All that "Jazz"

I saw Jazz yesterday. She is a 3 yr old mini Aussie and is affected by an auto-immune disease of the red blood cells. In resume, her immune system is recognizing her red blood cells as foreign bodies and it is trying to destroy them. She is on heavy duty conventional medications by her primary care veterinarian and has now finally stabilized. I am also treating her with acupuncture, food therapy, discussed supplementation and so far so good. She is looking so much better then 2 weeks ago. Her owner, Amsten, is very dedicated to her dog and has done a super job keeping Jazz afloat. Guinness, her other dog, is showing some signs of anxiety due to the change in the order of the pack. Jazz is usually the leader, and Guinness follows. At this moment Jazz is not up to speed to fulfill her boss duty; Guinness is left with the job, which I think he does not feel qualified yet to do :-).
This brings us to emotional disturbance when the pack (human/dogs/cats) is stressed by unforeseen events. It is important to recognize that if one pet is sick, the other members of the pack can be emotionally affected and attending to it can smooth things up as much as possible.

Care of aging dogs and cats with TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine)

Is your companion taking on some years? Maybe getting stiffer, panting a lot, not able to hold urine as well as before, even leaking urine, drier skin, behavior changes, seeking warm places or the opposite sleeping on cold tiles. TCVM includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal therapy, Tui-na (Chinese body work) and food therapy if indicated. TCVM can help improve the quality of life by improving mobility, taking care of certain cases of urinary incontinence, if they feel too hot, too cold or just for a tune-up to help your pet feel good.
Aging gracefully is possible with pets, and a Life Quality Score (LQS) questionnaire can help us assess the situation and monitor progress. One part is your assessment of the following: perceived pain, mental status, activity level, appetite, defecation (difficulty or leakage), urination (difficulty or leakage), and overall happiness. The second part is the information I collect during the physical examination: heart rate, respiratory rate, hunched posture, pupilary dilatation, vocalization, body weight, etc.
The LQS may also assist in the delicate decision of deciding when to humanly put an end to a pet’s life. Some pet owners feel overwhelmed by some conditions showed by their 4 legged companion. If so, it is always worth asking your health professional about any problems encountered. Some might seem insurmountable; however after talking to your veterinarian, some might be easily taken care of.
A TCVM session is typically one hour the first time, then 30-45 minutes afterward. If your pet dislike needles, no problem, we can do laser therapy, Tui-na and/or an acupressure session. A Tui-na session can be 30 minutes to a full hour. At the same time, I will show you what stretches and massages can be done at home. Pets do LOVE those Tui-na sessions!

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This was a good and fun Friday!

Little did I know what I would find at the Serrano Bird and Animal Hospital in Lake Forest. I was called by Dr Kristi Fisher (Krause) to check on one of her kitty who was loosing weight which might be associated with some anxiety issues. Another kitty in the house may have precipitated the problem (might be a little bully!). This little ball of fur has a fire personality, which loves to be petted and be the center center of the party. This little guy, called Mr. Lip (you would understand if you saw him), was a perfect acupuncture patient. Even in the middle of the busy treatment area, he let me put the needles in without a problem. Then within 5 minutes, he just lied down and appeared in a zen zone. The bully and Mr. Lip will both be put on some herbals, and Mr. Lip will have several acupuncture sessions in the next 2 months. Like any type of behavioral issues, patience is the key.

This hospital sees a lot of wild injured animal, and I was surprised to see 2 fawns. Here are their pictures!

Nepal kids Hostel needs potable water

I have been sponsoring Dicki for 4 years, this 10 yr old lives with another 100 kids and their new Hostel in Nepal needs a fresh water source. Thank you for considering.

Bosco

Bosco was a sweet, sweet 13 yr old kitty like you do not see very often. I was treating him for a lower jaw cancer and last week he lost his battle to it. He was super good for all his acupuncture sessions and loved all the attention he could get. Due to the tumor on his jaw, medications and herbals were more of a challenge to give. I am sure he will be missed, but I know that Bosco will stay in the hearts of all that known him...

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Daisy does not mind the needles, only the camera!

Patients update

I started treating Sable, a 10 yr sheltie, which is affected with rheumatoid arthritis. This has been very crippling for him, his ankles and elbows are very affected. Also his ligaments in his ankles are weaker so he walks on his ankles instead of his paws. This is unfortunately a symptom we commonly see with this type of auto-immune disease. We are also battling decubital ulcers on his elbows. He is receiving other treatments by his primary care veterinarian and my input in this case has been acupuncture and Tui-na to make him feel better. So far so good, Sable is more active and moving more. You could almost imagine a smile on his face (no kidding!).

We are also looking in the long run at braces to stabilize his hocks (the other option would be a permanent arthrodesis of the ankle which is a surgical procedure). We will also order for him some commercially made padded protection for his elbows to help decrease any further trauma. He is very hot due to his condition and only likes to lie down on hard cool surfaces. May be they’ll let me do some food therapy and herbals? We’ll see…

Benjamin is doing better, his arched back is a little better, and he is also moving better, jumping over obstacles instead of walking and playing more often. Way to go Benjamin!

Ratso is a super active senior Jack Russell Terrier I started treating for lameness of unknown origin. You have to love the stories people tell you about their pets. This super active and curious little thing likes to get into any type of food or chase any rat/mice he can find. The owner told me one time he got into a large tank of olive oil in Italy and drank all of it. Then proceeded to throw up none stop during a party they were hosting…well, later on that month he had the greatest coat he’s every had. But please, do not start giving large amount of olive oil to your pet; there are other and safer ways to achieve a great coat.

TCVM conference to local veterinarians

My talk to local veterinarians is now over. We had over 40 people show up for the talk, which is surprising for the month of August. This shows me how much interest is in learning what other modalities then conventional medicine can do for pets. It is challenging to present Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) to conventional veterinarians. TCVM has a different medical system then our normal everyday medicine. The anatomy, physiology, pathology explanations and invading agents are explained differently than our conventional medicine system. One conventional disease may present different TCVM patterns and each of them will be treated differently. I really think this is bringing some finesse to our overall treatments. Individuals can have different metabolisms, different genes that may make them respond differently to diseases and drugs. Food for thoughts!