taken to the Vet school where he was diagnosed with a disc problem in his neck, recommended for surgery, and sent home with a pain patch stapled to his back. The next day the owners brought Finn to see us for a second opinion. After a thorough examination I agreed with the Vet school on the diagnosis, but I thought electric acupuncture should be the next step before jumping into surgery. On the first visit I adjusted Finn's neck and applied 30 minutes of electric acupuncture. He responed well. We repeated the acupuncture treatment one week later, and again in two weeks. Over the next month we adjusted his neck twice more. Finn is now free of pain and 100% back to normal.

Maggie is a little Boston terrier who came to see us because her owner said she had neck pain and cried all night long. After a careful work up we were still not sure where her problem originated. We proceeded with weekly adjustments, which seemed to help temporarily, but soon the crying at night returned. Maggie was obviously in pain and needed relief. We tried diet changes and gas relieving herbs, but the results were modest. Then finally, success! We treated Maggie with an herb that stops reflux esophagitis. It worked. Now Maggie only takes a small dose of herbs once a week.

Ben, a 10-year-old chocolate Lab, came in to see us pulled by his owner in a little red wagon. He had lost his right rear leg to cancer several years before. Shortly after the surgery Ben went down -- he could no longer support himself on his remaining three legs. I examined him and found that both front legs had sore elbows and weak shoulders, and his remaining hip was very weak, as well. Ben received acupuncture treatments weekly for five weeks. By the fifth week he stood and walked for the first time in years. Ben is up walking on three legs, and doing well. Ben marched in the Davis May Day Parade accompanied by his owner, who pulled the little red wagon as a precaution in case Ben went down. But Ben surprised us all by walking the whole way without missing a step.

Willie is a 12 year old Basset that came to me from Chico. He had gone down in his rear legs suddenly and his owner rushed him in to see her local Vet. The Vet told her that Willie had to see a specialist right away. The specialist told Willie's owner that Willie was a poor surgical risk and recommended he be put to sleep. We saw Willie the next day on Saturday. He was completely paralyzed in his rear legs with only deep pain still remaining. We X-rayed Willie and found a ruptured disc in his mid back. We gave him a 1 hour long acupuncture treatment with electricity that morning. He was also put on our own anti-inflammatory tincture. We repeated his acupuncture the next day and by Monday he was standing on his rear legs, pain free. By Friday he was running and we sent him home. He is now 95% back to normal and I will see Willie for his last acupuncture treatment in three weeks. He is one happy Basset.

Bleu was an interesting case. Bleu is a 5 year old miniature pincher who had  severe pancreatitis. After 7 days in the hospital in intensive care, Bleu was still in a great deal of pain. He had not had anything to eat in a week and still had a fever of over 105. Bleu's owner called us on a Saturday morning from a book store in Davis. She had been desperately looking for something to help her little dog. She had called to ask what acupressure points would help. We told her to bring Bleu in to see if an acupuncture treatment would help him. She brought him over and he was in bad shape. We acupunctured him to treat fever and severe nausea. The next day Bleu was better. His fever was gone and he was eating some. Three days later we acupunctured him for his pancreas and for pain. Again, the next day he was better and in a week he was all better. It turned out that an ultrasound report showed that Bleu had had a large abscess on his pancreas and that his original Vet wanted to do surgery on him, but despite the abscess Bleu responded quickly to the acupuncture and now without surgery he is back to normal